As Far As I Can Tell

This year grad school takes on a different structure for me since two classes are devoted to thesis work. The thesis is split between a project and a paper, each with a different adviser and for me at least different topics. I make my own schedule and meet with my advisers only once a week; it’s much more self directed.

My paper is on a topic I’ve been interested in for a long time: designing adaptive products. I’m working with Richard Buchanan who has a particular structure to the way he wants the paper written, which is good since I’ve never written anything of this length before and need all the help I can get.

I started by choosing 3 words to guide my work: Product (what), Adaptation (how), and Autonomy (why). I am interested in how products mediate our relationship with the world and how designing for adaptation can increase people’s involvement in shaping their lives and lead to greater personal autonomy.

I’m reading three books, written from three different backgrounds and perspectives. Each one maps to one of those words though there are aspects of all three in each book. My readings are: How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They’re Built; by Stewart Brand, Democratizing Innovation; by Eric Von Hippel, and What Things Do: Philosophical Reflections on Technology, Agency, And Design; by Peter-Paul Verbeek. You might have seen these hanging out in my new “Reading List” weblog sidebar.

I finished the reading last week so now I need to start making sense of them in light of my theme and finding some connections. I’ll post the paper when I finish, it’s due by the end of this semester. I’ll post info on my thesis project later.