ThinkingDesign

To many people, technology blends into our life so well that we never stop to realize how much influence it has onus. Ever since the invention of the light bulb, our lifestyles have changed dramatically. We are now able to work longer hours and are able to do things that we never thought we could. As it said in Neil Postman’s reading, “Technology doesn’t add or subtract from us, it changes everything.�

Through the invention of such things as iPods, Video Games, Cell Phones, and other technology, our lives have become more convenient.

Today when we need to call someone, we just use our cell phones. We no longer have to look for pay phones. In some countries, pay phones have even gone extinct. I have become so dependent on that I cannot leave the house without my cell phone because it has been a big part of my life for close to four years.

Another example of how technology influences our lives is the invention of the Internet. Now that we have the Internet, people can find any information with out leaving the comfort of our homes. I’m not gonna lie, but I have made more trips to the library as a child than the college student that I am now and I am having difficulty dealing with the fact that I have to get an actual book because I got so use to looking up all the information on the Internet from Junior high and High school.
Another way that the Internet has changed our lives is the Instant Messaging programs well known as AIM. Teenagers these days are so influenced that they are on it all the time talking to people. The phrase “talking to people� doesn’t even mean actually talking to people in person. It can be talking to people online, text messaging, or even e-mails. I believe that through the availability of new technology, some words have lost its true meaning. Today we do not need to talk to people in person as much as we use to and I think that it is hurting us in a way that some people are becoming less and less social in person. Again with the AIM as an example, we may talk to a certain person online, but not when it comes to in person.

When I think about technology and power, I think of electronic companies and other corporations. Whatever they come out with, we accept it as a new technology that is supposed to be a good thing. These companies have so much control over our lives that they make their products so that we keep on buying and encourage incorporating their products in our lives. Some examples of this is the Apple corporation and Sony. Apple came out with the iPods and almost everybody today has one. Sony always causes chaos with its release of new Play Stations. Recently, when the PS 3 was released a man was shot and killed while trying to buy one of them. There were others that got trampled in the crowd rushing to get their hands on the new technology. Many people camped out days, outside the store just for a Video Game.

As long as these companies keep on coming out with new products, I don’t think that we will ever get over the technopolies that we have encountered in our lives and those companies will continue to control the way we live.

Posted by Louis Martin at 5:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There are so many things in our lives today that involve math and design that I couldn’t decide what to write. As I was running for the first time since school started, I looked down and saw a great example of math and design. My Adidas running shoes had some kind of new heel cushioning system that consisted of arches that work in a spring like manner.

Ever since Nike came out with Shox, all shoe companies have came out with some kind of advanced cushioning system. I always wonder if they actually work or not, but they seem to be ok considering that I haven’t had any foot problems.

These shoe companies use mathematic calculations and shapes to deliver the best support for the runner or the athlete. The mathematics determines which shapes best suits its purpose, whether running or walking. As you can see in Nike’s Shoxs, the walking shoes have smaller Shox on them and the running shoes have bigger Shox because running requires more cushioning to take in the strike force of every stride.

Today there are even shoes that can calculate. Such shoe will calculate the difference in strike force of each step and automatically adjust its cushioning to whatever environment you are in, like the Adidas_1 which has a micro processor that can do up to 5 million calculations per second.

When you look around, almost everything requires design and what ever requires design in many cases require some sort of math, whether it be clothing design dealing with transforming 2D into 3D forms, the aerodynamic shapes of cars and planes, or the design of buildings.
I always wonder how different our world would have been if our Mathematics were based on a different basis or if Archimedes’s notebooks, filled with mathematics that we are far far away from achieving, were never destroyed.

Posted by Louis Martin at 7:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It was almost a month ago, I went to Tiffany & Co. at the Galleria Mall in Edina with my dad to buy my mom a birthday present. As we were picking out which necklace to get her, I noticed a familiar name next to a collection of unique jewelries. I stood there staring at the name, thinking so hard, who is this guy? I know him from somewhere... when I saw these pieces

I knew exactly who it was. It was Frank Gehry, the architect. The jewelry reminded me of the metal work on the exterior of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao.

I just thought it was cool to see architects work on things other than buildings because it brings out or creates a new kind of product. As many of you know, many famous architects, both in the past and present, are active in furniture design, clothing and other professions that are based on design.
This has made me realize the many possible careers that I can pursue with a degree in architecture.

As it is right around registration time, these things have made me think if I should take sculpture or painting of some sort. That way, maybe if I study and work hard enough, I will be able to become an architect like Le Corbusier who was also a painter and sculptor.

... I just found out Frank Gehry even does watches for Fossil....

Pictures Provided by and www.kirikou.com

Posted by Louis Martin at 5:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As you look around in the world today there are many oppositions that surround us. One of the major oppositions in our lives is the sunlight duration. Without electricity, our daily lives would be considerably shorter because there would be no light after sun down. This may be a good thing to many of us because we lack in sleep hours, but we wouldn't be able to get anything done. As a resolution for the opposition of sunlight duration, we have the option of turning on the lights.

Back when cave men still existed, they struggled to stay alive in the dark because they had absolutely no light at night. Through the invention of fire, they eliminated that opposition of sunlight duration and was able to work longer hours and their days became longer.

Today we are able to work as long as we want because we have light with a flip of the light switch. When it is dark outside, we can just turn the light on and continue on with our activities. This creation of light/fire has made many changes to the human lives just like many other oppositions that we encouter in our daily lives. the way we live, dress, eat are some ways oppositions in different areas can affect us. As we all know oppositions will always be existent in our lives and they will show us the differnt paths that we could take in our life time which will make life more interesting.

Posted by Louis Martin at 12:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)