I've been working with an advisor at the university to develop my own bachelors degree program (the idea of spending three more years on an undergrad education finally got to me). That's not particularly germaine, but leads me to this point:
I've recently spent quite a lot of time thinking about what I like to do. And I've realized I really like to think about things. Over the next few weeks or months, I'll probably end up listing a handful of those things here or elsewhere. But at present, here are my thoughts on the things I best like to think.
I enjoy thinking about associations: what goes together and why. This is pretty much an innate and involuntary process for me; words remind me of movie quotes and colors remind me of a specific crayon in my 64-box of Crayola (or, a specific Pantone chip, or a specific item in the produce section at the grocery store). I especially like identifying and classifying things that are difficult to articulate, like senses and experiences. I'll smell something vaguely sweet and decide it reminds me of those red-hot cinnamon candies and movie theater popcorn.
It happened to me today listening to Röyksopp's "Higher Place". The song (which I highly recommend if you're into chill, rhythmically ambient soundscapes) has these sounds that remind me of water. It's a very specific, and very immediate, association. Water, clear and simple. But then I got to thinking about why it reminded me of water; trying to break down the experience to emotional and mental cues. As it happens, the sounds are similar to what you hear a lot in movies when the scene is set in or around a submarine. My mom loves movies about sharks and other sea creatures, so I saw a lot of submarine movies as a kid, and this sound is a pretty common "bubbly distortion" scene-setter throughout the genre. I found it thoroughly satisfying to be able to break the experience down into its elements and reverse engineer my own associations, and try to then figure out how I could use that knowledge to influence how someone else might think of water, submarines, sharks, and Röyksopp.
Up until now, it has just been a thing I do, and not even consciously half the time. But I'm beginning to realize how important phenomena like these can be when you are designing products and anticipating or constructing a user's experience with the product. Incidentally, product design is the broad area I'm considering for my individualized degree, and since I have to give my degree a title, a broad area isn't going to cut it.
Being able to narrow down the elements of product design that really draw me in is quite nice. I can now add "user experience" to other concentrations such as "prototyping and product implementation," "graphic design, linguistics, and information design," and "mechanical analysis and materials selection."
The proposal for this degree is forthcoming, and will likely touch on a few more of my favorite thinks. Maybe I'll post it here once it gets approved by my faculty advisors. As for now, I have less enjoyable things to think about, namely calculus.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The Art of Womanliness
How Trying to Be a Better Man Made Me a Better Woman
I discovered the "Art of Manliness" website in fall 2010. As a sixth-year undergrad struggling with staying motivated and trying to get myself in-shape enough to try for a spot on a roller derby league, the blog's focus on recovering the lost art of being the best you can be resonated with me. I couldn't relate to the majority of self-improvement schemes aimed at fellow females, centered around being the same size and style as the music or movie mavens of the moment, or finding just the right man. Ironically enough, I found the inspiration for becoming a better woman in following the advice for becoming a better man.
No, I didn't start wearing three-piece pant suits with french cuffs and shaving my jawline with a straight razor (goodness knows my legs are trouble enough). And yes, the Art of Manliness blog does have a solid smattering of articles on how to do exactly that. However, the intent of these articles, and the primary message of myriad others, is to establish a long-lost way of thinking about oneself. The blog is upfront about the fact that their pushes towards vintage shaving supplies and timeless tailoring aims to convince men that their appearance impacts the impression they make on others. There are articles on weight loss, but they center around being healthy and spry, and managing your wardrobe during the transition, rather than idolizing often unreasonable sizes and shapes. It struck me that this was exactly what most women ought to hear.
Even more impressive than the holistic, health-oriented treatment of a touchy and usually superficial topic like weight management, was that this attitude is maintained throughout the blog over a wide variety of subjects. The guys behind it are clearly not interested in turning out dapper-looking douchebags. Other articles admonish men to strive to be better fathers, learn useful skills outdoors and in, have integrity, be knowledgeable about everything from history to whiskey, and treat others with respect be they ladies or gents.
A lot of the images and even some of the articles are blasts from the past, but this only goes to show us that behaving and living well are things that both genders have lost somewhere between the Cold War and the War on Terror. The blog is only aimed at one half of this demographic, but there are more general articles on how to foster healthy habits that are definitely "one sex fits all." Either way, I think women can learn just as much from any AoM entry about how to care for and conduct themselves.
I'm going into the new year looking forward to the past. I'm excited to try and update my increasingly dissolute outlook on a seemingly endless college career and hopeless derby career with a little old-school decorum and dandification. And just to throw a little modern into the mix, I picked up a copy of GQ before my flight. The "Look Sharp, Live Smart" tagline on the cover seems right in line with my mid-century mission for (wo)manliness. And Ryan Gosling ain't bad, either.
I discovered the "Art of Manliness" website in fall 2010. As a sixth-year undergrad struggling with staying motivated and trying to get myself in-shape enough to try for a spot on a roller derby league, the blog's focus on recovering the lost art of being the best you can be resonated with me. I couldn't relate to the majority of self-improvement schemes aimed at fellow females, centered around being the same size and style as the music or movie mavens of the moment, or finding just the right man. Ironically enough, I found the inspiration for becoming a better woman in following the advice for becoming a better man.
No, I didn't start wearing three-piece pant suits with french cuffs and shaving my jawline with a straight razor (goodness knows my legs are trouble enough). And yes, the Art of Manliness blog does have a solid smattering of articles on how to do exactly that. However, the intent of these articles, and the primary message of myriad others, is to establish a long-lost way of thinking about oneself. The blog is upfront about the fact that their pushes towards vintage shaving supplies and timeless tailoring aims to convince men that their appearance impacts the impression they make on others. There are articles on weight loss, but they center around being healthy and spry, and managing your wardrobe during the transition, rather than idolizing often unreasonable sizes and shapes. It struck me that this was exactly what most women ought to hear.
Even more impressive than the holistic, health-oriented treatment of a touchy and usually superficial topic like weight management, was that this attitude is maintained throughout the blog over a wide variety of subjects. The guys behind it are clearly not interested in turning out dapper-looking douchebags. Other articles admonish men to strive to be better fathers, learn useful skills outdoors and in, have integrity, be knowledgeable about everything from history to whiskey, and treat others with respect be they ladies or gents.
A lot of the images and even some of the articles are blasts from the past, but this only goes to show us that behaving and living well are things that both genders have lost somewhere between the Cold War and the War on Terror. The blog is only aimed at one half of this demographic, but there are more general articles on how to foster healthy habits that are definitely "one sex fits all." Either way, I think women can learn just as much from any AoM entry about how to care for and conduct themselves.
I'm going into the new year looking forward to the past. I'm excited to try and update my increasingly dissolute outlook on a seemingly endless college career and hopeless derby career with a little old-school decorum and dandification. And just to throw a little modern into the mix, I picked up a copy of GQ before my flight. The "Look Sharp, Live Smart" tagline on the cover seems right in line with my mid-century mission for (wo)manliness. And Ryan Gosling ain't bad, either.
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