#lecture12

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Lecture Twelve

Self-Affirmation Underlies Facebook Use by Catalina L. Toma and Jeffrey T. Hancock (2012)

This week's article revealed one of the reasons for the ubiquitous use of social networking sites like Facebook. According to self-affirmation theory, people have an inherent need to see themselves in a positive light - “good, worthy and valuable”. They tend to brush off or distort negative information about themselves, so as to preserve their sense of self-worth. Interestingly and unsurprisingly, people seek to augment their self-worth by moving towards information that reinforces it. 

The paper then went on to describe 2 studies. The first showed that Facebook profiles provide self-affirmation to users by satisfying their need for self-worth and self-integrity. 

Study 1 shows that Facebook profiles are self-affirming as it presents a self that is appealing and well put together. Hence, spending time on Facebook and viewing one’s profile actually gives an ego boost. Study 2 then went on to show that people will unconsciously gravitate towards their Facebook profiles when they receive information that undermines their sense of self-worth in order to restore it.

I believe these findings can be readily applied to other social media platforms, and especially so to social media platforms that support asynchronous interaction with low warranting value ( for instance, Instagram). Social media outlets that enable users to share posts with low warranting value enable people to present a profile that is curated and puts themselves in a highly positive light. 

This led me to think if social media feeds the narcissism of today’s generation. And is the internet breeding superficiality as many people are always striving to present a glamorous side of themselves to others? 

[ha213-section6-blog]

Buckminster Fuller's dymaxion house is one of my favorite architectural projects as well as an amazing example of functionalism. It was built in 1946 in order to meet the need for affordable, mass-produced housing after the war. The house is pre-fabricated, and is sold as separate parts which must be assembled, and can be disassembled, making the house transportable. Like Corb's idea that a house should be like a motor car, the dymaxion house was to be sold for roughly the same price as a car and could be taken from one location to another, if its occupants ever felt the need to move. It used tension suspension from a central column (as shown in the video), with walls that could turn using this axis. Resultantly, rooms could be made larger or smaller as needed - the bedroom could be made larger if the family needed to fit a crib in there, or could be shrunk so as to make the living room larger when they had a party. Additionally, the house was incredibly sustainable; it was heated and cooled naturally, made its own power and was constructed of permanent, durable materials that did not need maintenance of any kind. These are only a few of the many innovative features of the house, a sample of which is on display at the Ford Museum. 

This video shows how the house was supposed to be assembled. I recommend watching it with the sound off.

[ha213-section6-blog]

The Villa Savoye's film motif reminded me of the opening scene of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window. The ribbon windows of the Villa Savoye make for a continuous view, both from the inside looking out and vice versa. Rear Window's plot is centered around a man watching his neighbors from his window through to theirs. During the opening credits, the curtains of his window roll up, as curtains do at the beginning of a show. Then, as the first couple minutes of this clip show, the camera moves along the view from the window and into the lives of the people in the surrounding apartments. Thus, as the Villa Savoye illustrates, architecture frames the movie.

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Some consider it noble to have a method; others consider it noble not to have a method. Not to have a method is bad; to stop entirely at method is worse still. One should at first observe rules severely, then change them in an intelligent way. The aim of processing method is to seem finally as if one had no method.

The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting

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Method

“Some consider it noble to have a method; others consider it noble not to have a method.  Not to have a method is bad; to stop entirely at method is worse still.  One should at first observe rules severely, then change them in an intelligent way.  The aim of processing method is to seem finally as if one had no method.” – The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting

This quote interests me greatly as it seems to perfectly describe the method of designing.  For me this quote is extremely thought provoking and does not require any explanation.

[sugarcoatedcannonballs-blog]

Lecture 2

This lecture starts to discuss the design process, namely the main idea of iteration, as mentioned below.  It also covers the topics of divergence and convergence, as previously discussed.  This lecture really made me think about what design actually is, and I came to the conclusion that it is essentially anything involving a plan which opposes disorder, and uses iteration, divergence, and convergence.  This is a very broad category and includes such a wide range of things such as writing, engineering, and product design.  As a result it occurred to me that the scope of this unit is quite large and will focus on more than just physical design, but will focus a lot on the process of design, which crosses almost all fields of learning.

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Design is Iterative

Whether the form of design in question is physical or involves emotions or words, all design is iterative.  It involves the act of repeating a process with the aim of approaching a desired goal or target or result.  If iteration was excluded from the design process, the end product would lack the same degree of ‘finish’ as if it is used.  This is because iteration allows the design to be improved upon time and time again, and allows for the revisiting and expansion of previous ideas, therefore increasing the quality of the end product.

[sugarcoatedcannonballs-blog]

“To design is to plan, to order, to relate, and to control.  In short, it opposes all means of disorder and accident.”  Emil Ruder.  This quote expresses a similar idea to that in the paragraph titled ‘Books as design’.  It conveys that design is more than just creating a physical object, but it encompasses all forms of planning which oppose disorder and accident.  If we take this into consideration then most things in our lives involve at least some form of design.  For example, what we have for breakfast is something that is planned, ordered, and controlled, as is the time we eat it.  Whether we consider ourselves creative or not, design will always be a part of our lives, and the processes of design are something which we deal in decision making every day of our lives.