[OpenDesign] The promise(s) of Open Design

Tue May 8 05:56:08 UTC 2012

Hi

We could quote Richard Sennett (in The Craftsman, 2008):

"In the history of handcrafts, closed knowledge-systems have tended towards short lifespans." p. 26

He contrasts both ancient potters and (Linux) programmers as craftspersons who share the "experimental rhythm of problem solving and problem finding" - with "bureaucrats unwilling to make a move until all the goals, procedures, and desired results for a policy have been mapped in advance. This is a closed knowledge system." 

(In pre-classical Greece the static system of wooden knife-making lost out to the more open and evolving system of metal knife-making - he cites this as an example.)

Bruce Sterling (in Shaping Things) writes, "A truly sustainable society has to be sustainable enough to prevail against the unforeseen. The unforeseen, by definition, can't be outplanned. This implies that serendipity is necessary. We can't know what we need to know; so there need to be large stores of unplanned knowledge." 

Cheers
Cindy in Helsinki 

On 7 May 2012, at 22.47, Dr. Peter Troxler wrote:

> Hi all
> 
> if you were to address 120 designers and design enthusiasts about Open Design -- how would you describe the "promise(s) of Open Design"?
> 
> / Peter
> 
> Disclosure: I'll be speaking tomorrow night at a-z in Hasselt on Open Design … will include your responses as original quotes
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