On September 17, 02009 I spoke at Pecha Kucha Night. The full script is available. Below is a pre-recorded version of the deck.

References and Further Learning

For the principles upon which computers are based, read the short book The Pattern on the Stone by Danny Hillis.

For the advent of computation in materials and digital fabrication, see the work of Neil Gershenfeld from MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms.

For a business case supporting interaction design in software products, look no further than The Inmates are Running the Asylum by Alan Cooper.

For a treatise on the realities of organizing and managing software projects, see The Mythical Man-Month by Fred Brooks.

For a treatise on the managing of knowledge work and workers, the prolific Peter Drucker is indispensable. I chose the aptly-titled Management.

For a highly technical treatise and method on the generic process of solving complex design problems, consult Notes on the Synthesis of Form by Christopher Alexander.

For a treatise and method of solving mathematical problems, read How to Solve It by George Pólya.

Slide Image Credits

Slides without explicit credit are my own.

  1. Functional semilattices, plan and cross-section, drawn by Nikos Salingaros for Christopher Alexander's A City is Not a Tree, Part I.
  2. Self-portrait
  3. Le rêve de Babar from Le Roi Babar, Jean de Brunhoff
  4. Scan from notebook
  5. Excerpt from site map
  6. Rendering of structure of computational material, Keita Teranishi
  7. Lego factory, mmetchley@Flickr
  8. Patent 3005282, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen
  9. Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Prelinger Archives
  10. Snake oil by ognam@Flickr
  11. The Emperor's New Clothes by Vilhelm Pedersen
  12. Spin by cmogle@Flickr
  13. Git-R-Dun by silvers@Flickr
  14. Earth at Night by C. Mayhew & R. Simmon, NASA
  15. Sketch of alternative processes for realizing creative work
  16. Television commercial production by BJ Harrower
  17. Raspberry cake by london@Flickr
  18. How to Solve It cover by Carmina Alvarez-Gaffin
  19. Sketch of the role of a system, UX or interaction designer
  20. No art on slide 20.