in the last class, urico said that we should explain our past work and our drive for pursuing our current thesis topics and i completely agree. eric encouraged us to talk and give feedback and i haven't contributed much yet not because i'm shy or that i have a language barrier, but because i feel detached from most of the projects. so even if i wanted to, i don't feel compelled to say anything of substance. perhaps when i see the projects in some shape, no matter how amorphous, i will be able to ask better questions and offer constructive advice. as for my own thesis, it is somewhat difficult to show that what i want to do has any relation to my past projects at ITP. i often feel like my path here was shifted into a confusing array of work that has nothing to do with any one thing and certainly none of it embodied all of my interests. but i hope to accomplish this with my thesis.
the other day, a friend asked me what i wanted to do now that i'm close to graduation (the most dreaded question one can ask an ITP student) not to be a cop out, but i said that just want to make good design, interactive or not. it's very broad but ultimately i want to have a good understanding of the psychology of the users and then take whatever their needs are to create a product that can aid, educate, enlighten...ideally, that product won't only be screen based. i've always had an interest in bridging physcial and virtual worlds. physical because i enjoy the process of building and the tactile nature of being able to stroke, tug, or push with the hands. virtual because we can make any environment we envision in our minds more quickly than we can in the physical world. and i think there hasn't been enough exploration in interfaces that marry the two.
this is relevant to the conceptual side of my thesis idea in that it is about recording one's life. this is of course at a much heftier scale and is used as a "memory prosthesis". since the mind works by association, digitally documenting a lifetime's worth of information will refresh a failing memory. "People recall information in part by remembering where they were, what else was happening, and who they were with." i'd like to also add: what they were doing and what mental task they were performing.
mine used to be architecture and the design of a space that's functionally and aesthetically attuned to the inhabitants. that has evolved to designing for interaction on a much smaller scale.
i have a growing interest in cognitive science and how people's lives and habits are shaped by the objects they have to consciously manipulate and how "things" evoke and create memories.
mnemonics is defined as a system to preserve memory. that's not exactly what i would like to explore but it's relevant. i would like to see if someone's work can be better identified through a physical interface.
"we carry memories throughout our lives and each memory makes a connection to another...it sparks creativity...in order to remember, you need an active imagination..."
thesis (n): set of ideas that make a proposal.
today is the first day of thesis class. let the fun begin.
i am in Eric Zimmerman's thesis seminar. i am psyched to begin work and to see what the other students in my class will come up with.
mira, christine, shayna, alex/dennis, josh, pat , yuriko, yoonjung, ari/xu.
some tips from eric about thesis project:
-it shouldn't be general
-manage the scope/process (choose your battles)
-perform iterative process of prototyping ~ testing ~ changing
-do copious amounts of research
-choose an outside advisor
-follow your passion
my thesis topic has been tentatively coined "personal history thru physical form"
i need to think up a sexier title.