The past couple weeks have been busy in a great way. My thesis topic has changed direction significantly, I may be starting a new internship in the next days, and my projects page finally got some needed attention, though it could use plenty more.
The main reason for writing now (other than time-stamping life again) is to direct attention to this manifesto by Eric Paulos, I came across today. Nice!
Instructor: Robert Faludi
Contemporary interaction designers and artists often manipulate scientific, historical, commercial and social information. Literacy in design, art or engineering requires the complement of literacy in data. This class makes a powerful additions to your skill set of programming, visual design and electronics. Students become conversant in the tools available for extracting insightful information from real-world samples. In this class we learn about the “lies, damn lies and statistics” that are encountered in our daily information feeds. Basic training is provided in a variety of handy methods for interpretation and manipulation of data, yet no math beyond some simple arithmetic is required for completing this course. Materials are visually oriented, and the focus is on concepts rather than on mechanics. Exercises include analyzing maps, building physical models and exploring information via accessible computer simulations. Short projects teach how to understand where data comes from, what it looks like and what it means. Students learn how to transform data in ways that avoid distortions, reveal truths and grandly illuminate their ideas.
A class-wide assignment for CraftingWithData is to build a quincunx. There have been several interesting approaches by different classmates (walking map, processing, monkey, play station, pyramid, plastic champagne glasses, garbonzo beans). You can view a plan, some photos, and a video of mine below. It’s not quite complete, but I’m not sure how much more effort will go this way.
I think I really spent a lot more time on this project than maybe I should have, but it was addictive to in the shop using my hands and away from the screen. Using the saws, drills, sanders, and other tools with the plexi and metal was pretty fun. Jason Krugman helped me out alot, first by providing marbles for me to use and second by suggesting materials and methods. He also recommended checking out a cool store called Metalliferous. Jason, thanks for your knowledge, usage of your bits, etc, etc.
These links are also worth a look: bean machine + this is sand.
There’s a belief that life in New York is a race, more so than in other parts of the country and the world. I sense that …yea for sure, but I’m actually more inclined to support the idea that belief is a matter of perspective, and perspective should be semi-controllable, hopefully to a healthy level. Last night, I stepped back and puffed on a nice cigar (old men do that at least once a year right) and reflected by watching my entire flickr photostream. Today, my perspective is loaded — honestly, it’s overloaded and fuzzy as hell. For me, moving forward is crucial, but keeping up a rapid pace seems increasingly difficult and decreasingly significant. As I begin the final lap at ITP and start to see how being 30 might look, anxiety is saying “hello there” … I wonder if I need to shift into turbo mode, focus on well-being and balance, or something completely different. I’m pretty sure I just need some air, a great meal, or a tough workout.
Anyway, on a practical note, I’ve generated some names for the projects I’m currently persuing.
For next semester, I’m thinking of thesis, another class, and an internship…(RGA? BAM? Frog? Schematic? IDEO?…hrmm)
This week, we read more chapters of The Lady Tasting Tea (3, 4, and 5), by David Salsburg. It was more science/stats history about Gosset, Fisher, and Pearson…
I also laid out a detailed plan for the quincunx and collected some marbles (thanks Jason). I scanned the basic sketches, and decided to build a mini-version with three pegs followed by a larger one with ten pegs. In class, we heard more about each others NYC study projects, and we went over binomials and
After gathering approx 45 records from the initial survey and having a brief class discussion, I’ve decided to switch gears to obtain a different data set. I hope to get some quality feedback in class today.
The new survey structure will have four parts:
1. Current location and duration at residence.
2. Next location: Where. When. Why.
3. Previous locations and duration.
4. Suggestions.
Also, we had another reading from the Canon about probabilities, and were assigned to flip a coin or imagine to flip a coin 100 times. My results are available on google spreadsheets.
A new assignment was given for this week’s class: Prepare a one-paragraph proposal for the following study: “Think of a question about New York and gather some data that answers it. Is the express train worth the wait? Is there a prime street for dog-watching? Are people in DUMBO smarter than people in RAMBO?” Tell us what you want to study, what you expect to find, and how you will collect the data.
My response to the second stirred up several ideas around restaurants, transportation, entertainment, nature, music listening patterns, exercise, shopping, school systems, political activity, sense of isolation versus connectivity, drivers… with different goals including personal interest, financial gain, assistive, education, or artistic value. I’ve decided on the concept below.
John Tukey and other mathematicians worked to differentiate between modes of analysis in the 60’s and 70’s. EDA treats data as more than the support for existing knowledge; instead, data is viewed as a source of new ideas and hypotheses. Some key points when thining of EDA are below:
“Self-Portrait: Data is factual information; science finds its story. But data isn’t only about science so we can turn that on its head. Find data for your own story. Create a self-portrait, using data.”
I recorded the time I got into and out of bed each night/morning of the week, as well as the temperature outside my window and state of the sky. The margin of error with the times is 5 or 10 minutes. For temperature, it is within 2 degrees. It might be interesting to see if there could exist a correlation between the data and my state of mind. However, since “state of mind” is seriously subjective, I guess it would be nearly impossible to disprove anything specific, and therefore difficult to use this measurement in support of drawing any type of correlation. The data can be seen on a spreadsheet here. This self-portrait mainly tells me that I may actually be getting too much sleep during these post-employment weeks (smile). I also needed some serious rest after being attacked and dancing the following night…
Following class and hearing about the ways in which some of my peers approached the assignment, I felt my approach was a bit shallow and lacked the unique quality, which self-portraits should maybe have. I realized that I chose “sleep time” because I’ve been somewhat focused on the notion of rest and dreams lately, and tracking the hours and minutes was simple and labor light. Perhaps, it’s because I am indulging in much more of this time than I previously could while working. Anyway, other data sets I could have chosen as a reflection of myself are scars/injuries timeline, vacation locations, introductions to techie devices or platforms, favorite musical artists, a visualization of my passport, a map of my calendar data, my sneaker purchases…
Lady Tasting Tea: The first two chapters of David Salsburg’s book about the history of statistics discuss ideas from several famous scientists including Ronald Fisher, Karl Pearson, Francis Galton and Charles Darwin. Normal distribution seems to be the most relevant piece to understand in the context of a course about data. Parameters to note are: the mean, the standard deviation, symmetry, and kurtosis.
The Function of Measurement in Modern Physical Science by Thomas Kuhn was a bit difficult to absorb — it seems that the hand-out is fractured. However, Kuhn starts with a direct, summarizing statement: “Both as an ex-physicist and as an historian of physical science I feel sure that, for at least a century and a half, quantitative methods have indeed been central to the development of the fields I study. On the other hand, I feel equally convinced that our most prevalent notions both about the function of measurement and about the source of its special efficacy are derived largely from myth.”
Another component of this week’s assignment was to play an old game called Mastermind (thanks for the new link Ryan). At first, it just made my mind ache, but after a few games, it was somewhat satisfying and kinda fun. See my progress w some images here:
