Open Sourcery: When Hacker Culture Informs the Design Studio
By P. Harrop
Glossary Terms
Hacking - To program a computer in a clever, virtuosic, and wizardly manner. Ordinary computer jockeys merely write programs; hacking is the domain of digital poets. Hacking is a subtle and arguably mystical art, equal parts wit and technical ability, that is rarely appreciated by non-hackers.
Hack. (n.d.) Urban Dictionary. Retrieved November 28, 2013 from http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hack
Hegemony – The predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others
hegemony. (n.d.) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. (2003). Retrieved November 28 2013
from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hegemony
Techne - the principles or methods employed in making something or attaining an objective
Techne. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved November 28, 2013, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/techne
CNC – computer-numeric controlled (Mellis, et al., 2013, pg. 3307)
DRM – Digital Rights Management – arhitects have little control over the actual tools we use to make and represent things.
Haptic - relating to or based on the sense of touch. Characterized by a predilection for the sense of touch
Haptic. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved November 28, 2013, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/haptic
Quotes
“Rather than a top-down approach to knowledge, the anarchistic models of blogging...introduce a simple and distributive approach to invention.” (Harrop, 2007, pg. 70)
Had me thinking about trickle-down and trickle-up concepts that are related to fashion. Maker culture would definitely promote a trickle-up trend with the introduction, mastering and evolution of e-textiles.
“…making becomes a form of activism.” (Harrop, 2007, pg. 70)
Had not ever really considered this movement to be a form of activism, an interesting thought! Where does and will this activism take us. Where does it fit in? Does it fit into our education system? Are there challenges to encouraging this movement in schools?
“Haptic knowledge, necessary for true making, is only accessible from an intimate and evolving relation among a site, materials, and tools.” (Harrop, 2007, pg. 71)
Haptic knowledge is the knowledge gain directly through touch and to be a maker you need to experience the hands-on approach to your projects. There is a way of understanding and an evolution of an idea that can only be garnered through that type o process. Why are we not able to gain that same knowledge through a book, read how to do it and know how to do it? There are nuances that students gain from practical skills and the learning that not everyone does things the same and that what works for one will not work for another.
“To go beyond the limits of utility into the possibility of new programs for action, one needs the risk of aberration to evolve material and conceptual knowledge” (Harrop, 2007, pg. 71)
We need to teach our students to reach beyond what they even believe are their own limits and what limits that society places on them. We need them to take risk and to learn that failure is not a bad thing, it is merely a different way of learning. Nothing great ever came without risk.
“Hacking is a synthetic method of inquiry that provokes questions about more customary design processes.” (Harrop, 2007, pg. 71)
This is what we as teachers are looking for, is for our students to question the world around them and to critically think about things. Hacking is a great way to develop the skill of questioning.
References
Harrop, P. (2007), Open Sourcery. Journal of Architectural Education, 61: 69–72.
Mellis, D.; Follmer, S.; Hartmann, B.; Buechley, L.; and Gross, M.D. 2013. FAB at CHI: digital fabrication tools, design, and community. In CHI '13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Pgs. 3307- 3310. Retrieved November 27, 2013 from http://doi.acm.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1145/2468356.2479673
Hacking - To program a computer in a clever, virtuosic, and wizardly manner. Ordinary computer jockeys merely write programs; hacking is the domain of digital poets. Hacking is a subtle and arguably mystical art, equal parts wit and technical ability, that is rarely appreciated by non-hackers.
Hack. (n.d.) Urban Dictionary. Retrieved November 28, 2013 from http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hack
Hegemony – The predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others
hegemony. (n.d.) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. (2003). Retrieved November 28 2013
from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hegemony
Techne - the principles or methods employed in making something or attaining an objective
Techne. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved November 28, 2013, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/techne
CNC – computer-numeric controlled (Mellis, et al., 2013, pg. 3307)
DRM – Digital Rights Management – arhitects have little control over the actual tools we use to make and represent things.
Haptic - relating to or based on the sense of touch. Characterized by a predilection for the sense of touch
Haptic. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved November 28, 2013, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/haptic
Quotes
“Rather than a top-down approach to knowledge, the anarchistic models of blogging...introduce a simple and distributive approach to invention.” (Harrop, 2007, pg. 70)
Had me thinking about trickle-down and trickle-up concepts that are related to fashion. Maker culture would definitely promote a trickle-up trend with the introduction, mastering and evolution of e-textiles.
“…making becomes a form of activism.” (Harrop, 2007, pg. 70)
Had not ever really considered this movement to be a form of activism, an interesting thought! Where does and will this activism take us. Where does it fit in? Does it fit into our education system? Are there challenges to encouraging this movement in schools?
“Haptic knowledge, necessary for true making, is only accessible from an intimate and evolving relation among a site, materials, and tools.” (Harrop, 2007, pg. 71)
Haptic knowledge is the knowledge gain directly through touch and to be a maker you need to experience the hands-on approach to your projects. There is a way of understanding and an evolution of an idea that can only be garnered through that type o process. Why are we not able to gain that same knowledge through a book, read how to do it and know how to do it? There are nuances that students gain from practical skills and the learning that not everyone does things the same and that what works for one will not work for another.
“To go beyond the limits of utility into the possibility of new programs for action, one needs the risk of aberration to evolve material and conceptual knowledge” (Harrop, 2007, pg. 71)
We need to teach our students to reach beyond what they even believe are their own limits and what limits that society places on them. We need them to take risk and to learn that failure is not a bad thing, it is merely a different way of learning. Nothing great ever came without risk.
“Hacking is a synthetic method of inquiry that provokes questions about more customary design processes.” (Harrop, 2007, pg. 71)
This is what we as teachers are looking for, is for our students to question the world around them and to critically think about things. Hacking is a great way to develop the skill of questioning.
References
Harrop, P. (2007), Open Sourcery. Journal of Architectural Education, 61: 69–72.
Mellis, D.; Follmer, S.; Hartmann, B.; Buechley, L.; and Gross, M.D. 2013. FAB at CHI: digital fabrication tools, design, and community. In CHI '13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Pgs. 3307- 3310. Retrieved November 27, 2013 from http://doi.acm.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1145/2468356.2479673