Creativity and Technology
I was in a meeting very recently. In a discussion on promotional material bookmarks were suggested. Some thought that this would not exude a high tech image. One wag referred to them as “anti-social bookmarks” with a wry smile. The bookmarks idea did have a nice ring to it though. It’s retro and bookmarks are a great technology.
What is technology anyway? Why is the old fashioned bookmark great technology? Because, obviously enough, it makes life easier, more enjoyable and makes us more productive. Technology is the tools that make life better. But the best tools don’t make life better the best. The best people do. Good users, good technologists, are the ones that know their tools well. And the very best are those that are not only the most skilled but also the most creative.
My aunt. Her five kids are talking, eating and vying for her attention while she conducts a conversation with my mother. One of the youngest kids is complaining that his sausage is too hot to eat. She picks up the sausage and runs it under the cold tap before handing it back to the now happy child. All the while she conducted a conversation with my Mother. Now that was expert and creative use of a cold water tap. Without doubt the quickest way to cool a sausage. The tool was within arm’s reach but most people wouldn’t have thought of using it. Parenting requires ingenuity and, such as in this case, technical prowess.
What tools have you used creatively?
Eamon:
Great reminder. How often have you drank a beverage because the mouthful of food was too hot?
Also, just because you can use a certain item of technology and you may excel at it doesn’t make the item great technology. For example - a screwdriver may be used as an ice pick or a chisel, etc.
I’d have to say my favorite retro technology is the paper clip. Oh so useful the forgotten paper clip is - and I’n not talking the one in Microsoft Office.
@Mark re using a screwdriver as an ice-pick/chisel there is another good saying that may be apt: If you have a hammer everything looks like a nail
exactly. The difference between elegance and brute force. It applies to learning too, although one could argue which is more effective.
Eamon
Without getting too philosophical…the most creative use of technology I have seen recently is a classic case of ‘less is more’…
I had an ‘a-ha’ moment when watching a video in Italian with a language teacher. She noted in passing that stripping out the audio (or indeed just turning the sound down) would allow students to use their imagination by creating their own dialogues/add dubbed voice-overs/sub-titles etc. All of this just by turning down the volume!
Easy peasy! Even for a wag
@Paul
Very interesting example - taking bells and whistles out can create something new and interesting.
This is a bit like SMS. SMS looks like a retrograde technology compared to email. It costs vastly more to transmit per KB and the character limit is paltry. It also looks like a lesser technology than full voice telephony.
But SMS is great precisely because it contains less information. Things that contain less information and where that information can be bundled or oragnised quicker are more managable and scalable.
Maybe we should be asking, as technologists, what can we take out rather than what can we add.
Take the editing function out of your recording software. You’ll try harder to get it right first time, once it’s good enough you’ll stop. really saves a lot of time.
Hi Brian. That makes a lot of sense. I remember reading somewhere (perhaps Edward de Bono) that we spend much of our learning effort trying to unlearn bad habits. Concentration on getting things right from the outset appears to be very important.
- Eamon