miscellaneous ramblings on design philosophy

I like aesthethics. Engineering a new piece of technology that's novel and works wonders, yet simple and reliable. No patchwork designs allowed, where imperfections in design are spotted at last minute, and patches are added (adding complexity and part count too) to make it work. That makes a design more complicated, when it could have worked desirably with better design and less components. This is art.

Artificial intelligence probably sounds better in its acronymn form, AI. The combination of two letters looks simpler and more aesthetically pleasing. It also hides the word "artificial". This is such a notorious word; it carries the implications of imperfection, especially in the realm of robotics, where artificial, man-made creations pale in comparison to the beautiful creations of mother nature. Nature is such a brilliant engineer, architect, artist. We can only seek to emulate her...we've not surpassed her even though many people would like to think so by making mental references to our 'giant' land-clearing machines whose sheer 'size and power' seemingly dominates the land. Most of us probably haven't realised that nature's subtlety is a very good lesson in engineering. The masculine part of us has forgotten subtlety and simplicity and given disproportionate attention to 'raw power' and strength.


hmm i wonder if i'm making much sense. surely i do agree with the above, and it certainly reflects my design philosphy, but i sensed a lack of sincerity as i typed the previous paragraph. that's a little cause for concern. =P