Birthdays never get old (pun intended).
Every year for the past three years, since watching this episode of How I Met Your Mother, I write myself a letter on my birthday. The letter started as one from a younger me to an older me. Eventually, the focus changed to writing from an older me to a younger me. That is, from future-me to current-me. Does it sound twisted yet? Let this paragraph from last year’s later explain:
I get it now. I get why the letter is from an older me to a younger me, even though it is an older me that will be reading it. It is because of the importance of retaining a consistent idea of what future David should be like. In writing to a younger me, I am merely reinforcing the image of the future which I need to be working toward. Now, this is not very straightforward, David, but you have been known to complicate things. Deal with it.
Hey we got the magic! You’re the only one who can keep me dancing.
This is such a beautiful song, I had to post it up here. Its interesting because I have been reading “Exposing the Magic of Design” by John Kolko, a very engaging book that explains the often ignored/overlooked part of the creative process known as ‘synthesis’. By heavily referencing academic research and other publications, John Kolko weaves together a very intricate picture of the belts and bolts behind creative solutions and the process of creative design. He writes about the difference between market research and design research – a very interesting conceptual dichotomy that you can learn more about here.
He also writes about the difference between deductive, inductive and abductive arguments. In simplest terms, deductive arguments contain premises that logically guarantee the truth of their conclusions. For instance, A is B, all Bs are Cs… A is deductively C. Its the thinking behind most basic algebra. Inductive arguments offer sound evidence that something might be true based on structural evidence. For instance, each time I do A under thesame conditions, B occurs. Inductively, the next time I do A under thesame conditions, B will occur. Its the logic associated with scientific inquiry. Abductive reasoning is where the magic happens. If I do A, B occurs. I’ve done something similar to A before, but the circumstances were not exactly the same. I’ve seen something like B before, but the circumstances were not the same. I’m able to abduct that C is the reason B is occurring. Only abductive reasoning allows for the creation of new knowledge and insight – and the conclusion may turn out to be true.
Hmmm, how did that digression happen? Was it… Magic? Check out some more awesome tunes from The Knocks.
Well, I didn’t end up attending the Basic Art/Studio class that I signed up for – simply because I’m unlikely to be able to give it the attention it deserves. So I have decided to buy a few books and take to self-tutoring, the best way – anyway. A little sketch here as I hone my skills and struggle to sustain my interest in drawing and art. Enjoy!
By the way Nucco, there are lashes on these ones. ha!
