It seems Wurman took quite a novel approach to teaching: “I always teach from my ignorance and what I want to learn about.” I often hear the best way to truly understand your subject is through teaching, so perhaps Wurman’s method reinforces his understanding and retention of new information. In some of my past courses I think professors forgot how difficult it was to grasp new concepts, especially after teaching a subject for many years.
Wurman says “Great architecture is sometimes referred to as frozen music. I would like to think of my books as being frozen conversations.” The latter statement is puzzling to me, because I think of conversations as filled with all sorts of confusing signals to misinterpret such as intonation, gestures and expressions, and meaningless formalities necessary to polite, politically correct dialogue. Contrarily, I would hope a successful information architect strives to communicate in as concise and clear a langauge as possible.
In his surprising criticism of AIGA, Wurman implies the organization is more concerned with aesthetics than content. This reminded me of 1964’s “First Things First, a Design Manifesto” and the struggle of reputable designers to improve their image and take responsiblility for what their design is communicating. While aesthetics are certainly important, the knowledge shared through design, even so subtle as a subliminal message of awareness sent to the unsuspecting audience, is a true sign a success.
Wurman truly validates my sentiments of high school. I am still asking myself just how much useful knowledge I gathered from the whole painful experience.
I agree that television and film are not all robbing us of brain cells. I have a few shows I am faithful to, I also cannot stand reality TV, and I agree that as with many domains, there are examples of terrible failures and beautiful, inspiring stories that should be celebrated.
At one point, VanPatter says that criticism of Wurman comes with the territory. Some say that criticism is a form of flattery, which I think is true because it’s a sign you’re proactive and people are taking notice of your work. You can never please everyone, and I think a lot of the more hateful critics are only seeking publicity than offering useful advice.
I don’t suppose Wurman will be offering a $4000+ (!!!) scholarship to his EG conference, so a visit to his simplfied site (FYI: http://www.eg2006.com/) will have to suffice as my vicarious experience…
I am so very impressed Marcie.. so well written!! I envy your expression power;) No seriously, you have put down your thoughts so beautifully!! I thoroughly enjoyed going through your reflections.
I had similar opinions on many aspects like the high school learning, about television, aesthetics, the EG conference etc. But my way of expressing was much different (I’ll be posting soon.. ). Yours is like saying a lot with just few words. Its interesting!
I agree with Tanu, wonderfully written. I like his comment about how he teaches, but it leaves me to wonder if he is cutting his students short. If two years ago he taught and learned something interesting, will he not teach it again because he already understands it? I do agree with you about the teachers. Many know the subject matter so well, they forget how to simplify and teach it.
Frozen conversations are very confusing to me. I love having conversations with many people. I love how they get excited and I am always interested in their sense of humor. I am not sure what his frozen conversations would hold.
High school, although thoroughly enjoyable for me, was not retained well. I could tell you whom I’d talked to between classes, but not so much of the classes. I was just trying to get through the day so I could go to my practices and work. I enjoyed school because of the social interaction, not because of the learning experience.
I also agree with you to a large extent about criticism. I often take it to heart and then to flattery. This is because I have realized that there are some people who will critics anything just to piss someone off. This is ignorance in my book and I find it offensive. The trick is to separate the true critics from the rest and then decide how to take them.
Good insights, Marcie.
I was particularly inspired by Wurman’s approach to teaching when I taught my first semester at WVU two years ago. That’s not to say that I was teaching to learn something new myself—rather it gave me the confidence to teach outside the boundaries of what I considered to be my true expertise.
You question his characterization of his books as “frozen conversations”, citing a number of qualities found in conversation that may hinder understanding. What qualities of conversation could enhance a book?