[geeks] MP3 in car

[Dave McGuire]

On January 11, Jeff Borisch wrote:
> In addition to being into old Sun gear, (Thank you Bill) I am also working
> on a master's degree in Industrial Design at The Ohio State University. Part
> of my studies relate to the creative act of designing from available
> materials (junk (-: ). This idea is known as "bricolage" in the field of
> anthropology and was proposed by Claude Levi-Strauss.
> 
> A contemporary example of bricolage is the phenomenal popularity of building
> MP3 players into one's car. People are devising their own creations and
> acting as the product designer. (as we used to do, before mass production)
> People share advice and techniques through the web in a way that was not
> possible until very recently. Part of my hypothesis, is that the web is the
> main cultural medium for passing on a group's knowledge of toolmaking. I
> know it sounds kind of obvious, but to my knowledge this topic has not yet
> been looked at in this way.
> 
> If any of you have done this or know someone who has, and you or they would
> be willing to do a phone interview about your experiences, please contact
> me. I would also welcome any thoughts you all have to my ideas.

  It's cool that you're studying this.  I'd be interested in reading
your results.

  Though I must say...I find it frightening, and frankly disheartening,
that the idea of an individual designing and constructing something on
his or her own has become so rare and unusual that it is considered a
phenomenon to be studied!

  I say...If you're able...go forth, design, build...CREATE!  Shun the
conformal "molds" that mainstream society tries to force you into.
Remember, "mainstream" doesn't always mean "good"!  If you find that
you're in need of something, your first thought should of course be
"do I already have this".  But the second, for too many people, is
"where can I go buy it?" when it arguably should be "can I create this
reasonably?"

  Just a [very strong] opinion...if you disagree, remember how much
you paid me to share it with you! ;)

      -Dave

-- 
Dave McGuire
St. Petersburg, FL         "Less talk.  More synthohol." --Lt. Worf