We observe the world around us and learn its structure by
abstracting cause and effect, and by documenting recurring
solutions obtained under different conditions. Such empirical
rules, representing regularities of behavior, are called
"patterns." Visual patterns are the simplest expression of the
pattern concept (Salingaros, 1999). Many patterns are hard-wired
into our mind: we inherit actions and reactions that guarantee our
survival. Other patterns have to be learned, and form an
artificial extension of the human mind. The ability to observe
patterns gives us the human advantage of both adapting to, and
changing our environment. Of course, the complexity enveloping a
pattern in each specific setting has to be partially cleared so as
to get at its basic mechanism.
The language of a group of patterns forms the groundwork for
any discipline. Learned pattern languages -- not intrinsic to the
human mind -- were carefully preserved in the past. Many patterns
of human relations are codified into religions, myths, and
literary epics. A collective intelligence develops from pooling
discoveries accumulated over generations. This process is entirely
general. The sciences rely on mathematics for the ability to
organize data and explain phenomena by means of regularities, or
logical patterns (Steen, 1988). Breakthroughs occur when patterns
in one area link to patterns in other areas.
Contents contributed and discussions participated by michelemmartin
Playing With All Sorts of New Possibilities (December 2011) « The Berkana Ins... - 0 views
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Some good examples/ideas related to play.
the giving field - 1 views
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Lately, I have spent much of my time studying places of service: schools, community organizations, advocacy groups, healthcare facilities. Those that are most alive and vibrant have in common a kind of blessed confusion about who is giving to whom. People, no matter their role, seem infused with a gentle and expectant gratitude as they interact with each other. A doctor enters an examining room, preparing to be cared for. A professor wonders how her students will teach her to understand the world in new ways. A soup kitchen volunteer is ready to find her spirit nourished by the person she is serving. In each encounter of service there comes a choice. We can continue to awkwardly push our skills and expertise at someone or we can remember to take a step back, breathe and say, "Here I am. Meet me, and we will both receive something we could never find on our own." This perspective is simple, but its implications for the various personal and institutional calls to service we participate in - healing, nurturing, instructing, speaking for - are drastic and disarmingly hopeful. In my own work as a teacher, writer, and community practitioner, I find that I am most helpful to others when I am most reverent toward what they are offering me. I think this is true because what we are called to give is also what we most fiercely need. A gift is a perfect conspiracy, meant to open us up to the possibility of becoming something new. What is asked of us, then, is simply that we pay attention.
NCDD Resource Center » Beginner's Guide - 0 views
Anatomy of a Pattern Language - 1 views
Untitled Document - 0 views
Pattern Languages: Social DNA for conscious evolution of social systems - Random Commun... - 2 views
Phila. art installation examines the nexus of language, power and culture - NewsWorks - 1 views
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This seems like a great social artist example to me.
Applying "A Pattern Language" To Online Community Design | Smashing Magazine - 1 views
A Pattern Language for Pattern Writing - 1 views
18 Ways To Inspire Everyone Around You - 2 views
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These seem like good strategies for social artists . . .
50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind - 2 views
The Surprisingly Complex Art of Urban Wayfinding - Design - The Atlantic Cities - 2 views
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This idea of wayfinding and making spaces user-friendly seems like a social artist kind of skill, although applied differently than in finding your way around a city. I wonder how we might be able to borrow some of these concepts though to help people navigate new environments?
Candy Chang - 1 views
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Candy Chang uses art to explore ways to make cities more comfortable and contemplative. She really feels like a social artist in action to me!
michelemmartin