I enjoyed this weeks lecture, although the lead up was a little odd. It may be because my tute only had 3 people, but although my question was answered, I felt in the tute I was awkwardly forced to make up a question that I really didn’t need answered. I eventually came up with a question, but I honestly didn’t have anything to ask at this point, which means when it was answered I was just kind of like, “…cool.” I just wonder if the other questions on the list that weren’t answered were ones that people really wanted discussed. I feel like perhaps maybe I cheated them out of getting their question answered… But since attending the lecture, I will say that I enjoyed the discussion that came from my question, and it seemed like other members of the cohort were interested too, so that’s good.

My question was the one about whether the things we publish online are validated only after someone else reads/ consumes/ acknowledges them. I already was aware that publishing my work online is an important aspect for me, a way of reflecting and organising my thoughts, like a journal, OR a visual diary! One of my first posts on this blog (well it was my second one to be exact) was about how the ‘Ocean of ideas’ thing reminded me of the importance of keeping a visual diary. Turns out I was correct, keeping this blog is just like how it was keeping a visual diary, but no so much visual as written. It’s nice when things make a loop like that, when they come back, something that happens frequently when you organise your thoughts like this.

I had a cool epiphany when I realised that my blog doesn’t really exist, the page isn’t there waiting for me, it just appears when someone seeks out its content. Trippy. Also the idea that every time we hyperlink out to something else (which I have done a fair bit), we are building the web that is the internet. We are making connections.

Additionally, the idea of writing for an imagined audience. I never really thought about it like that, but i do keep this blog in my style; the way i write, the flowers under the header, all that, so I guess my readership would be people who think like me, or like my style. So yeah, the blog isn’t just constructed randomly, I make sure it is something I can be proud of, and hopefully that style of what I think is good, also appeals to other people.

Overall, although when I posed the question I was like ‘I have to make up a question before I leave class so this will do,’ the discussion that sprouted from it was really enjoyable. Each academic had something interesting to say and add, as well as the students; I liked the comparison of our blogs to trees that fall when nobody is around, or TV shows that nobody watches, and discussing whether they have value because of that existence. I equally enjoyed the panel’s explanation and discussion of this thought, the difference between what something is, and what it means; another epiphany inducing statement.

So I guess what I took from the events preceding this lecture, as well at the lecture itself, is that it is worth reflecting and discussing, because that is how you generate new ideas.

Out of the 3 lecture videos this week, the one I was most interested in was Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk. Particularly with the idea that schools kill creativity. We touched on this idea in a previous lecture, something about possums and kangaroos, and the way children see them in comparison to the way adults see them. Anyway, I just realised how true it is. Because I remember when were were choosing electives we wanted to do in year 10, and I wanted to do art, design, that whole deal, but I wasn’t able to because my coordinators thought it would be more useful if I continued Japanese instead of art, a subject I despised. Nothing against languages, languages are fun, its just the class that I didn’t like, for reasons outlined in this TED talks. I wasn’t good at Japanese, and it meant that in every class I would get things wrong, so I didn’t want to continue the subject. I know with languages there is a clear right and wrong, its not creative, but I know what it feels like to be that kid who keeps getting things wrong, and if that subject was art or design or something, I would have definitely stopped trying to be creative and I would’ve stuck to what was safe and what other people are doing. Because in school, being wrong is embarrassing, you know?

Actually at the moment I have been on and off teaching myself Korean language, and I have learned and remembered more from that then I did with 3.5 years of learning Japanese. Because in the comfort of my own home, yeah I get things wrong, but there isn’t the stigma attached to it, the teacher doesn’t give you that look of ‘wow, did you really just say that?’ and this means that I am happier continuing my education in this field, because I’m not afraid to be wrong.

And with specific reference to creative tasks, I have mentioned year 12 art a few times on this blog, possibly because it was a favourite subject of mine. But my former classmates and I all agree, that most people in the art world don’t like showing people ‘works in progress,’ particularly with technical drawing, photo-realism etc. Sure in the end its going to look great, but before you are finished, some things are in the wrong position and you have to re-do them, and some things don’t look right, and artists can see that and correct them, hence the title ‘work in progress.’ But there were so many occasions when we would be working away in the art rooms, only having just started a drawing or something, and ‘school tours’ would come around and look at what we are doing. The tour lady would make some rude remarks about whose art looks better up on the walls, and would shoot us judgmental glares if we were working on something sub-par, a kind of, “cant you make it look like the school makes good artists?” kind of look. If I was younger and more sensitive, I might have decided that I should just not do art, because I’m wrong, its not good enough, but luckily by age 17/18 I was able to decide the lady was just being a jerk instead.

In short, I would hate for anyone to think their creativity is inadequate, because, well, the TED talk explains why.

The audience involvement this week was fun! Even though I didn’t really contribute, I still felt it kept the lecture more interesting, but still, I walked away without any specific idea about it, perhaps because although there was a ‘theme,’ it all seemed like stuff we had kind of covered in the previous week in regards to design fiction. I think the best thing, would have been to have this lecture last week, and just have everyone make sure they’ve done the reading before the lecture. that way, people can do the readings, come to the lecture with questions about it, go home and write their blog posts about it having their questions answered, and then reflect in the tute. I know this ‘design fiction’ stuff is sort of carrying over as an idea, but I was ready for some new discussion and new ideas. Honestly the lecture felt kind of like a tutorial to me, which is fine, except that I had been at the tutorial a few days prior and wanted to expand and develop on these ideas just a bit more in the lecture. HOWEVER, I can’t say I zoned out or anything, it was still engaging, and is in accordance with the feedback that has been given so far, so a solid 7/10. Pretty enjoyable.