When we return on the 22nd, bring a list of your projects and choose one: bring a reasoned discussion of why that is the most rewarding and challenging (the best) project for you to complete this semester.
We'll also discuss the next two chapters, up to 148. Or finish the book. It's certainly not a problem.
This book is on innovation and success is pretty exciting, maybe simply because it allows me to hear people talking about the subjects. But more than that, I think. It's exciting because it's very grounded theory. The examples and connections are powerful, and I want to use them as a writer (not just for cocktail party conversation). (And I wonder about his blog, too),
liquid networks
spillover
hunch
building 20 and building 99
commonplace journal
flow
environment
patterns
cultivation
global brain
My favorite is the term project. I see in "project" a compelling set of problems and the urge to organize and undertake a developing argument that propels one into a certain environment and requires the cultivation that Johnson discusses. I think Johnson has it wrong when he talks of inventions as the culmination of one man's work (and the germination of another's) -- or at least it's incomplete. A good project will elicit and direct thinking into new forms of the "adjunct possible," making a sinuous path that you, the writer, really can't predict. In fact, that is maybe the most valuable thing about a project: it is unpredictable. It requires the writer to hit the "sweet spot" between control and passivity, the same sort of stance that a skier or biker has to develop. New drivers, for instance, tend to oversteer; experienced drivers "feel the road" through the car and pay attention, but not too much attention, to what they are doing.
the environment is very important to critical thinking and creation of arts and projects. i wouldn't go to a toy factory to learn about chocolate and hiw it is mass produced
ReplyDeleteLiquid Networks:
ReplyDeleteJohnson's concept of the "liquid network," though a very simple concept, is essentially what all writers are looking for. One of the best ways to come up with new ideas and concepts is to gain feedback, essentially the main component of the liquid network. Johnson talks about the exponential increase in invention once societies moved out of small tribes and into more established urban areas. This same principle can be used on a smaller scale for serious writers among a community of their peers
Johnson's point about the liquid network is a biological one aimed to describe how ideas (both creative and non-creative) come into fruition. Like the carbons and their valance electrons in nature, the neurons in the brain connect and share better because they are a liquid network, sharing conductive space in the brain. This shared space leads to a network/communication that forms ideas; no eureka moments here. Since writing is a process, and since we possess literate minds, our thoughts and our writing are mutually linked to the point where they mirror each other. If ideas spurn from liquid networks (a process) writing too spurns from these same networks, because writing is an idea in the mind before it is words on the page. In writing, I guess one could say that possessing a large vocabulary or having a strong, accessible lexicon, is something that strengthens this network and allows writing to flow. The better your vocabulary is, the more versatile you are, and the better you can articulate a thought, sentence, point, etc.
ReplyDeleteBuilding 20 was an interesting topic. For some reason, being in a cheap and malleable building caused the inhabitants of that building to come up with very new and innovative ideas. I feel like people being able to move and alter their workspace allowed them to more easily move and alter ideas-- it's a subconscious thing. Other than being able to easily discuss and pass ideas between co-workers, people now didn't feel confined, there weren't any walls made of brick or steel to tell them where they could and could not go, what they could or could not do. Suddenly "bad" or unconventional ideas didn't seem so offensive, they could more easily bring them up in conversation, or even just hold on to them and let their hunches grow and solidify over time.
ReplyDeleteI think our discussion about environment is an important one. Zach made a great point about the library and how it suppresses ideas. It's a space where you are supposed to be quiet (for the most part) and there isn't much room to observe and find inspiration for writing. It's pretty much just black and white with a Word document and occasionally a little music to help out.
ReplyDeleteI find that environment has a lot to do with writing. When we were at Raquette Lake, it was nice to be able to get up in move. While we were allowed to sit in the classroom (anywhere we wanted, really... on the floor, in a chair, upside down, etc.), we could also go out and explore. We were allowed to talk to one another.
An environment that allows for discussion of writing is also an important one. I think part of what made Raquette Lake so successful was that we could talk to each other about our writing; we could talk about our successes, what we thought to be failures, and what we were having trouble with. It's not like the library where we might have someone shushing us or giving us dirty looks.
Johnson talks about an environment in which people are allowed to change. I think it's an interesting idea. I don't think I've ever seen an environment where the wall was a giant dry erase board or I was allowed to physically alter my space in order to breed creativity. I think it would be interesting to have a place like that within driving distance of wherever I'm living. It kind of sounds to me like a coffee shop on steroids. Coffee shops are often places where people hash out ideas and try to work through problems, but they are certainly not allowed to write on the walls or punch a hole through them. That would be considered vandalism and they would probably be escorted out by your "friendly" neighborhood police officer.
"Flow" certainly resonates with me as a writer, as I can't seem to write anything decent unless I get a real good groove going. (alliteration. hurray!)
ReplyDeleteAs I am having difficulty slipping into the "flow" at this time, and the blog managed to delete my entire first attempt at posting, that is all I have to say.
I'm constantly searching for my own building 20's and building 99's. As a kid I'd run around my house drawing on everything. My mother had an old rocking chair that she cherished, but when I was done with it, she owned a spaceship, complete with comfortable seating and plenty of multi-color buttons for imaginary lasers and throttle boosters.
ReplyDeleteI'm a comedian and I live with several musicians. When my housemates and I decided to set up a stage in our living room, complete with microphones, amps, and instruments, we thought we'd only be using it for practice but found ourselves constantly using it to have "jam sessions" and improvised madness that we sometimes work into performances.