New IDEO book, Thoughtless Acts

New IDEO book, Thoughtless Acts:

Quoting from David Pescovitz of boingboing:

Thoughtless Acts is an excellent little photo book from the brilliant minds at IDEO. Janet Fulton Suri, who directs human factors design at IDEO, compiled dozens of photographs illustrating how “we adapt, exploit, and react to things in our environment; things we do without really thinking.” From the introduction:

“Some actions, such as grabbing onto something for balance, are universal and instinctive. Others, such as warming hands on a hot mug or stroking velvet, draw on experiences so deeply embodied that they are almost unconscious. Sill more, such as hanging a jacket to claim a chair, have become spontaneous through habit or social learning. Observing such everyday interactions reveals subtle details about how we relate to the designed and natural world. This is key information and inspiration for design, and a good starting point for any creative initiative.”

The (Flash) Web site has a nice preview of the book and invites you to submit your own thoughtless acts to the growing collection. Still, the hardcopy, published by Chronicle Books, is a beautifully-designed objet d’art that’s well worth the cover price. And Suri’s essay at the end of the book reveals some of the lessons we can learn by opening our eyes to this fun and often-unconscious form of reality hacking.

Link

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

It took me a while - three months to be exact - to finish this book. But “finish” is an inadequate word in the sense my understanding of the book is close to nil when the author talks about the ancient Greek philosophers in the latter half of the book.

Nonetheless, I was drawn to the book because there were a lot of radical, yet seemingly original philosophy offered by the author, Robert Pirsig, and when he put in the context of motorcycle maintenance, it was actually not too difficult to understand.

The book made me think hard. Perhaps that is why it took me so long to read it. I would read a few pages, put it down and ponder a few days about what it said and then repeat the cycle.

If there is one thing that I learned from the book, it is the concept of “Quality” and to achieve that one must show not only classical but romantic understanding on a subject in which “Quality” is desired.

Fast Food Nation

I finally finished reading this book (First Perennial edition with the a new afterword), and can recommend it to anyone who eats fast food but don’t know exactly what they are eating. Fast Food Nation reveals a lot about how fast food giants such as McD has changed not just the fast food industry, but the industries supporting it (e.g. meatpacking industry) as well as the health of not just US citizens but people of nations where (mostly) American fast food are served. Needless to say the book does not present the fast food industry in a good light, but I believe the author has done a fair job in reporting the problems of the industry.

Since the book mostly deals with the fast food industry in the US (with only one chapter covering overseas), I would also like to see studies (books or documentaries) of how fast food is affecting other nations, especially Japan and China.

John M.’s Travel Site

I stumbled upon this site (http://www.scroll.demon.co.uk/travel.htm) that is written by a well-travelled guy named John M.
In particular, check out his “The South American Travelogue site”. It’s a good read.

Finished reading William Least

Finished reading William Least Heat Moon’s Blue Highway this morning. Here are at least two things I learned from the book: 1) Least Heat Moon’s book works because he talks to people, and 2) people, in general, are suspicious of those who wander.

Old Houses

Ever have an urge to go and check out the old houses where you once lived? As the author of this story writes, “To go back is to reinhabit, for a moment, selves lost in the past.” I know I would like to go back to the apartment where my adolescent self spent many a time waging wars with my bros, and staring across the harbor at airplanes descending to a airport during frequent bouts of homework procrastination.

Free as in Freedom

Free as in Freedom: whether you believe in free software or not I promise this would make a good read if you are related to the software business in any way. Besides, you can read the whole thing online - for free - thanks to the book’s author Sam Williams and of course, Richard Stallman, who is the subject of the book.

Funny

So far, one of the funniest quote I have encountered on Pico Iyer’s The Global Soul is: “Perhaps the greatest danger of our global community is that the person in LA thinks he knows Cambodia because he’s seen The Killing Fields on-screen, and the newcomer from Cambodia thinks he knows LA because he’s seen City of Angels on video.”

This guy rigged a camera

This guy rigged a camera onto his truck and took a picture every mile while he drove across country from New York to San Francisco. Since he used a film camera and took 3304 photos, that’s 92 rolls of 36exp film!