Rachel Armstrong: Creating Repairing Our World Through The Most-Efficient Method of All

     When one thinks of the process of architecture, what are the first thoughts that come to mind? Drafting, planning, aggregation, appealing to the client, and the overall building of the structure, for these would seem to be the likeliest transcendence of events in creating a finished architectural product, correct? Well, what if before every previous event likely to happen, one was enlightened to a new breakthrough technology that would ultimately change the thought process of architecture entirely? That is exactly the idea that Berkley School of Architecture designer, Rachel Armstrong presented to her audience at her TED talk in Oxford, England. Her idea is, that carefully engineered micro-"organisms" called ProtoCells, which do not actually contain DNA (therefore not truly being considered an organism) can be used to change the field of architecture forever. Developed by her and a colleague at Berkley, these cells are created through a careful process of genetic engineering contain within themselves their own unique traits of moving, changing, and interacting with the environment, all in an entirely holistic manner. These creations of "almost-alive" inert mass are designed specifically to react to conditions in the outside world as various factors change on a regular basis. They can move, change shape, molt, and even collect carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and transform it into carbonate, or solid carbon. Pertaining to the architectural aspect, this material has the ability to undergo complex chemical transformations that allow it to "grow" into materials such as sandstone or other common physical materials.  Her idea, encompassing both the modernity of genetics and the power of originative, anti-sequential thinking is, that if proven pragmatic by further scientific research, is sure to rock the architectural world for decades. In the hopes of Armstrong, this new material is to be used to create a more stabilized base of the city of Venice, rather than allow the city's current wooden base to rot into oblivion, ultimately reducing it to a pile of non-eloquent material.

In her TED talk, Rachel Armstrong provided the audience with an excellent presentation of ideas using clear, concise, understandable facts. One particular flaw in her talk, however, was tat it only lasted a little over seven minutes long, and in a critical eye this is far too short to fully explain an idea. Aside from the length, one other mistake that Rachel made was her inability to express detail and further information on her idea, and led the viewer to get an overall sense of unpreparedness in her work, especially with how the ProtoCells are made, how they work, and what they actually look like in action. This made the viewer get a feeling that the technology that she was presenting was still a work in progress, and wasn't ready yet to be unveiled to the public. In a broad sense though, her presentation was informative and thought-provoking, and it is an idea that can be processed and used in many different ways by many different, giving it the label of being an idea worth spreading.

The interesting thing about this new breakthrough, is that it is something that can be used in almost any situation in our world, whether it be construction, architecture, repair work, visualization, or any other type of action that involves using a physical medium. In schools, this technology can be used to create a more energy-efficient means of building and repair in newer classrooms, artwork, or any other physical manifestation. The self-creating material would also make this new invention a perfect medium for the first step in creating buildings, for it would allow the builder to sculpt a design from the cells without harming the environment or putting people's train-of-thought through a hellish, time consuming task of creating a building from scratch. This outdated method produces buildings only by means of outside-materials unnatural to the ecosystem being incorporated into a structure that only reflects the boring attitude of the people put in charge of designing it. Instead, one could work their creativity on the building as it is being erected, making it more and more holistic to the environment surrounding it, rather than being apart from the natural flow of energy in that particular region. This idea is one that may not have a major significance in the sense of being a world-issue, but it does challenge the lifeless conformity of today's building codes, and it may be the starting-point to an entire new world only dreamed about by architects for this world of infinity possibility is seeming closer than ever.

Blog 7: Renew Your Vows With the World Through the Internet

Throughout the time-span of roughly past decade or so, Eli Pariser has been noticing a distinct change in the inner-gear system of the internet in which many social, economic, and entertainment networks rely on. What he has noticed, is that more and more of these public and social networks are participating in this "filter bubble" movement which leaves users in a sort-of digital purlieu. A filter bubble is, as Pariser puts it, "[It] is like your own personal unique universe of information that you live-in online... [but] the thing is, you don't decide what gets in". Given this situation, one may notice that by using a technique such as this, a potential amount of unseen "filtered" information will simply become edited-out by an "algorithmic gatekeeper". Whether one is doing homework, research, looking fro inspiration, or simply relaxing and being entertained, this ambiguous method of personal filtering is sure to have some sort of effect on what this person sees and does. The main idea behind this phenomenon is, for Pariser, to create the web for what it can be, rather than trapping people in a "web of one".

Pariser's speaking style, as one may have noticed already, junctions the use of these informative facts with a certain type of metaphoric stereotyping of related themes. Along with corresponding visuals that enhance the understanding of his ideas, this technique creates an interesting and enthralling theme of conversation and opens the doors of creativity for any person who may be watching and wondering, "What can I do to prevent this fate from affecting me?" Pariser's presentation was specifically put-together in a way that chronologically lays-out his ideas in a problem-possible solution-problem method which further deepens the audience's involvement and understanding on the subject. He remained calm and clear-headed throughout his entire speech, rarely pausing to think or remember an idea or topic, which greatly increased his expression of profession to the viewer. One mistake with his discussion, however, is that he merely cracked-open the door of "what can be done", possibly leaving viewers in a position to guess. A minor mistake though, considering the gravity of his well put-together presentation and his clear mental process on the topic. Overall, he presented himself and his ideas very professionally presented an idea to the world that is worth spreading without a doubt.

In the sense of the audience, what makes this discussion so riveting and so easily-relateable is the fact that most people who are watching his TED talk are targets for exposure to various search engines and social networks regularly (partially because in order to watch TED talks one must have access to some kind of technology with internet access in the first place) and these types of networks are extremely hard to miss while surfing the web. One way around this, is to simply be more accurate on a search for something in particular, for example instead of searching "news on Osama Bin Laden", search "recent events and actions leading to the death of Osama Bin Laden". This will eliminate the ability of these various algorithms to "personalize" your search due to a lack in misinterpretation of what the user is looking for. As well as being very easy to do, this technique is something that anyone who uses the internet can do. Another option exists, however, for those who refuse to be forced into a highly technical and specific slump, and that is to stray away from the traditional method of internet search engines (Google, yahoo, Bing, etc.) and move over to a lesser-known search engine, otherwise known as your "vortex", as described in this video, to think and know exactly what needs to search for. Once a clear knowledge is known as to what needs to be searched for, all that person would need to do is search it, and then filter through results a little to find what they are looking for. Either way one chooses to search the web, they will find themselves breaking past the box of "personalized results" and into the vicinity of what matters to them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkxfOY0_BZc *Abraham Hicks - The Most Powerful Search Engine*

Pirates, Supreheros, and Time-Travelers Alike

Pirates; the essence of terror on the world's oceans, superheroes; the light at the end of the tunnel for evil-doers and all all their perilous schemes, time-travelers; the ones who get to experience it all before time runs - **rewind** - the ones who get to experience it all, and small tutor buildings for kids of all ages; A place where, hold on... where did that one come from? What does a simple school have to do with the other three? In a world belonging to Dave Eggers, it has everything to do with them. In his TED talk, Dave Eggers explains to the audience a very unique new place for students to go to after school, a place that he simply calls "826 Valencia". There, he owns and operates a pirate store, which sells whatever any one needs or wants that relates to pirates. "Why is this tutor building also home to a pirate store?" One may ask; Well, in order to keep-up on rent and keep the ownership rights to the building, the owner, in this case Eggers, must sell retail merchandise, so there you have it. Aside from this novelty shop, the real magic occurs in the back, where a fully-staffed tutor center is available, for free, to any kid who wishes to get an edge on their homework, talk to experienced adults about school, or simply relax and get some extra help on their work. At first, however, his help center was not very successful. After opening, him and his group of professors and friends waited for weeks for people to come in, but became discouraged when people did not come. Dave, however, stated that he became informed of a possible "trust gap", because after all he was operating behind the confines of a pirate supply store. After realizing this, he urges his friend, a Mexico City teacher, to move out to his center in San Fransisco to help patch this gap. Her knowledge and connectivity to teachers and students helped fix his problem and urged more kids to come, eventually reaching it's capacity on an average basis. In his discussion, Eggers, being the spontaneous, random writer that he is, expresses his excitement for his tutor center in a very obvious way. He speaks in a realistic, pleasant tone, and is clearly passionate about his work with his center. He stated that his goal is to allow each student a 1:1 ratio, or allow each one of them one-on-one help as much as possible, claiming that their academic performance will raise faster, and their grades could be at least one grade higher. Along with this goal, Dave also put forth the idea that if every community were to have a center such as his, the kids would be happier and healthier, improving the condition of the world from the base up, one community at a time. I believe that students can so easily relate to his ideas, simply because they are the ones that are in school, the ones that are studying, and the ones that, although maybe not admittedly, could use the extra help. I also believe that these centers, if placed in the right areas and staffed with the right type of people, could create an entire new dimension on education, and empower young minds to attain a will to learn and become more intelligent each and every chance they get, rather than using the outdated "feed and regurgitate" method currently used in schools to unwillingly digest and retain information. Alike Dan Pink's work on the elation of various drive methods that people use to work and live by a day-to-day basis, these centers would create an ideal environment for students to begin constructing a base of intrinsic motivation, or the motivation to do things for your own self-gratitude and achievement. In total, I believe that the idea of students having a self-motivated, unignominious environment to go to and study, while harmoniously building a whole new love for learning and school is an idea so extraordinary and utopian that it could almost be unreal, yet, in actuality, it is an idea posed by and proven to work by a man who also owns and operates a pirate supply store, which should give a clue to any skeptic out there that these tutor centers are more than just an idea, they are100% possible centers of progression.