tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8842643410631956596.post6585936976802730310..comments2010-08-18T14:02:27.777-04:00Comments on The Vita Activa: ConversationsHerb Childresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01604283674959474082noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8842643410631956596.post-51656395537451620972008-03-18T10:00:00.000-04:002008-03-18T10:00:00.000-04:00Hi, Melissa.Back in the early '70s, two urban plan...Hi, Melissa.<BR/><BR/>Back in the early '70s, two urban planning theorists (Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber) devised the idea of "the wicked problem," about which I will surely write at great length. The idea is that there are "tame problems," such as math and engineering and sports and pharmaceutical chemistry, that have a known set of operations, a limited scope of concerns, and the ability to achieve a correct answer. (People often balk at the term "tame," thinking that it's derogatory. It is not. Tame problems can be enormously difficult... the "tameness" is just that you can know whether or not you've succeeded.) <BR/><BR/>Wicked problems, on the other hand, include most social, political and design issues. The problem can never be fully defined, there are many ways to approach it, the answers are not right-and-wrong but rather better-and-worse, there's no rule to know when you're done solving it, and you can't simulate it to know whether or not your plan really does work.<BR/><BR/>Some designers work by making wicked problems as tame as they can. They do this by eliminating most of what makes architecture interesting — its effects on our social and emotional lives. But the nature of a designed intervention in the built world is that it is inherently wicked.<BR/><BR/>In order to embrace this, in order to fully address the social issues behind design, I think we need to train potential designers with a broad and critical understanding of culture as it is. If we sequester our future architects into the studio and CAD lab, they'll never be prepared to deal with the questions that matter.<BR/><BR/>Part of this issue is the degree to which college is now thought of as a fancy vocational education. It really isn't. A good undergraduate education should leave you with far more questions than answers, with a humility in the face of the seriousness of the world's problems, and with a burning desire to be of service. Rather than "problem-solution," I think our best work comes through "problem awareness - problem definition - attempted resolution - careful assessment of outcomes - modification."Herb Childresshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01604283674959474082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8842643410631956596.post-4951511807184199232008-03-18T09:42:00.000-04:002008-03-18T09:42:00.000-04:00HI Herb -You've been busy! I've been reading your...HI Herb -<BR/><BR/>You've been busy! I've been reading your blogs this morning like a newspaper - skipping around - so if I sound like I am missing a point from an earlier blog, its probably true. <BR/><BR/>This is a great topic! I don't have much experience with other types of curriculm, all I know of them is what I gather through the people closest to me. My husband is an engineer and his training was, in essence, problem-solving. There is always a right answer and he must find it. Thats what he was taught in school. My sister is in med school and there they teach her to understand systems. She can identify a problem and knows the appropriate response. Problem...solution. <BR/><BR/>I am very goal-oriented and always look for an end accomplishment. What is the goal of architecture school? Each school is different and may even vary based on professor! We are given problems but no clear solution(s). This is starting to come across wrong. I appreciate the number of solutions and the beauty of the options of architecture. But what is our higher goal? To think differently? To create something no one has ever seen? To put large windows in small rooms? To break down barriers of privacy? To break down barriers of class? <BR/><BR/>Perhaps this is simply the way I operate but without a goal, how do we know if we have succeeded?Melissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13109868013057339810noreply@blogger.com