Graduation 2018

research

what is solitude

Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, i.e., lack of contact with people. It may stem from bad relationships, loss of loved ones, deliberate choice, infectious disease, mental disorders, neurological disorders or circumstances of employment or situation (see castaway).

Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may work, think or rest without being disturbed. It may be desired for the sake of privacy.

A distinction has been made between solitude and loneliness. In this sense, these two words refer, respectively, to the joy and the pain of being alone.
link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solitude

benefits of solitude

being alone in the positive for of seeking out solitude is very beneficial for one's life and state of being. it improves empathy skill, productivity, and creativity. it also helps improving mental strength and gives you the opportunity to reflect upon yourself and what way your life is going.
link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/amymorin/2017/08/05/7-science-backed-reasons-you-should-spend-more-time-alone/#b2a2d161b7ee

Solitude in a digital age

Transforming Solitude: Trevor Weltman at TEDxUofM

link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMrjFPXkKBs

An article on an elderly woman with Parkinson's decease that regaind some mobility after seeing her avatar do tai chi.
link: http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2013/02/second-life-possible-parkinsons-therapy.html

Philosopher & Researchers

Sherry Turkle

is the Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She obtained a BA in Social Studies and later a Ph.D. in Sociology and Personality Psychology at Harvard University. She now focuses her research on psychoanalysis and human-technology interaction. She has written several books focusing on the psychology of human relationships with technology, especially in the realm of how people relate to computational objects.

Books

Alone Together, Basic Books (2011). ISBN 978-0-465-01021-9
Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, Penguin Press (2015). ISBN 978-1-594-20555-2

links

https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together/up-next

Vilém Flusser

Vilém Flusser - 1988 interview about technical revolution
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyfOcAAcoH8

Books

Into the Universe of Technical Images
http://cmuems.com/excap/readings/flusser-into-the-universe-of-technical-images-excerpts.pdf

Marshall McLuhan

QUOTE: "We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us."

A presentation by Wilson Minor of interaction design and what the quote means for us designers. explained from insights of different great thinkers.
https://mcluhangalaxy.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/we-shape-our-tools-and-thereafter-our-tools-shape-us/

week van de eenzaamheid

During these days in October, they call upon the people to get together against loneliness by organizing events where people can come together. they also discuss the issues. De menselijke maat is a panel where every year they tackle the subject but every time form a different angle.

This year the angle they went about was from an environmental perspective. the question was, how does loneliness relate to architecture and public places and how the design can enhance the feeling. We got a presentation by Iris Bakker, a researcher that studies how physical space can influence the human. She gave a lot of insight related to how little details can make move people in the way they feel with clever examples. She also gave insights on behaviors and what motivates people to come together.

after the presentation, a panel was introduced to further discuss the issues. the panel was made out of city planners, architects, developers and researchers. they talked about interesting findings they do during their work and how they deal with the issue of bringing people together.

It was a fruitful event for me because I did get new insights into how I can look at the subject I want to work on during my graduation. The panel talks a lot about how they can bring people together but social loneliness and emotional loneliness are not the same. So I couldn't really use any of their information.

Iris Bakker did have a lot of information that I could use. although the presentation was related to architecture and the living environments, she did show a lot of need that humans need to not feel lonely and to get connected with others. Like people miss the human connection and a dutch quote written in rotterdam (somewhere) "de omgeving van de mens is zijn medemens.". She also talked about homo ludens. this inspired me to look more in to the connection with the brain.

links

https://dezwijger.nl/programma/de-menselijke-maat

what is identaty

In philosophy, identity, from Latin: identitas ("sameness"), is the relation each thing bears only to itself.[1][2] The notion of identity gives rise to many philosophical problems, including the identity of indiscernibles (if x and y share all their properties, are they one and the same thing?), and questions about change and personal identity over time (what has to be the case for a person x at one time and a person y at a later time to be one and the same person?).

It is important to distinguish the philosophical concept of identity from the more well-known notion of identity in use in psychology and the social sciences. The philosophical concept concerns a relation, specifically, a relation that x and y stand in if, and only if they are one and the same thing, or identical to each other (i.e. if, and only if x = y). The sociological notion of identity, by contrast, has to do with a person's self-conception, social presentation, and more generally, the aspects of a person that make them unique, or qualitatively different from others (e.g. cultural identity, gender identity, national identity, online identity and processes of identity formation).

links

Bojack Horseman: Addressing Identity | Video Essay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlfczWYrrFQ

Is your identity given or created? | Marcus Lyon | TEDxExeter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tJKGZ_xSZ0&t=109s

Emails

Jaime Banks

Dear Miss Banks,

I decided to contact you after getting a recommendation from one of my teachers. I proceeded to do some googling to find out more about you and your research topics and I think my project will benefit greatly from your expertise.

My Name is Alkenah Wansing, I am 28 years of age and live in Rotterdam. I am currently studying Graphic design at the Willem de Kooning Academy and just started with my graduation project. I specialize in Digital craft. It's an autonomous practice where I combine craftsmanship with conceptual ideas to come up with artistic expressions. I like to make my work revolve around the human/human experience. For my Graduation project, I am researching identity and the discovery on the self in the virtual space. Looking around my own environment I found that individuals are having a harder time truly connecting with others and more importantly their selves. I Recognized that the way we use the virtual space is a big part of it. I am already looking into Sherry turkles books and I am looking for more information. With the knowledge I collect, I want to use my expression to bring awareness to a more constructive way of using the virtual space.

I hope I sparked your interest and I would like to ask for your advice and (article) recommendations to continue developing my ideas and creation.

Yours sincerely.

Alkenah Wansing