This blog provides a forum for students, instructors and others to share information and ideas about the Spring Thesis Program at Parsons the New School for Design in New York City.
David, this is superb work. I am really salivating about where this going to go next. Your research is telling you exactly what you wanted to hear, namely that kids love to make things, and toys that let them use their hands to put things together are their favorite. It would be interesting to compare the satisfaction that kids get in building stuff to the obvious pleasure that they feel using interactive computer programs. Is working on the computer the opposite of making things? Or are they related? I would argue that play on the computer can be very creative, but it does not stimulate the part of the brain that lights up when we are busily engaged in making things with our hands. Of course, you could actually try this using an fMRI apparatus, and their may already be cases in the literature where people did this. You may want to check out the book Human Hand Function by Lederer and Jones. It is very technical, but it has tons of information that directly relates to what you are doing.
I am also very interested in your question about whether kids choose toys that mirror their predispositions, or do the toys that they play with actually shape their brains and plant seeds which later blossom into interests that they can pursue independently?
I also really like that you put your money where your mouth is, and you made some things (the bicycle gears thing). That is really crucial, I think, when you are building your arguments. In product design, research usually calls for creating prototypes that you can put in your users hands, so that you can observe them manipulating the object. This tells you things that a survey cannot. Great work so far! steven
1 comment:
David, this is superb work. I am really salivating about where this going to go next. Your research is telling you exactly what you wanted to hear, namely that kids love to make things, and toys that let them use their hands to put things together are their favorite. It would be interesting to compare the satisfaction that kids get in building stuff to the obvious pleasure that they feel using interactive computer programs. Is working on the computer the opposite of making things? Or are they related? I would argue that play on the computer can be very creative, but it does not stimulate the part of the brain that lights up when we are busily engaged in making things with our hands. Of course, you could actually try this using an fMRI apparatus, and their may already be cases in the literature where people did this. You may want to check out the book Human Hand Function by Lederer and Jones. It is very technical, but it has tons of information that directly relates to what you are doing.
I am also very interested in your question about whether kids choose toys that mirror their predispositions, or do the toys that they play with actually shape their brains and plant seeds which later blossom into interests that they can pursue independently?
I also really like that you put your money where your mouth is, and you made some things (the bicycle gears thing). That is really crucial, I think, when you are building your arguments. In product design, research usually calls for creating prototypes that you can put in your users hands, so that you can observe them manipulating the object. This tells you things that a survey cannot.
Great work so far!
steven
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