Assignment 1: Assessing and Critiquing Sources

In the chapter ‘Drunk in an Orgy of Technology’ of the book ‘Emergence: Morphogenetic Design Strategies’ Professor Chris Wise extrapolates on the topic of emergent design and its continually developing place in the world. He does so by focusing on the current problems that are slowing the progress of emergent design, and suggesting alternative methods that would speed up the development of new emergent designs. The areas that He identifies as things to be improved can be arranged into three distinctive categories.

Firstly, Chris Wise compellingly illustrates the association between emergence and the use of genetic algorithms with examples from renowned mathematicians, such as Marcus Du Sautoy, who used an elaborate algorithm combined with music to find prime numbers. However, he suggests that a reliance on complex algorithms is an impedance on emergent design. This connection is often not recognized in similar texts, and brings forth a valid point about the necessity of algebra. Secondly, he asserts that the software and computational power of modern computers are also hindering the progress of emergence. Explaining that even the greatest of modern-day computers lack the necessary computing power for more important research into emergence. I think this is an important point, in that it is definitely true for current day computers and software. However, I disagree with this point since I believe that the fact design relies heavily on computers, in itself, shows how useful computers are in achieving things that would otherwise be impossible. Furthermore, as technology progresses it will create new possibilities for design, so the movement away from the use of technology I see as a mistake. Furthermore, even the author concedes that technological advancement will probably be the largest contributor to the development of emergent designs. Thirdly, he argues that the practical application of emergence is also limited by human imagination. He argues that the current technology scientists and researchers have is capable of achieving more than what it is used for, thus a more focused and thoughtful approach to design would dramatically improve results. I believe this is his strongest and most compelling point. I think he shows an interesting area in emergent design that needs further development, although I think people do know this is a problem, but what the author wants is hard to achieve. However, despite the apparent problems with emergent design that he covers, he does hypothesize about the use of emergence in the future, optimistically postulating that emergent design would be used to create a fantastic wealth of design beyond anyone’s imagination. That is a point with which I strongly agree, and is the reason why advancements in the methodologies of emergent design that the author covers, should be further explored.

Overall, I believe that Chris Wise makes very valid and interesting points concerning emergence, in particular his predictions for the future. While as a whole, his analyses of some of the major problems that are hindering emergence are well illustrated and insightful. I would have to say I agree with his thesis and his criticism of current practices. 

Reference

Wise, C. M. (2004). Drunk in an Orgy of Technology, Emergence: Morphogenetic design strategies. (Vol. 74, pp. 54-53). Chichester, West Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.