START OF PHASE 1:
Tuesday 5th October 2022
Phase 1 - Researching and Generating Pathways
I will be working through week 1-3, documenting my research, including brainstorms, resources, sketches and any other relevant information/sources.
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To start the research phase, I will look at "100s of possible starting points" before narrowing it down to just 4 topics which I am passionate about. Doing so should ensure my interest and attention will be maintained throughout the duration of the project. The 4 topics must have enough space and avenues for me to explore whilst not leaving me stranded at crossroads (too many and too few questions are not good, there must be a balance).
WORKSHOP
Today's workshop was focused around generating starting points by mindmapping a series of personal topics.
We began with looking at 4 categories:
What have others said you should do?
What do you enjoy?
What are you good at?
What values can you bring to the world?
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Adaptability
Empathy + Sympathy
"110%"
Determination
Musical Ear
Drawing
Baking
Sport
Music
Philosophy
Sport
Adventure
Meeting New People
Helping People
Theoretics
Doctor
Architect
Programmer
Private Chef
Tattooist
Accountant/Finance
Voice Actor
Musician
Friendliness
Positivity
Open Mind
Care
Altruism
Empathy+Sympathy
Patience
Exercise 2:
The second exercise was similar. We were given questions for which we had a short amount of time to quickly note down words, phrases and ideas.
The following questions were explored:
What interests you?
What makes you cry?
What gets you angry?
What makes you laugh?
What gets you excited?
What stimulates you intellectually?
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Interests
Cry
Laugh
Angry
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Excites
Stimulates Intellectually
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Looking back at these exercises, there are additional thoughts that come to mind which I would have added at the time. Being a perfectionist, this is frustrating as I see the lack of points as a shortcoming - I can look at my work and see improvement (being additional content). I should try not let this cloud my judgement and the point of this process.
After that, we selected a few themes/topics and began asking questions that interest us. I chose some of the larger ones, as I enjoy diving deep into more complex topics. Additionally, I felt it would give me more ground to explore.
Exercise 3:
Philosophy
- When was it "invented" *context in which it was developed as a concept*
- What the first philosophers followed and why
- Where is it applied/used
- Similarities/Differences with other philosophies cultures and religions.
- Cyclic
- Why is everything cyclic
- Possible to break the "loop"?
- Repetition - habits? and comfort?
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Philosophy has always stood out to me. I love thinking and philosophy I feel allows me to explore different routes of thinking. I want to find out more about the topic as a whole, and also why certain philosophies came about. It would be very interesting to find out when different "thought-paths" were developed and what triggered them. Finding out the context behind these "thought-paths" would paint a clearer picture of understanding.
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Additionally, a subtopic that has recently interested me is the cyclic nature of life. Everything has a life circle. This includes the largest of things (big bang and stars forming) to small things like (each year a person will experience similar experiences and sensations, at the same time, as the prior year). I want to find out more as to why this is the case.
Interests*
- Nature vs Nurture (leading to certain opinions and interests)
- Why do we have different interests? (biological level? Or psychological)
- Why do we find the same thing interesting?
- Psychology*
- How brain works in detail
- Hormones
- Biology & Anatomy
- Music ; genres and sounds in different cultures
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Spiritual*
- Science vs Religion
- Conspiracies
- Are we really not able to explain everything?
- Conspiracies
- Stories
- Case studies
- Religious texts
- Myth and Legend
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Interests as a concept is something that I feel would be a good topic. This is because it is a more narrow pathway to explore, rather than psychology as a whole - which is a large spiderweb to untangle. I would like to understand why people have similar or different interests, what are the reasons for it, and is there a way to find something everyone finds interesting? I am very passionate about finding out more information regarding our brain's cognitive processes and structures.
Spiritual felt like the best way of tying up religion and myths with science. I have a deep fascination with sciences and faiths, as I enjoy exploring "why" things are the way they are. Gathering information from all sources, will hopefully allow me to collect and form a collage of sorts with a clearer understanding of where things started and what caused them. "Knowledge is power" - a commonly used phrase, but not always true. This topic has overlap with philosophy, which makes me think I need to either narrow down philosophy or select a different topic.
As an initial knee-jerk reaction - quickly selecting 3 broad topics has given me a lot to think about. It is clear to me that I am most passionate about philosophy and how the brain works currently. How the brain works can be easily linked to philosophy from a "thinking" perspective. This means if I do choose one of these or even both to explore, I will need to be very clear with my success criteria for each topic (what exactly I will research and why that fits into each respective category). It is good I have something I am keen to explore and passionate about. Within psychology there are many routes I can explore and potentially link two topics, for example an interest of mine (music + psychology) for something like music therapy.
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On the contrary, the topics I have mentioned above have overlap. This means I still have yet to find something else to research into further depth. I will need to do some further preliminary research into possible themes that are of interest.
Evaluation
Design Thinking:
"10 Exercises to Fuel Creative Thinking"
"Rarely do brilliant ideas appear out of the blue"
Research Link:
I looked around for resources that would assist idea generation and I came across this article. Here are some pointers:
+ Look at other Possibilities, asking, "What else can I do with this?"
- Turning rubbish into gold (something of no value into something of great value)
+ Be nosy, take note of details in your surroundings. Be more observant, looking at letterforms, numbers and other shapes that are accidentally created by a variety of different things across time.
+ Sometimes overthinking or overcomplicating can cloud judgement, it is important to keep things simple. Breaking down something into something smaller, allowing for easier solutions. For example, writing a story in 6 words.
+ Allow the ridiculous. Sometimes having things exaggerated/ taken to extreme proportions allows for interesting new ideas to be nourished.
+ Similar to the first point, try to use items/objects and systems for something that they were not designed for. Engaging the brain in activities that are "outside the box" can lead to the beginning of a new creative thought path.
+ Changing the position of an item/object - taking something from its expected usual home and placing it elsewhere.
+ Translating things from one medium to another
+ Setting yourself a challenge that will force you to get creative in order to develop a solution.
+ Making a personal connection can also lead to interesting new discoveries as you cater your thought process for self-interest.
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From this article, the key points I have taken away and begun applying is not to overcomplicate things. I will try to look at things as they are and then from another angle or using a different practical application.
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I will begin by gathering resources from things around me, and making use of my time as efficiently as possible. For example, when I walk to work at 5 am I will take note of my surroundings with more detail, as something may inspire me and lead to progression.
Possible Topics:
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Growing up/maturing
Philosophy - History and context
Why do we have less fun as we grow up?
Anxiety & Worry
Meditation
Morality
Space
Quantum
Poems & Words
Movement
Climbing & Parkour
Urban Parkour
Urban Architecture
Body and Soul
Sport
Food
Here is a list of possible thematics that I can explore. I know I am interested in topics that have more ground to traverse. I enjoy topics which have a lot of complexity and detail. Often times within details I can get lost. For that reason, I choose not to continue looking into topics that I consider fairly simple or tricky to take into a more detailed pathway. I also removed topics that were too complex, e.g. Quantum (would be very mathematical and unnecessarily complex). For the interest of personal sanity, I chose not to explore mental health related topics, as they would lead to depressing content and I feel that could lead to a certain frame of mind that would be progressive.
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After careful deliberation and discussing with my peers my options. I narrowed it down to these 4. I felt I could link body and soul with meditation. Within climbing & parkour, I could also look into "urban" aspects. I feel as though these 4 topics give me a lot of areas to research into, so I should start by creating a list for each of them respectively - for specific content that I would like to research.
Growing up/maturing
Philosophy - History and context
Climbing & Parkour (urban)
Body and Soul (Meditation)
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