Skip to main content

Used ideas vs.modern architecture

This blog is about used ideas. Nothing new is ever proposed.  Heaven forbid. The thoughts herein are re-cycled, re-interpreted, re-mixed, re-hashed, re-viewed…  New ideas are both the salvation and scourge of a stable society.

This brings me to the comparison with new (aka modern) architecture.  So much of it looks great in the original drawings.  It is easy to sell, It is new, innovative, uncommon, bursting with energy, and the like.

But so much modern architecture just doesn’t play well with the eye upon construction.  It just doesn’t have an esthetic geometry. After the eye becomes accustomed to it, the eye says no, "I don’t like it."   Moreover, some of it does not age well.  It looks worse with age.  This is what makes the Frank Lloyd Wright’s of the world so fantastically great. Such architects/artists have aesthetics, geometry, longevity, design, and beauty in mind from the onset. Many channels of the brain are needed to achieve this; difficult to learn and even more difficult to teach.

It is the same with new ideas.  There is no such equation “new = good.”  Most new ideas look good when proposed. They glitter; they reflect; they resonate; they persuade; they pretend, but they just don’t age well.  Most are soon forgotten.  Alas, this doesn’t happen for the formerly happy homeowner stuck living in a home based on errant modern architecture.  Moreover, this doesn't happen for the person or state that comes to ruin upon the shoals of a new "modern" idea.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

UNCERTAINTY IS CERTAIN

  Uncertainty is Certain G. Donald Allen 12/12/2024 1.       Introduction . This short essay is about uncertainty in people from both secular and nonsecular viewpoints. One point that will emerge is that randomly based uncertainty can be a driver for religious structure. Many groups facing uncertainty about their future are deeply religious or rely on faith as a source of comfort, resilience, and guidance. The intersection of uncertainty and religiosity often stems from the human need to find meaning, hope, and stability in the face of unpredictable or challenging circumstances. We first take up the connections of uncertainty to religion for the first real profession, farming, noting that hunting has many similar uncertainties. Below are groups that commonly lean on religious beliefs amidst uncertainty.   This short essay is a follow-up to a previous piece on certainty (https://used-ideas.blogspot.com/2024/12/certainty-is-also-emotion.html). U...

Principles of Insufficiency and Sufficiency

   The principles we use but don't know it.  1.      Introduction . Every field, scientific or otherwise, rests on foundational principles—think buoyancy, behavior, or democracy. Here, we explore a unique subset: principles modified by "insufficiency" and "sufficiency." While you may never have heard of them, you use them often. These terms frame principles that blend theory, practicality, and aspiration, by offering distinct perspectives. Insufficiency often implies inaction unless justified, while sufficiency suggests something exists or must be done. We’ll examine key examples and introduce a new principle with potential significance. As a principle of principles of these is that something or some action is not done enough while others may be done too much. The first six (§2-6) of our principles are in the literature, and you can easily search them online. The others are relatively new, but fit the concepts in the real world. At times, these pri...

Where is AI (Artificial Intelligence) Going?

  How to view Artificial Intelligence (AI).  Imagine you go to the store to buy a TV, but all they have are 1950s models, black and white, circular screens, picture rolls, and picture imperfect, no remote. You’d say no thanks. Back in the day, they sold wildly. The TV was a must-have for everyone with $250 to spend* (about $3000 today). Compared to where AI is today, this is more or less where TVs were 70 years ago. In only a few decades AI will be advanced beyond comprehension, just like TVs today are from the 50s viewpoint. Just like we could not imagine where the video concept was going back then, we cannot really imagine where AI is going. Buckle up. But it will be spectacular.    *Back then minimum wage was $0.75/hr. Thus, a TV cost more than eight weeks' wages. -------------------------