think it. dream it. design it.: February 2005

The true power of the computer

He should know -- he's built computers from tinkertoys!

Saafir

These days, computers are popularly thought of as multimedia devices, capable of incorporating and combining all previous forms of media -- text, graphics, moving pictures, sound. I think this view leads to an underestimation of the computer's potential. It is certainly true that a computer can incorporate and manipulate all other media, but the true power of the computer is that it is capable of manipulating not just the expression of ideas but also the ideas themselves. The amazing thing to me is not that a computer can hold the contents of all the books in a library but that it can notice relationships between the concepts described in the books -- not that it can display a picture of a bird in flight or a galaxy spinning but that it can imagine and predict the consequences of the physical laws that create these wonders. The computer is not just an advanced calculator or camera or paintbrush; rather, it is a device that accelerates and extends our processes of thought. It is an imagination machine, which starts with the ideas we put into it and takes them farther than we ever could have taken them on our own.

-- Daniel Hillis The Pattern on the Stone: The Simple Ideas that Make Computers Work (New York: Basic Books,1998) pg XI

Design IT Studio Dates

National Engineers Week (Feb 19 – 25)

Mon & Tues (liquid Nitrogen days)
Wed (Design IT students)
Thu & Fri (Van de Graff days)
(The day floors get done, Jonathon out of the building) <>

Clean out IAP Space by Feb 14^th
Build Sound Automata by Feb 24^th
Mad Scientists Ball (Feb 27)
Showcase Day 4-6 pm (March 5)
Art of DesignIT Institute (March 8, 9, 10, & field trip on 11)
Spring Break (March 14 – 18)

Jasmine

Making a "J" on the Scroll Saw

Myles

Myles Making Movies

ALA Day Thursday, Jan 27, 2005

Today was very very successful! THe kids were able to pair up and work on the sound creation software more. THe interest level here is high, and the groups work well and hard for the whole time together. ANother amazing success for today was the parent meeting. After the Studio time we set up for parents to come by, talk to Jonathon, Gabe, and Karie about Design IT studio, as well as show off some of the work that the kids had been doing that day. I have put up pictures below from all of this. Tuesday will be the same thing, minus the parent meeting because we did that last tuesday. Wednesday we will be focusing on choosing projects to do, and possibly an exercise in storyboarding again for those who wish to make visuals for their original music.
Jonathon