5 ms·

Ornament and Crime (1908) [pdf]

15 points by gsigelbaum 6y ago

brians 6y ago
I read an early indictment of skeuomorphism, from the same place that generates current opposition to skeuomorphic design.
- gsigelbaum 6y ago
  A great analogy in software design that I was hoping for. Thanks!
gwern 6y ago
Mirror: https://www.gwern.net/docs/design/1908-loos.pdf https://www.gwern.net/docs/design/1908-loos.pdf An, er, interesting guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Loos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Loos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornament_and_Crime https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornament_and_Crime
- gsigelbaum 6y ago
  Thanks for the mirror. And...yeah
lsaferite 6y ago
So weird. I'd never heard of 'Ornament and Crime' before this week when I saw a video on a eurorack synth module that was named Ornament and Crime. Now there's a post on HN about the essay in the same week. Maybe the poster saw the same video I did.
- elihu 6y ago
  That's what I thought this was going to be about. For anyone else wondering what we're talking about: the o_C has four control voltage and four gate inputs and four CV outputs. It uses the Teensy microcontroller, and the hardware and software are open source. Others have shrunk the design to produce the micro-Ornament&Crime, of which I have one in my modular setup. I use it to re-tune CV input from 12-tone equal temperament to a just tuning. You can do a lot of other things with it, though. As far as I know, no one is mass-producing the things so if you want one you either have to build one yourself or find someone willing to build you one. (I bought mine from a local guy that did a small batch.) https://ornament-and-cri.me/ https://ornament-and-cri.me/
  - lsaferite 6y ago
    This is where I first encountered it this week: https://momomodular.com/products/uo_c-aka-uoc-uo-c-micro-ornament-and-crime-eurorack-cv-synthesizer-module-black-textured https://momomodular.com/products/uo_c-aka-uoc-uo-c-micro-orn...
- gsigelbaum 6y ago
  That's super interesting! I wasn't aware of this synth module at all. I came across Loos and this essay while in a deep wiki dive into historical architectural design. I just found it fascinating how relevant Loos' arguments remain today, and how they could be applied to fields of study well outside of architectural design. Plus it's a relatively quick read for something so influential in its field. Amazed to see that such a literal parallel to hardware/software architecture was able to be drawn!

15 points by gsigelbaum 6y ago

I read an early indictment of skeuomorphism, from the same place that generates current opposition to skeuomorphic design.

gsigelbaum 6y ago
A great analogy in software design that I was hoping for. Thanks!

gwern 6y ago

Mirror: https://www.gwern.net/docs/design/1908-loos.pdf https://www.gwern.net/docs/design/1908-loos.pdf An, er, interesting guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Loos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Loos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornament_and_Crime https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornament_and_Crime

gsigelbaum 6y ago
Thanks for the mirror. And...yeah

lsaferite 6y ago

So weird. I'd never heard of 'Ornament and Crime' before this week when I saw a video on a eurorack synth module that was named Ornament and Crime. Now there's a post on HN about the essay in the same week. Maybe the poster saw the same video I did.

elihu 6y ago
That's what I thought this was going to be about. For anyone else wondering what we're talking about: the o_C has four control voltage and four gate inputs and four CV outputs. It uses the Teensy microcontroller, and the hardware and software are open source. Others have shrunk the design to produce the micro-Ornament&Crime, of which I have one in my modular setup. I use it to re-tune CV input from 12-tone equal temperament to a just tuning. You can do a lot of other things with it, though. As far as I know, no one is mass-producing the things so if you want one you either have to build one yourself or find someone willing to build you one. (I bought mine from a local guy that did a small batch.) https://ornament-and-cri.me/ https://ornament-and-cri.me/
- lsaferite 6y ago
  This is where I first encountered it this week: https://momomodular.com/products/uo_c-aka-uoc-uo-c-micro-ornament-and-crime-eurorack-cv-synthesizer-module-black-textured https://momomodular.com/products/uo_c-aka-uoc-uo-c-micro-orn...
gsigelbaum 6y ago
That's super interesting! I wasn't aware of this synth module at all. I came across Loos and this essay while in a deep wiki dive into historical architectural design. I just found it fascinating how relevant Loos' arguments remain today, and how they could be applied to fields of study well outside of architectural design. Plus it's a relatively quick read for something so influential in its field. Amazed to see that such a literal parallel to hardware/software architecture was able to be drawn!