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We could do with more software people studying his actual work, which was building humane, living spaces that make people whole. It's funny, I just ordered cop

We could do with more software people studying his actual work, which was building humane, living spaces that make people whole. It's funny, I just ordered copies of The Timeless Way of Building, A Pattern Language and Notes on the Synthesis of Form earlier this year, intending to start a deep dive into Alexander's work. This is something I've been wanting to do for some time, and kinda regret that it's taken me this long to even get as far as ordering the books. Now to find time to dig into them... sigh So much to learn, so little time. :-(

googlryas 4y ago
This doesn't really do it justice, but keep A Pattern Language in your bathroom. There are 253 patterns in the book and they generally are around 4 pages or less. Consuming it a few minutes at a time is wonderful, giving you time afterwards to mull over each pattern and their interaction with other patterns. And you don't need to read it front to back, jumping to a random point is fine too.
andrekandre 4y ago
i really like this passage from notes on the synthesis of forms: > ...since the book was published, a whole academic field has grown up around the idea of "design methods" and I have been hailed as one of the leading exponents of these so-called design methods. I am very sorry that this has happened, and want to state, publicly, that I reject the whole idea of design methods as a subject of study, since I think it is absurd to separate the study of designing from the practice of design. In fact, people who study design methods without also practicing design are almost always frustrated designers who have no sap in them, who have lost, or never had, the urge to shape things. Such a person will never be able to say anything sensible about "how" to shape things either. such an important point... couldn't have said it better myself.
s3000 4y ago
>sigh So much to learn, so little time. :-( You don't have to learn everything by yourself, just leave some of the knowledge to others and focus on knowledge coordination ... ... checks profile Never mind! Though, have to tried to open up your tools for ActivityPub and offer your software as an interface to the Fediverse?
- mindcrime 4y ago
  Though, have to tried to open up your tools for ActivityPub and offer your software as an interface to the Fediverse? That's always been the intention, yes. Still a lot of work to do there. We don't have any ActivityPub support yet, but there is a lot of use of RSS/Atom and some limited support for ActivityStea.ms. ActivityPub is on the list, but I've had too many other things to focus on lately to put much energy into that. :-(

googlryas 4y ago

This doesn't really do it justice, but keep A Pattern Language in your bathroom. There are 253 patterns in the book and they generally are around 4 pages or less. Consuming it a few minutes at a time is wonderful, giving you time afterwards to mull over each pattern and their interaction with other patterns. And you don't need to read it front to back, jumping to a random point is fine too.

andrekandre 4y ago

i really like this passage from notes on the synthesis of forms: > ...since the book was published, a whole academic field has grown up around the idea of "design methods" and I have been hailed as one of the leading exponents of these so-called design methods. I am very sorry that this has happened, and want to state, publicly, that I reject the whole idea of design methods as a subject of study, since I think it is absurd to separate the study of designing from the practice of design. In fact, people who study design methods without also practicing design are almost always frustrated designers who have no sap in them, who have lost, or never had, the urge to shape things. Such a person will never be able to say anything sensible about "how" to shape things either. such an important point... couldn't have said it better myself.

s3000 4y ago

>sigh So much to learn, so little time. :-( You don't have to learn everything by yourself, just leave some of the knowledge to others and focus on knowledge coordination ... ... checks profile Never mind! Though, have to tried to open up your tools for ActivityPub and offer your software as an interface to the Fediverse?

mindcrime 4y ago
Though, have to tried to open up your tools for ActivityPub and offer your software as an interface to the Fediverse? That's always been the intention, yes. Still a lot of work to do there. We don't have any ActivityPub support yet, but there is a lot of use of RSS/Atom and some limited support for ActivityStea.ms. ActivityPub is on the list, but I've had too many other things to focus on lately to put much energy into that. :-(