Random Wisdom
Today (02-09-06), at the end of the symposium about simplicity at Ars Electronica ( Linz–Austria ), I approached John Maeda professor at MIT (massachusetts institute of technology http://web.mit.edu/), to ask him for an autograph on my copy of his most resent book: “the laws of simplicity”. (Yes, I confess that I am a bit of a groupie!).
He with a big smile, kindly asked for my name; after I answered –Liliana-, he asked me to spell it out for him and while I was spelling it, and he was writing his autograph, he suddenly shouted at me: -FOCUS!-, followed by a query about my current activities.
While answering his second question and seeing him writing something else on my book, I realised how surprised I was by his statement and how out of base he caught me! I was also a bit embarrassed…
I quickly pull myself together and asked him what he meant by “focus”? His only answer was: -You should be FOCUSED!-. At this point my confusion was at its maximum pick and a hasty thought crossed my mind: -Maybe his unexpected “suggestion” was triggered by a couple of interventions I made while the panel about simplicity was taken place-.
I then said to him that his particular “recommendation” was incredibly appropriated for me, on light of the focus I would have to have to do my thesis at the master course I am doing, I thanked him for his “suggestion” and left.
Later on, whilst claiming the “reward” (a printed t-shirt from the event itself) for my interventions during the symposium, I noticed that the ones with the slogan “Simplicity” were out of stock; then, while choosing between the two models left I had a dilemma: The one that I liked the lest, had printed the slogan “make things simple” and that for me was a sort of mixture between the past and the present well known Philips’ slogans: “make things better” and “sense and simplicity”. I decided then to go for the other one that had printed the “complexity” slogan. While doing that John’s remark came back to my mind, and it occurred to me that he may be a sort of “shrink” able to read people’s minds, and that he specially directed his “focus” to me, because he knew that I should be focussing in more important things than paying too much attention on something unremarkable as the slogan of a promotional t- shirt. This reflection disappeared very quickly because I have to run in a hurry to leave the place to catch a train to Vienna, where someone was waiting for me.
At the train station at while buying my ticket to Vienna, the short encounter with John came to my mind once again: What if he was a wizard? What if John was able to predict the exact advice someone needs? Was he able to foresee with exactitude that I was in need of advice? And that it was that particular kind the one I needed? All those questions were quickly dispersed because my train was due in two minutes at platform 16th and I had to hurry up and step in…..
At the train, more relaxed then, I had another flash of my brief encounter with Maeda and I noticed that at this point the whole event was becoming a sort of obsession, but I suddenly realised that Maeda had left a message on my “simplicity” book, which I did not read because of my rush. I hoped that perhaps it would have a clue to decipher the puzzle that his advice had become for me. Quickly I looked into my things for my book, not remembering where I had put it, but I found it at last.
I opened the book looking for the message and seeking for final clarity to all my thoughts. Surprisingly, I was not able to understand a single word written there: Not even his signature was legible to my eyes. Then a final thought came: What if he is just a simple “random” wiser? Someone that has the power of discerning and judging properly as to what is true or right! And what if his “advice” or “suggestions” are something he does casually to anybody that approaches him, in a kind of unsolicited compulsory fashion, without caring if a person is asking for it?
It then occurred to me that my “precise”, “magic” and “beautiful” advice was basically a “random” advice.
After this occurrence I felt a bit disappointed, but soon my feelings of deception started fading away, while thinking that my encounter had been magical anyway: -After all, I had met my first “Random wiser”-.
This whole episode offered me hints of what may be a wonderful way of living: Just giving people “random wisdom on the move”.
For me, the “Random wiser” theory is definitely a simpler explanation for John Maeda’s words and may be also a good starting point for my thesis project.
Comments
First thank you very much for the invite to Vox.
Second, I personally feel you are reacting a lil overboard over the Maeda meeting, fair enough because he is a 'canonised' personality of our times. But what would be useful or rather decisive to people like me, who are interpreting your experience would be your view of his work, his art, and what you really think about it.
Thirdly, I was shamelessly eavesdropping on a conversation he was having with another 'fan' of his who was asking him questions about his work. This was as soon as the show had opened. It seemed like a moment of disclosure of his. He was telling this girl(fan) that he does his work to seek happiness, and when he didnt do this, he was very troubled and had to visit the hospital (an asylum? I dont know) twice.
And what he was producing now is a tradeoff he said between that state when he wasnt very happy.
This is what I heard, when the harmless voyuer in me was at its active best, it could be a misinterpretation, for all I know, and hope the Maeda fans would spare my life for calling him crazy.
Ta, Kart for your comment on my blog and welcome to my neighbourhood.
I am very new with Maeda's affairs and so far I have only seeing the job he presented at Lentos, I am afraid I have not finished yet to read his simplicity book, no because it can not being read in like tree hours but because I am being a bit busy. I found, the book, till now, that its best achievement so far has been to read a pretty interesting pieces of literature (mixed with a tiny bit of philosophy) and that he had managed to put together this "friendly" (size, language and “…….” wise) book.
Claps, Clap....clap. I can't see anything new that I haven't think myself or by reading the literature he is using but the fact of being able to compile the ten laws is interesting and could be use as a “tool” while designing.
His work at Ars Electronica, reminded me a bit of the psychedelic of the 70’s mix with the technology available at the 90’s. Basically and asking the forgiveness of the “experts” I didn’t see any new under the sun. But I have to say I had a great conversation while I was looking Maeda’s work with Cristina a Spanish girl I met at Ars E (conversation unrelated to this subject).