My Paradigm On Building Development

I was excited to take on subject of Building and Development. There is a mass amount of untapped potential in this public sector. My paradigm for this subject is one of a critical standpoint. Like any type of resource use, the implementation should be efficient; if the building design is not thoroughly thought out, then more input should be required. If it is not done well, then it shouldn’t we done at all. People spend thousands of dollars on cheap designs that could be done in a higher standard for minimal extra costs. I ‘hate’ seeing new buildings that look thrown together; buildings that serve no other purpose than to have four walls and a roof.

My mom always tried to teach me that it was better to pay a little more for something if it would last longer/be better in the long run. She was teaching me the idea of investment. Our future building developments should incorporate sustainable ideas, like: efficient building materials, building placements, heating techniques, material extraction practices as well as aesthetics. Building planning is the epitome of development. Technology is not marked by lateral expansion, but in complexity and sometimes even simplicity.

Just like most people across the nation, across the globe, I do not know the full possibilities of what can be done with creative design. I feel that there is a crucial aspect that has been underutilized. Why aren’t potentialities being pursued? Why make creations with poor craftsmanship? There is no pride found in thrown together structures. People must take time, go to the drawing board and plan what would be the most efficient way of execution. Truly anything less should be unacceptable.

Goal Setting

The question we ask has everything to do with the answer we will get. If we want to know how to help alleviate the water dependency from western states, we are not going to ask about for example, recreational uses or annual rainfall. We are going to focus more in depth on domestic uses. Where is water needed the most, and where can water use be cut? What factors are causing such high dependency? High population? or manufacturing needs? What are the repercussions if water needs are not met? Will people not have green lawns? or will they have a drinking water shortage? Identifying the area of concern is crucial. What are you trying to control and what is subject to change?

Bounded Rationality

While taking economics, I was perplexed by the "assumption" that people make "rational" decisions. This idea seemed rather idealistic. How often on a daily basis does it seem that people make rational actions? Seeing so many frivolous items on the shelf or poorly thought through inventions, I often asked myself, "Did they think about that before they made it?" And it went the other way too; it was easy to see when something was thoroughly designed. As crazy as some items are, what is even crazier is that these often bizarre or ludicrous outcomes were conducted in complete faith. Whatever these people were thinking, they held their own sense of rationality. This concept goes beyond the manufacturing world, and can be seen in social situations as well.

News broadcasting creates a vast source of “bounded rationality.” Often one side of the story is told and can leave people with a bias. According to the information they have heard, it is only rational for them to sway with what was presented. For example: presidential campaign adds try (nearly desperately) to create a lasting impression. Truly manipulating the principle of bounded rationality, the add writers are instilling a swayed rationality. They want to change your mind; and they use a subtle technique.
The concept of "bounded rationality" has given me a term I can place to this idea of a limited perception. In all their knowledge, in all their capacity, people make the most reasonable decision they know how. Daniel Kahneman likens bounded rationality to "intuitive thinking." In his lecture he goes in to detail the limiting factors of rationality, and says how there are inherent and inevitable flaws in intuition. The rationality that is accessible is incurred by intuitive understanding, drawing heavily on past experience/stimuli. To break free of limits presented, further inquisition, deeper insight, will need to be inquired.

Our “rational” decisions may be considered so under a certain set of variables, but entirely unreasonable under another, or if more are added. While not entirely informed, rational thinking/intuitive thinking usually does not include all of the “distant” components and idea creditability is hindered. By “bounded” rationality, it is not only limited but it is constricted as well. Bounded rationality is the idea that people make decisions based on their limited perceptions and go off of past understanding. This is a concept that we can see in any subject we look deep into.

Visual Systems

Graphs, and other visual representations, allow you to conceptually see the system at work. Instead of one single component, multiple, more identifiable, factors become distinguishable. A basic, fundamental, understanding of system thinking is learned by observation. Visually perceiving the whole, the function can be seen. Known by visual cues, system thinking leads to a holistic interpretation. If it just snowed, we know that the road needs to be plowed and the roads may be icy. Visual graphs and depictions are a replication of what can be best understood at a broad scale.

Visual components can unleash massive amounts of creative potential and ordinarily people can relate more naturally to this option. If data was only expressed in descriptive terms, understanding would be highly limited. Visual depiction allows for a fuller, more comprehensive overview. Rather than a linear representation, webbed diagrams, circle charts etc., allow for multiple interactions to be seen and accounted for. Not only can pictures give a snapshot of the scene, but they can link emotional connection as well. For example, the Hidden Gems campaign; seeing the proposal on a map and real photos of the areas together, allows for a more sincere connection to be made. Showing people photos of malnourished children allows the reality and severity of some system outcomes to be recognized more fully. People are visual learners, this is where we started our learning career and this is how it will continue.

Sustainability?

Melissa Nelson

Ashley Muse

System Thinking: 301

30 Jan. 2012

1. Define Sustainability

2. What is a system?

3. what is the first system that comes to mind?

4. What is system thinking?

5. How is it similar or dissimilar to regular thinking?

6. What does system thinking have to do with sustainability?

1. Definite theories of sustainability often seem clouded, having vague outlines of rather general concepts. Fundamentally the idea of sustainability understands the function of a system and the parts that make it up. It is social, economic and environmental design that encompasses the highest form of efficiency; each piece integrating into the cycle and benefiting the whole. Sustainable systems strive for core stability, and can competently deal with influx and outflow behaviors. 2. A system is the accumulative interaction between two or more working parts. These parts work in correlation to each other, having both negative and positive feed backs. Complex in nature, a system is often nested within a larger more comprehensive set of relationships. 3. Basic systems can be viewed in a linear scale. For example, the U.S. process of legislation. Law makers draft a legislative bill. The people vote on the proposed agenda, or the president gives the go ahead. 4. Thinking in complex system takes into consideration the multiple variables and expands into a dimensional perspective. What were the components that lead to separate outcomes? System thinking is taking into consideration each individual component and identifying it’s role and function within a complex organization. 5. Instead of conventional thinking which focuses on the use of systems, like fertilizer use or harvest time, system thinking goes in depth and answers the question “why.” ST can expand perception and let one understand the cause in order to better understand the effect. 6. System thinking is at the core of sustainability because it gives the skill to understand and identify ineffective or disorganized practices. Newton’s laws, the understanding of genetics, even the creation of nuclear fission were all brought to light by a genius stroke of system thinking and understanding. In the move to a more sustainable culture and society, system thinking will give light to sustainable practices. Break down a function, and learn to understand and control it, driven by system thinking, this is the idea of sustainability.

Part Two:

There are systems within daily experiences that have become known by an instinctual basis of understanding. As young babies, we were in the very first stages of understanding. The simple role of observation was needed to make connections between one thing and another. Babies grow in their system understanding as more and more things are seen in relation to another. As young minds, things are not directly labeled as systems but the sum of their parts is understood.

When a cold front moves in, it snows and more people go snowboarding. Rather than looking at the systematic reasoning of some occurrence I just think “I want to go snowboarding” I don’t necessarily think of all the steps leading up to that conclusion.