Writings – Page 2 – Scott Penman

Play

[an excerpt from my thesis writings – currently underway] The concept of play (and playfulness, etc.) is one of the most important foundations of the research at hand. Although it is widely regarded as necessary to design education, it is a term that inherently resists strict scientific definition. The purpose of this clarification is notContinue reading “Play”

Science and Style

Modern thinking tends to draw a divide between the role of the scientist and the role of the designer. Artist versus mathematician, architect versus engineer – the two are often considered incongruous at best. This alienation has not always been the case, however; in fact, science has played a significant role in architectural design fromContinue reading “Science and Style”

Virtuality

In her writing “Cyberspace, Virtuality, and the Real,” Elizabeth Grosz states that “the concept of virtuality has been with us a remarkably long time. It is a coherent and functional idea already in Plato’s writings, where both ideas and simulacra exist in some state of virtuality…since there has been writing…there has been some idea ofContinue reading “Virtuality”

Complexity

Merriam-Webster defines complexity as “the quality or state of being complex” and complex as “a whole made up of complicated or interrelated parts.” It is only after pursuing this all the way to the definition of complicated (“consisting of parts intricately combined”) that a reasonable idea of the term can be formulated. The word isContinue reading “Complexity”

Technological Advancement

Throughout history, the march of technological innovation has impacted every aspect and tenet of our society and culture. Some of society’s greatest inventions – the printing press, the steam engine, electricity – can be seen as the heralds of a new age, or the forbearers of a time of great progress. Since the first patentContinue reading “Technological Advancement”

Computational Neuroscience: Brains vs. Binary

Brains and computers share many similarities in the basic, core structure of their processing methods: Computers utilize the binary system of 1’s and 0’s to encode and organize information, relying on the incredibly rapid method of electrical communication to process data. Patterns of these two digits are compiled in incredibly long strings, providing the varietyContinue reading “Computational Neuroscience: Brains vs. Binary”