design — 2012 — The 21st Century Matriarch

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article:

'Time-Capsule' Japanese Lake Sediment Advances Radiocarbon Dating for Older Objects - provides a much more precise way to examine radiocarbon ages of organic material that is 11,000-53,000 years old

Poetry in Motion: Gemini Observatory Releases Image of Rare Polar Ring Galaxy - two galaxies interacting

Shuttle Endeavour’s Complete LA Journey - less than 3 minute time lapse video of Endeavor’s trek through LA streets from National Geographic

Space Oddity - comments from Richard Watson about the famous picture of the earth seen from the moon

Roasted Sweet and Spicy Butternut Squash - my grocery story has bins of the squash already cut up…making this recipe very simple. I’m going to try it.

Antibiotic Contamination a Threat to Humans and the Environment - a study from Greenland

New Way to Mimic the Color and Texture of Butterfly Wings - a way to create colorful surfaces that won’t fade like conventional pigmentation

Archaeologists to Mount New Expedition to Troy - less than 20% of the site has been scientifically excavated. Without about 4,500 years of nearly uninterrupted settlement at a crossroads between Europe and Asia…there is a lot to learn

'Large and Dirty' Companies Adopting Greener Strategies to Earn More Green - more companies are seeing environmental safeguards as a business opportunity to embed innovations that save production costs in the long term and that also improve their standing as good corporate citizens in the public mind.

A Long and Winding Road: Cassini Celebrates 15 Years - It’s already sent back some 444 gigbytes of data and more than 300,000 images. There is a still a lot in the plan for it too - before it enters Saturn’s atmosphere on September 15, 2017.

OneZoom Tree of Life Explorer - a zoom in and out visualization of the mammal ‘tree’ from Imperial College London; the project’s goal to eventually include all life on Earth

12 Expert Tips for Fall Fitness - from Marlo Thomas. Anything on this list you should turn into a personal habit?

Ada Lovelace Day Celebrates Women in Science - it was 10/16…and I didn’t see the story until too late. I’m celebrating away. And - becoming more of an activist for the idea that we need more women in the sciences. When I was in college in the 70s, I thought the increased availability of education would lead to increased women in the sciences but the numbers didn’t increase the way so many of us thought they would by now.

The Conversation Project - a starter kit with tools and tips to have the conversation about ‘when it comes to the end of life, I want mine to be…..’

Design for the Public Good (infographic overview of an exhibit at the Autodesk Gallery in San Francisco)

It is a mark of success in a park, public lobby or a porch when people can come there and fall asleep. - Christopher Alexander in A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Cess Center for Environmental)

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This quote is from the mid-1970s. Much has changed since that time. In 2012, when an adult is asleep in a public place, the linkage is often to ‘homeless’ rather than a ‘mark of success’ for the space. Public places are intended for wakeful activity rather than sleep.

But - the underlying meaning of the quote has less to do with sleep than with people feeling secure in the place…that bad things will not happen there…that it is OK to relax and not be on alert. Even in the best of our public spaces, the design of the space is not enough. For over 10 years, the news media and our education system has trained us to a heightened vigilance - particularly in public places; we are often warned about our technical gadgets that draw our attention, sometimes to the exclusion of our surroundings.

Think about a public place you deem to be ‘successful’ - and what are the main elements that cause it to be that way.

The Smithsonian Mall in Washington DC is my example. The open area of the mall is heavily used throughout the year; there are always people about. The picture below was taken on a Sunday in November 2011 - not the peak of tourist season. The Park Police walk the fine line between intrusion and security. Many of the people are there as individuals - enjoying the ‘alone but not too alone’ of a public place. Some are passing through - walking between museums. Some are walking or jogging…not there for the museums at all. It is not a place a go frequently, but when I do it is enjoyable and I don’t feel the need to rush through it to be safe.

That doesn’t mean that I would sleep there.