Reading & Response: Motion TO Action
Introduction
The aspect of the creative process we did NOT engage in is how to begin or what to do with a blank pager. James Clear, in his book Atomic habits, talks about motion vs action. The design exercise you completed was about the motion of learning, engaging, collaborating and communicating. We will now approach the action of how to begin setting your communities and classrooms in motion.
Sometimes motion is useful, but it will never produce an outcome by itself.
In architecture design schools, there is an interesting pejorative term: talkitecture. Talkitecture is when people, when presenting their work, speak about what could, may, or will be part of the design vs what is actually there and pinned up on the wall. Ideation is wonderful, but critique is difficult (and not very effective” when there is no thing to critique. We can all design the most amazing things in our mind, but the devil is in the details and we cannot evaluate, test, or critique ideas unless they are manifest in some tangible way. You can have the most amazing ideas in the world, but until the are modeled and on the table or drawn and on the wall they are merely ideas. Prototyping, at whatever fidelity, is the beginning of action.
“Never mistake motion for action”
Instructions
Read Chapter 11 from (be sure to read the footnote about the photography story!). You might find it helpful to read the synopsis on James Clear’s website as well. After reading the chapter, reflect on the content and answer the following questions as a comment below.
Clear, James. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. Penguin Publishing Group, 2018. CH 11
Questions
How did you see motion vs action in your initial design exercise? Where was the transition? How did this affect your outlook?
What strategies can be implemented to encourage students to take more action and move beyond the ideation phase of a project?
How do you see the benefits of the “quantity” vs “quality” approach? Have you witnessed this in your own work or in your classrooms?
How can you help students balance “quantity” vs “quality” and how can critique help navigate the transition between them?
