Journaling About Creativity, Design, and Collaboration: 20. Observable Phenomena

Continuing this series, where I share one page and transcription of a handwritten journal entry.

This journal page is brief. One sentence. I wish to add more but any time I've opened the page, I was stuck with where to go next.

Observable Phenomena

What can you notice is happening as it happens?

Brief reaction to transcribing this page.

Some of the most powerful things we learn at a young age but we don't always hold on to them. Though sometimes we do hold on but they don't feel important as recent ideas.

Two examples where I assumed assumed this old idea doesn't hold up.

Coding in BASIC

I learned how to program in BASIC starting in second grade which for my time was a very fortunate thing. That practice with logic was formative, then I took it for granted. Later when I was considering focusing on making video games as a goal I though I was starting over at age 21 since computers must have evolved so much. I was starting from scratch, that's what I thought. I was wrong about that. Variables, conditionals, logical flow all were relevant. They just looked a little different in C and Lingo which I was learning at the time.

Who What When Where Why How

Then somehow it was later, I think 4th or 5th grade learning about writing a report where I connected with who, what, when, where, and why. Also how. Questions we can use to investigate what we sense. Notice what is happening and investigate. Those questions served me just as well if not even better than the computer logic.

What's happening and why?

Facing a pile of data based on instrumentation and logs for a system. Ask the observation questions. Exploring an assumption, find a gentle way to ask the questions. Find out what can be observed now or observed through research how you can learn about what you're making, who it's for, who you're collaborating with.

What can I learn from my audience?

Need to prepare to interview someone that uses what you make? Curious about your audience? Ask yourself what you want to learn, why, from who, how could that work in a way that you get to learn from observable phenomena.

You'll gather useful insight from what you observe.

Maybe as a poetic note this one is brief. It's also one of the most powerful notes in the creative journal yet. So much learning from noticing, observing, and talking with others where then you can see what can you notice as it happens.