Trying too hard; thinking too much.
What do the camera, car, cell phone, clock, CD player, and computer all have in common besides being a technology that begins with ‘C?” …. They all evolved from less technologically heavy things. The camera was once the pinhole, the car was once a cart or mule, the cellular was a landline which was a telegram which was face-to-face communication, the clock was a sundial or the stars, and the CD player has had a long evolution from a record. Does the developing world have a need for any of these things? How does that tie into “sustainability” or environmental consciousness?
I began to think about the needs of the “other 90%” instead of the technology itself since in D-Lab we are constantly reminded of the Segway (cool technology, hardly a demand). So I try hard to recall what needs I saw over my summer in Peru that can be addressed with some sort of de-technologized object that is a bigger, dumber, or easier version of its former self. Since we thought a lot about communication links between affected communities and big, bad NGOs (and how to make it more effective), I tried to come up with better methods of getting messages across to one another besides face-to-face which is the most commonly used method down there. This led to discovering the Mr. Daily Talk in Liberia (blackboard blogger). Other methods that they currently use:
- Papelotas (big papers)
- Pasar la voz (pass on the word)
- Avisos (flyers)
The technologies all seem relatively simple already. In what way could this be improved? Is the messenger flawed or is it the message? Maybe since the assignment is to make something, I should give up on concept and just make something…
