Useful Things

This week we had a lecture by Ken Devine on the “evolution of useful things”, based on the book by Petroski.  We were reintroduced to the humble paper clip by a horn wearing Ken (I think he may have been working for the devil) anyhow, the point of it was how he simple paperclip is a mother of reinvention.  Its appearance and uses are constantly morphing and not fixed in one place.

From the origins of paper  in China during the Han Dynasty (206-220 BC) to Thirteenth century Europe when pulp from linen rag paper replaced parchment and vellum, man (and woman) has been seeking ways to join 2 pieces of paper together.  This was achieved by pins and ribbon for many years but these things pose problems….. the main one being they just don’t work very well.

So in the mid nineteenth century we finally had an answer to this age old problem: the humble paperclip

Well that’s all great but what’s the point……..?

Well the point is that this is a great example of REFLECTIVE PRACTICE.

What’s that?

It is the process of thinking about a problem and finding a solution and then evaluating it:

Reflection – on-action & Reflection-in-action (cf Finlay 2008)

It’s centrally about starting from a position of not knowing and then connecting your feelings with relevant theory and finding a solution.

This has led me to think about my project.  With so many subjects that interest me it is very difficult to whittle it down to one central theme.  I suppose what’s most important is to begin with a theme and then whittle it down until a solution is arrived at.   I just hope it doesn’t take me as long the paperclip!