proprioception

« April 2005 | Main | March 2006 »

January 31, 2006

notes on house movments

As part of my studies of interactive movements, I recently took a tour through my apartment writing down all of the interactive movements that I could find. Here is the list with some preliminary notes:

1. Opening door
2. Turning deadbolt
3. Turning doorknob
4. Turning lock on doorknob
5. Light switch
6. Plug/unplug electrical outlet
7. Mop wringer
8. Iron (dial/buttons)
9. Opening cooler
10. Vacuum
11. Guitar case lock
12. Guitar case handle
13. Guitar case latch
14. Inflatable parrot valve open/close
15. Shoe box lid on/off
16. Zipper up/down
17. Clothes hangers
18. Shirt button
19. Green tub lid on/off
20. Hair dryer button
21. Belt buckle
22. Ac slider control
23. Ac air direction
24. Blinds up/down
25. Blinds open/close
26. Box-light switch on cord
27. Bed springs
28. Clock buttons
29. Small bag cinch (satchel)
30. Opening book
31. Flash light button on end
32. Spray bottle trigger
33. Camera case clip
34. Camera case flap open
35. Jar lid on/off
36. Backpack strap adjustment
37. Key board buttons
38. Hat adjustment on back
39. Toilet lid up/down
40. Toilet flush handle
41. Toilet paper dispenser
42. Shampoo bottle squeeze
43. Unscrew toothpaste cap
44. Adjust shower head
45. Bath faucet on/off
46. Shower curtain open/close
47. Push top hand soap
48. Deodorant click wheel
49. Deodorant cap on/off
50. Pull chain on light
51. Medicine bottle cap
52. Thermostat adjustment wheel
53. Calculator buttons
54. Zip lock bags open/close
55. Dimmer switch turn
56. Microwave buttons
57. Microwave push-latch door open
58. Flip lid on water jug
59. Unfolding paper bag
60. Pepper grinder turning
61. Salt grinder turning
62. Spice lid open
63. Drawer open/close
64. Faucet kitchen on/off
65. Spray hose on/off kitchen faucet
66. Tea powder lid on/off
67. Soup can lid pull tab
68. Cabinet open/close
69. Stove knobs turning
70. Oven door open/close
71. Sport bottle open/close
72. Cheese cutter
73. Pan lids on/off
74. Electrical breaker plug button
75. Fire extinguisher
76. Folding table in kitchen
77. TV antennae moving
78. TV antennae knob
79. Candle lid on/off
80. Surge protector switch
81. Folding chair
82. Lamp height adjustment
83. Lamp turn switch
84. Adjustable arms on couch up/down
85. Air duster trigger
86. Umbrella open/close
87. Moving table on couch
88. Moving kitchen faucet
89. Dimmer switch push
90. Oven clasp

- Just as we ricochet and go past these movements
- These movements are not the goal
- They facilitate the goal
- They facilitate the forward progress
- Maybe I can make the movements the goal
- Bouncing off movements

- Objects as movement nodes
- Places where you go to make movements
- Little defined trails between undefined periods

- A structure of experience
- Movements have defined beginning and end
- They have a finite time that people have a preexisting relation to
- Difference between moving through space (traveling) and interacting with movements (nodes)
- These movements are the intermediaries between our start, our movements, and our goal
- Because they are not the goal, our energies are concentrated past them, even as we are involved with them.
- The way we approach them should reflect this ricochet
- In the interaction, energy is directed past the object. Some goes into the object. Some is directed back into us in the form of resistance.

- Individuals are drawn to these actions, some by nature and some by learning (habituallization)
- These nodes pull the individuals open (Tarzan changing vines)
- In travel people close off (water droplet on non-whetting surface)
- We don't search for the next interaction
- We learn to recognize and take advantage of them as they prove to be the step between our goal and where we are (optimization)
- Goals can be states, contexts. Never just places. Places, alone, are missing the "why" in "why am I here"
- Starting point Node Goal

- Looking at it as a map, diagram, defining paths, optimized paths
- Any number of people can follow in the wake of one person
- The linking of close nodes with conservative motions
- Linking can beget a rhythm
- The linking should be looked at as an aesthetic event
- Interaction of gravitational bodies in space
- These nodes provide the standards in our paths
- They take various input and provide a reliable action, (funnel, panama canal)
- End in the same goal
- These are the movements where we want something out of them other than just the reliable execution of their apparent physical properties and structure
- Nodes define points on a route
- They sometime dictate natural order of the nodes
- They sometime define portions of the route
- The closer one gets to these movements, the more effect the movements (nodes) have on the route

- Environments can be optimized for routes
- Routes can be optimized for environments
- What are the advantages of an optimized route, conservative route?
   -- Optimized routes give the best rating for a particular aesthetic while still achieving the goal.
   -- The aesthetic can take the form of time, timing, visual, number of nodes, and other personal reasons
   -- The conservative route is a particular type of optimization for conservation of motion and flow.
   -- In the conservative route, the travel in between nodes affected by the nodes before and after it.
   -- The travel seems aware of it's relation to each of these
- How is the idea of conservative movements related to the idea of ricochet?
- Can the interactions be modified to aid the conservation of energy in the travel?
   -- The only things that can be modified are the approach and the exit
   -- The length of the node is only an instant. It can't be affected.
   -- The node happens when the ability is fully activated.
- The approach to the node can influence the exit if the exit is of consequence to the person
- Some attributes of the approach can affect the attributes of the exit due to the amount of energy that is sent past the node

- These movements suggest that order has to be part of every successful goal
- These movements can enforce an order on unordered and semi-ordered approaches and travels (exits?)
- Start Travel (Approach Node Exit ) Travel Goal
- Paths
- Individuals never go through nodes unchanged
   -- Nodes are steps in a process.
   -- To go through one means to become closer to the goal
   -- To go through one means to have left some energy in it and taken some past it
   -- A node on the path will affect the path
- Proximity

- Conservative movements relate to flow, grace, conservation of motion
- Who is prone to conservative movements?
- Conservative movements are not harsh, jerky
- Given free reign, do kids make more conservative movements? (less control over body masses)
- Do people need training or instruction to execute conservative movements consciously?
- Body shape influences style of movement
- Is there an optimal range of body sizes that are prone to conservative movements, given standardized material composition?

- Given the idea of people being "open" while at a node, they are vulnerable to an extra-movement event.
- Captive audience at nodes
- The less energy given to the nodes or the less complicated, the less vulnerable the individual is at the node. (to the node?)
- To use the vulnerability in the node, I have to catch them in a real path even if within a manufactured environment
- The node must maintain it's relative status as it would function in a regular instance
- When the node (as an isolated event) is given too much focus it looses it‘s chance to hide behind the individuals preexisting habitualization to it (tolerance)
- ??Most objects are environment, they influence the travel but they don't open you up.

- What is the definition of a node?
   -- The node is the object, the place of that object, the ability of that object and the physical movement of it.
   -- Movement and outcome in context
- The interaction at a node can but used to trigger other events, but for greater impact, only in addition to the habitualized movements
   -- It would be surprising if the shower curtain draws every time you pump soap on to your hands
- "Habitualize" refers to getting use to a movement in a place or context
- "Desensitized" refers to getting used to a movement out of a context other than that of the solely object referential
- Node movements are generic and specific at the same time
   -- They are generic as in they subscribe to an evolved standard for their specific type of object
   -- They are still specific to the instance they belong (hammers are made used anywhere on anything [not specific], a light switch can be put anywhere but it is meant to be monogamous to one place or instance
- Sometimes that relationship is meant to be in the context of a place (door knob to a door, shower curtain to a shower, and more examples with their locations in their name)
- Sometimes it's meant to be in relation to a greater object (crank on a pepper grinder, any buttons on anything portable, the folding of a chair)
- Why does monogamy matter?
   -- That monogamy is what allows us to have a desensitization about them
   -- In monogamous instances we get used to the presentation even though situations exist where similar movements, that are not monogamous, still require active awareness

- Defining other objects
- Positive engagement
- If thinking less about movements is a sign of talent for those movements, do investigations of movements make you less talented?
- Dealing with multiple nodes in one path
- Define end of path
- Paths can overlap each other and can be contained within one another
- What happens when nodes directly connect or overlap? (door knob, opening door)
   -- Some situations like this should be looked at as a primary example of habitualization of movement.
   -- In the example of turning the doorknob with the opening of the door, these two nodes are generally learned together. They fuse in our encounters with them.
   -- The travel between the two becomes so short that they practically become one movement.
   -- One can gain differing appreciations by looking at them together and by looking at the apart

- People have a natural inclination to desensitize themselves to these movements
- A new movement or a change in the movement can foster an active awareness
- The desensitization process starts with the first encounter with the movement and gains ground with each encounter after
- What is it about the nodes that make them so mutable?
   -- Frequency seems to be the most likely cause
   -- Also, size might factor in.
   -- The range or physical scope of these movements is often smaller than the size of our hands and nearly never larger than the ranger of our arms.
   -- The less exertion and travel we put into them the easier they are to ignore.
- How much can I get people to ignore?
- How much deformation, in the "water droplet" analogy, has to occur before notice is taken?
- Do certain movements have a higher inherent volume, so as it takes less of a change to them for them to become un-muted?
- What happens when the node holds on to you longer than expected/normal?
   -- It can discourage you from going through that node, finding an alternate node
   -- The extra time and energy given can divert the path
- Many nodes next to each other can breed personal innovation within the execution of the nodes
   -- As with many problems, when the path has more pieces and becomes more complicated that encourages consolidation and new paths and approaches to get the same goal

- As in a traditional map the node is a point of information
- It is a specific spot for communication
   -- You don't have to try to catch a person.
   -- People traveling will regularly come to the nodes
   -- Very little aimless wandering (paths with the absence of nodes) actually happens
- The node gives a highlighted, positive definition to a place
- The path is non-specific till a node becomes involved
- If the path becomes the goal, can it also function as a node (it's the journey not the destination)
- The traveling time is insignificant in the context of the goal.
- Goals are a "yes or no" achievement
   -- A goal generally dose not consider how long it takes to get to it.
   -- Time would only factor into a satisfaction of the process plus that achievement
   -- The goal could be achieved with out satisfaction when you take stock of the whole process
   -- A goal influences how it gets achieved but does not care or make any strict definition on the way it is achieved
   -- The more strict the definition of the goal the more strict the manner of achievement becomes

- The series of nodes is what matters
- The node define the path and influence traveling
- Given a goal, there may be multiple paths to take.
- A combination of nodes maybe be equal to a single node, they may have the same output; in the form of a goal or a step to a goal
- Nodes are singular instances not influenced in the action or process by any outside force (the person on the path or the path leading to and way from them)
   -- Nodes do not change by how you approach them.
   -- They are just blocks to be placed, wholly, in a path
- A person can choose to travel through or not though any particular node
- This is the only way by which free will is expressed in the paths.
- To switch to another node has bearing on the path and the satisfaction of the goal.
- The nodes are indifferent as to whether they are used or not
- The nodes are not benefited from being used
- Nodes provide access to the rest of the path.

- Is an opening action and a closing action the same thing?
   -- The node is the object, the place of that object, the ability of that object and the physical movement of it.
   -- If any one of the attributes changes that constitutes another node.
   -- Opening the door and closing the door are two different nodes. While often linked together (they certainly have a specific order) they can be used separately without the immediate action of the other.
   -- Open/close, on/off, up/down Sister Nodes
   -- When mapping these would be treated as separate nodes
   -- When studying the node by its self, it becomes prudent to study both at the same time.
   -- Studying both can give further insights into the function of the mechanism behind the movement that sometimes maybe be obscured
   -- In the case of the light switch the fulcrum of the movement and most of the pieces that make up the subtleties of the swing, and positive engagement are hidden from view.
   -- There are similar issues brought up with nodes that are made up of multiple movements such as in the case of the basic chop-style wire cheese cutter (#72)
   -- Here a movement very similar to that of the light switch happens.
   -- For the ability to happen, the two movements (up and down) have to happen.
   -- They do not have to happen at a set every time but over any number of performances the number of "up's" will never be more than the number of "down's" +/- 1.
   -- This givers them a very special relationship. They are always going to happen together in a route to a goal. They must be treated as one.

- Most of the movements on the list allow for a secondary action of opening or closing something (physical or electrical) 67/90
   -- In these, I'd like to propose, more energy is directed past the node rather than into it.
   -- The more important outcome is that of the secondary one. (You turn the faucet knob, which opens a valve, which lets the water through. The water moving is normally the event in the chain of the greatest priority.)
   -- This has much to do with the middle event being hidden
   -- A standard thought might be "you turn on the faucet and the water comes out." Leaving out the intervening mechanics.
- For some the secondary action is one of regulation of movement such as the trigger of the spray bottle and the adjustment of the backpack strap. 6/90
- Some bridge the gap between the two providing regulation and full-open/full-close functions such as the turning of the dimmer switch and the cranking of the pepper grinder

- Movement is a multi-sensory experience.
   -- It is rooted in touch, proprioception, sight, and balance
- Movement is a basic function of life.
- Movement is a requirement for life.
   -- Along with organization, metabolism, growth, adaptation and reproduction
- The visuals of movement are just as important for the person moving as the person watching.
   -- Such as smell and taste are intertwined, In my experience so are sight and physical feedback
   -- First encounters with a movement are most productive when they include both of these senses.
   -- When I encounter a movement for the first time with just one of these the other sneaks it's way in though my imagination and memory
   -- Drawing on past experiences I can somewhat accurately predict what a movement would feel like in relation to by body just by seeing it.
   -- Likewise, when in a situation where the movement can be felt but not seen, visualization of the mechanism and movement help to get a better grasp on the situation
   -- These are most important. To understand a movement you must understand both the visuals and the feelings of it.
- In art the visuals of movement are emphasized over the physical experience.
- In popular culture and religion, physical movement and visuals of it are more intertwined and equally important.
   -- Dances are most often meant for performance in front of an audience.
   -- Choreographers tend to design from the visual perspective.
   -- Dances have to be aware o how they move, when they move and how it looks.
- Visuals cannot be separated from movement.
- Visual imagination is important in movement.
- Movement rarely occurs without some interaction with an object/ supportive physical contact.
   -- When we walk we push against the ground to move forward. (Exception: zero G, where to move a body must push against its own inertia)
- Movement is the primary means by which we interact/ live in our environment. (Exception: new advances in electrical, direct brain controlled systems)
- Personal Movement is the combination of natural and human phenomena.

Posted by cliff at 02:37 PM | Comments (1)