Tale of the Visionaries

Learn N' Go

Reflection:

Our work is an interactive headset. In our imagination, people a hundred years from now will no longer need to spend days or years to learn a skill. Learn N 'Go uses brainwaves to directly implant human skills stored in the system into a person’s brain, allowing them to acquire the skill instantly.

👍👍👍:

The interactivity of this work is quite obvious. People implant skills into the headset. The user, accesses the stored knowledge then utilizes the acquired skills as a respond. This interactivity is clearly demonstrated in our performance. For example, when Amargi chose to learn the guzheng, she can quickly start playing. At the same time, our work critically emphasizes the complexity of technology. We do not only present this technology in a positive perspective but rather question whether humanity might become overly dependent on technology and abandon the process of learning itself. As we wrote: “Learning is not just about having skills, it's about earning them.”

👎👎👎:

However, I believe our work can be improved. First, the interactive details of our design are not refined enough. The headset itself could be more sophisticated and multifunctional. In other words, our prototype has room for improvement. If possible, I would like to design a complete control panel for it with more buttons representing functions such as learning, archiving, and resizing. During class discussion, I gained inspiration from my classmates and reflected on some aspects. For example, does the headset need to be worn all the time to retain the acquired skills? I think this is unnecessary. Since the skills are transmitted via brainwaves, removing the headset should not instantly erase their memory of the skill.

Secondly, I feel that our design of the helmet’s disadvantages is somewhat superficial. For example, we originally thought that wearing the headset only grants a skill without true understanding it. However, in reality, using such a headset could significantly enhance learning efficiency. While utilizing a skill, it is still possible to gradually develop a deeper understanding of it. Therefore, I believe the greater drawback lies in the potential over-reliance on technology. It might decrease people's enthusiasm for autonomous learning and their motivation to acquire skills through long-term effort.

Analysis of 'DreamLink' :

This group designed a magical dreamcatcher. Its function is to connect humans and pets, allowing people to converse and interact with their pets in dreams. I think this work is quite interesting, and its interactivity is also quite evident. Humans place the connection device on their pet, and through the medium of dreams, they enter another space where they can communicate with their pet’s consciousness. Even though controlling dreams may sound somewhat fantastical, who can say what the world will be like in a hundred years? Their performance was also engaging. They used narration to help the audience understand the setting and distinguish between dream and reality. Using a plush kitten to represent the pet was both adorable and captivating.

At the same time, I’d like to offer some suggestions for improvement. This group explained the ethical dilemma of their work as follows: people might become more inclined to interact with their pet in dreams while neglecting the real pet. However, I don’t think this would necessarily be a major issue. Each person has their own way of treating and understanding their pet. Even if a pet in a dream can talk, it doesn’t automatically make it superior to the real, physical pet. If technology advances to the point where it can detect a pet’s thoughts or even alter its memory, then enabling real-time communication between humans and pets in the waking world may not be far-fetched. Using technology to facilitate seamless interaction between humans and animals might actually enhance interactivity even further.

Group Work :

In this group project, I was responsible for designing, creating the prototype, and documenting the production process. Together with my team members, I discussed the model design and functionality of our work, and I helped assemble and paint the headset. I also contributed to considering the drawbacks of our design, such as the potential of reliance on technology.

I believe our group collaboration went very smoothly. We did not have any conflicts. We communicated and understood each other, respecting everyone’s plans and ideas. Amargi and Derrick contributed design inspirations, Lee sketched out the design, and my teammates worked with me to complete the prototype.

Link to the script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ERt0xyPZzYRcwUKvWtwHrV3oqcSols2JPDhQgNTUwYM/edit?usp=sharing

Link to the performance: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dSz4-zb0qV3_dXLfBRproGJLW5E2k4nJ/view?usp=sharing

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