In the cybernetic serendipity video, the presenter explains how the Drawing Machine can be used by people with no talent for drawing to “express themselves in numbers or ideas”. As such, it reshapes our experience of "drawing", not only by mechanizing the process but also by allowing to visually express ourselves in more abstract and un-controlled ways. While traditional tools usually required more time and rely more craft skills, the drawing tool requires less time for the execution of the drawing but instead this time is invested into the areas of programming and engineering. The Drawing Machine evokes an interesting shift towards the mechanics of drawing which come natural to a talented craftsperson.
The shift brings about a difference in how ideas are processed and developed. The tools we choose when making a drawing structures our approach, as the creative process occurs at the moment of drawing itself. If thinking is structured by the tools we use, we need to ask ourselves how different tools can guide us in different modes of creation.
As an example, traditional drawing tools, such as pens allow us great flexibility in modifying the drawing quickly and develop ideas as we proceed. Mechanical drawing tools, on the other side, allow great precision and can free the mind to focus more on aspects of form and composition. An understanding of how these tools change our thought processes can help us choose the right tools, experiment and discover new ways of creating things.