reflection on september 18 #2

So… a wearable motorcycle. I think this is an amazing idea but how practical is it? I realize that with the price of gas continuing to rise astronomically in ever increasing speed that we need to start wrapping our heads around new technology that will use less fossil fuels or perhaps some other form of power. I however do not think I know anyone who would wish to participate in being the guinea pig for this prototype. I guess it must have already been tested out if Yamaha has decided to put all this money into this guys design, but I think perhaps they are dreaming a bit too much and someone needs to help them pull their heads out of the clouds. I guess that its possible that it could work (that’s what designs all about after all thinking up different ideas and trying to make them come to reality) but it just seems a little too sci-fi for me.

~Trevor

reflection on september 18

Why do people often feel anxious when other people become too close? Upon hearing Jerry speak of Edward T. Hall’s idea of proxemics I realized that subconsciously I have always known that this phenomenon occurred but just never realized that there had been studies done on it. I have always wondered why a person often becomes uncomfortable when another person (even more so when the person is not a close acquaintance) gets too close to them. I knew that there was an area that is considered “personal space”. I did not however realize that there were three other labeled spaces: intimate, social and public. The other thing I find interesting is that different cultures and countries have different standards of these spaces. An example of this is that people in Canada would be incredibly uncomfortable if someone was within one foot of them, while people in Japan are relatively comfortable even when others are within eight inches of their face. I believe this has something to do with the amount of people living in the particular area. I think that the people living within the areas with greater density populations would be more comfortable with people being in a closer vicinity.

~Trevor