16 March 2006

Meta-lame

First let me say that I have the up most respect for many d.school instructors and especially those that blog. There are a lot of reasons to blog. Some broadcast information that they feel needs to be out there. Some blog to convince. Personally, I blog as a venting and a mechanism, a form of self-expression. My blog also serves as a chronicle of my thoughts and growth. Those thoughts are often wrong. Sometimes they are even posted, by me, with full knowledge that they may be wrong. I like dialog. I learn, grow and expand – from dialog. People, schools and companies also learn from dialog. I have no idea if what I have to say has much relevance… I don’t much believe in intellectual self-judgment. I am also not that concerned about who or how many read what is written here.

So what is my point? Recently, a leading blogger in the design space removed the ability for his readers to comment. I have no idea why – maybe it was a time issue. Not only is this unfortunate, it is irresponsible. If you put yourself out there, espousing ideas, opinions and news about a topic, you are essentially providing opinions to others, while fully engaged in self-promotion. When you close yourself off to productive discourse, and accept challenges to those ideas, you limit your own opportunity for growth as well as that of others. You do a disservice to your industry and your profession.

I preach to students (and I learned this from one of my professors – he knows who he is) to know what you believe and have the ability to communicate it. Have an opinion, even if it is wrong. Be willing to discuss it. Likelihood is that you will learn from the discussion.

I can divide the people I have met in my lifetime between those I want to spend time with and those I do not. Some are terminal learners – others are not. I have little tolerance for closed opinions and arrogance. You can most likely interpret the rest.