civilisation

“Most of our intelligence is not in our brain, it is externalized as our civilization. It’s not just that our bodies, senses, and environment determine how much intelligence our brains can develop — crucially, our biological brains are just a small part of our whole intelligence. Cognitive prosthetics surround us, plugging into our brain and extending its

buildings

Some scans from the book Buildings and Power by Thomas A. Markus showing his graph representations of building topologies and how they relate to their plans. These are scans from Part III of the book, Buildings and Knowledge, which deals with building typologies associated with the production and storage of knowledge, buildings as cognitive prosthetics.

flow

“You are in an ecstatic state to such a point that you feel as though you almost don’t exist. I have experienced this time and again. My hand seems devoid of myself, and I have nothing to do with what is happening. I just sit there watching it in a state of awe and wonderment.

coupling

“This difference – between technology as a means of construction and as a means of expression – is important when considering the relationship between musicians, technical systems and music. It means we can redefine technology, not as a tool subservient to creativity or an obstacle to it, but as part of a wider context within

concrete

Stairwell in the Sciences Library at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.   The contents page for Adrian Forty’s Concrete and Culture: A Material History. “Despite its ancient Roman origins, concrete is considered the ultimate modern material, used everywhere in construction today: the equivalent of three tonnes of concrete per person on the planet is