Comments on: Utility is overrated. http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/ Interactive art, experimental software toys, screensavers and games by Jim Bumgardner. Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:47:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Eloquation » Blog Archive » Four things your web app needs to remember http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-24245 Eloquation » Blog Archive » Four things your web app needs to remember Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:16:27 +0000 http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-24245 [...] Tom’s exactly right: Twitter Blocks’ utility is in its entertainment value rather than its productivity value. I agree with Jim Bumgardner when he says that “wonder and delight is all we should require of our toys, and it is all we should require of our art.” If you spend even thirty seconds being delighted by the great things you learn on Twitter Blocks, it has been successful. [...] [...] Tom’s exactly right: Twitter Blocks’ utility is in its entertainment value rather than its productivity value. I agree with Jim Bumgardner when he says that “wonder and delight is all we should require of our toys, and it is all we should require of our art.” If you spend even thirty seconds being delighted by the great things you learn on Twitter Blocks, it has been successful. [...]

]]> By: Infovore » links for 2007-09-02 http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-21508 Infovore » links for 2007-09-02 Tue, 04 Sep 2007 10:54:46 +0000 http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-21508 [...] KrazyDad » Blog Archive » Utility is overrated. “When a work of art becomes useful, it becomes a craft, or it becomes propaganda. When a toy becomes useful, it becomes a tool, or a weapon.” (tags: toys art creativity utility tools making) [...] [...] KrazyDad » Blog Archive » Utility is overrated. “When a work of art becomes useful, it becomes a craft, or it becomes propaganda. When a toy becomes useful, it becomes a tool, or a weapon.” (tags: toys art creativity utility tools making) [...]

]]> By: hauntedcastle.org » Blog Archive http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-21493 hauntedcastle.org » Blog Archive Tue, 04 Sep 2007 03:52:40 +0000 http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-21493 [...] Tom Carden responds to blog-criticism for Twitter Blocks, Stamen’s new twitter visualization.  He notes that much of the negative response is surrounding the *utility* factor of the project.  The most relevant thread from all this seems to surround this idea of the cult of utility, why things like this are generally appraised on how effectively they help you perform a task.  This is the classic Venture Capital 101 idea: Here is the Pain, and here is my Solution.  Offering the customer a solution to a nagging problem is this built in mechanism lots of people have, and it ultimately can guide their reaction to anything they see, particularly on the web.  Tom points to Jim Bumgardner’s article entitled “utility is overrated” as a response to this line of criticism. A question like “what good is it?” presupposes that all things must serve some common good. They must save lives, or repair toasters, or solve the world’s fuel shortages, or above all, make enormous sums of money. In short, everything must have a use, and frivolity should be avoided. [...] [...] Tom Carden responds to blog-criticism for Twitter Blocks, Stamen’s new twitter visualization.  He notes that much of the negative response is surrounding the *utility* factor of the project.  The most relevant thread from all this seems to surround this idea of the cult of utility, why things like this are generally appraised on how effectively they help you perform a task.  This is the classic Venture Capital 101 idea: Here is the Pain, and here is my Solution.  Offering the customer a solution to a nagging problem is this built in mechanism lots of people have, and it ultimately can guide their reaction to anything they see, particularly on the web.  Tom points to Jim Bumgardner’s article entitled “utility is overrated” as a response to this line of criticism. A question like “what good is it?” presupposes that all things must serve some common good. They must save lives, or repair toasters, or solve the world’s fuel shortages, or above all, make enormous sums of money. In short, everything must have a use, and frivolity should be avoided. [...]

]]> By: Random Etc. : Blog Archive : Criticism for Twitter Blocks http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-21385 Random Etc. : Blog Archive : Criticism for Twitter Blocks Sun, 02 Sep 2007 01:49:37 +0000 http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-21385 [...] Jim Bumgardner (aka KrazyDad, author of O’Reilly’s Flickr Hacks) addressed the “so what?” response to frivolous work in a blog post called Utility is Overrated a couple of months back. In the comments there’s a comparison with Susan Sontag’s Against Interpretation. In it, she states that “interpretation is the revenge of the intellect upon art”. I don’t want to point at Twitter Blocks and say “art” (the Motorola sponsorship in particular makes that tricky) but I think that people are thinking too hard about things if they’re looking for the “point” of it. [...] [...] Jim Bumgardner (aka KrazyDad, author of O’Reilly’s Flickr Hacks) addressed the “so what?” response to frivolous work in a blog post called Utility is Overrated a couple of months back. In the comments there’s a comparison with Susan Sontag’s Against Interpretation. In it, she states that “interpretation is the revenge of the intellect upon art”. I don’t want to point at Twitter Blocks and say “art” (the Motorola sponsorship in particular makes that tricky) but I think that people are thinking too hard about things if they’re looking for the “point” of it. [...]

]]> By: Spencer Critchley http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-20670 Spencer Critchley Tue, 21 Aug 2007 06:14:03 +0000 http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-20670 Great post! Reminds me of Susan Sontag's "Against Interpretation": "The earliest *experience* of art must have been that it was incantatory, magical; art was an instrument of ritual... The earliest *theory* of art, that of the Greek philosophers, proposed that art was mimesis, imitation of reality. It is at this point that the peculiar question of the value of art arose. For the mimetic theory, by its very terms, challenges art to justify itself... ...art as such... becomes problematic, in need of defense. And it is the defense of art which gives birth to the odd vision by which something we have learned to call "form" is separated off from something we have learned to call "content," and to the well-intentioned move which makes content essential and form accessory... ...In a culture whose already classical dilemma is the hypertrophy of the intellect at the expense of energy and sensual capability, interpretation is the revenge of the intellect upon art." (My emphases.) Great post! Reminds me of Susan Sontag’s “Against Interpretation”:

“The earliest *experience* of art must have been that it was incantatory, magical; art was an instrument of ritual… The earliest *theory* of art, that of the Greek philosophers, proposed that art was mimesis, imitation of reality.

It is at this point that the peculiar question of the value of art arose. For the mimetic theory, by its very terms, challenges art to justify itself…

…art as such… becomes problematic, in need of defense. And it is the defense of art which gives birth to the odd vision by which something we have learned to call “form” is separated off from something we have learned to call “content,” and to the well-intentioned move which makes content essential and form accessory…

…In a culture whose already classical dilemma is the hypertrophy of the intellect at the expense of energy and sensual capability, interpretation is the revenge of the intellect upon art.”

(My emphases.)

]]> By: Neu Black » Blog Archive » Whitney Music Box http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-20179 Neu Black » Blog Archive » Whitney Music Box Fri, 10 Aug 2007 16:31:36 +0000 http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-20179 [...] If you still think of “art” as painting, we’re proud to introduce you to your first piece of online art. The Whitney Music Box was created by our friend Jim Bumgardner as “a musical realization of the motion graphics of John Whitney as described in his book digital harmony.” In three minutes, the largest dot will travel around the circle once, the next largest dot will travel around the circle twice, the next largest dot three times, and so on. The dots are arranged to trigger notes on a chromatic scale when they pass the line and generate music using synthesis software of Bumgardeners own design. If you’re a fan of mathematically generated work like Robert Hodgkins Flight 404, the Whitney Music Box works on a similar principle, but adds an audio element and was entirely programmed in flash actionscript. When not busy being an actionscript guru during the day at Yahoo Music, Bumgardner comes up with interesting new interactive experiments which you can see on his sites including krazydad.com and coverpop.com. We’d like to nominate Jim up for quote of the year, because we’d die to see him walk into a meeting and tell everyone “Personally, I think utility is overrated.” [...] [...] If you still think of “art” as painting, we’re proud to introduce you to your first piece of online art. The Whitney Music Box was created by our friend Jim Bumgardner as “a musical realization of the motion graphics of John Whitney as described in his book digital harmony.” In three minutes, the largest dot will travel around the circle once, the next largest dot will travel around the circle twice, the next largest dot three times, and so on. The dots are arranged to trigger notes on a chromatic scale when they pass the line and generate music using synthesis software of Bumgardeners own design. If you’re a fan of mathematically generated work like Robert Hodgkins Flight 404, the Whitney Music Box works on a similar principle, but adds an audio element and was entirely programmed in flash actionscript. When not busy being an actionscript guru during the day at Yahoo Music, Bumgardner comes up with interesting new interactive experiments which you can see on his sites including krazydad.com and coverpop.com. We’d like to nominate Jim up for quote of the year, because we’d die to see him walk into a meeting and tell everyone “Personally, I think utility is overrated.” [...]

]]> By: kudcom http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-20129 kudcom Thu, 09 Aug 2007 18:29:36 +0000 http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-20129 At least if anyone asks about the "good" of your blog, you can always say you make a few $'s off the Google Ads. At least if anyone asks about the “good” of your blog, you can always say you make a few $’s off the Google Ads.

]]> By: Angela White http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-19556 Angela White Wed, 01 Aug 2007 22:07:34 +0000 http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-19556 Hi Jim, You have been "tagged" on my post "8 Random Facts About Me meme" found at: http://cupoflizard.wordpress.com/2007/08/01/8-random-facts-about-me-meme/ Cheers! Angela Hi Jim,
You have been “tagged” on my post “8 Random Facts About Me meme” found at:
http://cupoflizard.wordpress.com/2007/08/01/8-random-facts-about-me-meme/

Cheers!
Angela

]]> By: pfh http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-17727 pfh Fri, 06 Jul 2007 08:08:08 +0000 http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-17727 Tools are merely a way to obtain utility. Wonder and delight are _synonyms_ of utility. What good is it? It makes people happy. Tools are merely a way to obtain utility. Wonder and delight are _synonyms_ of utility.

What good is it? It makes people happy.

]]> By: narcosislabs http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-17425 narcosislabs Mon, 02 Jul 2007 18:29:39 +0000 http://www.krazydad.com/blog/2007/06/24/utility-is-overrated/#comment-17425 Thanks for this Jim. It made my day. I have to talk to a group of HS jrs tomorrow about the difference between art and craft and this just made my notes unnecessary. Thanks for this Jim. It made my day. I have to talk to a group of HS jrs tomorrow about the difference between art and craft and this just made my notes unnecessary.

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