Re: (Fwd) Level of Discussion Sinks

Nidhip,
Your note on jargon puts me in mind of the medical profession. Most
physicians absolutely HATE the informed consumer patient model, though I
think this is gradually changing: we're not patients anymore, we're
"clients." They're every bit as wrong as the archies who wrap their
insecurity in jargon. There's a culture of medicine where god complexes
and detached attitudes are formulated.

Just as it will take several generations of med students to change, it will
take quite a while to change the culture of architecture.

Students can influence this change by refusing to play along, but this can
be difficult for younger traditional students, who, while typically very
highly motivated achievers, are often very regimented and conformist in
their world views. What we believe to be the "unlearning of everything"
and "purification" of our minds in first year archie programs is actually
the beginning of an indoctrination into an equally regimented, equally
conforming culture.

Some of us older students, who've been out in life and work for a while,
(I'm 37 and a 4th year BArchie) can be facilitators of that change, and
we should be. But it's really easy to start, once you see you should.

Don't play the complexity game. Complex isn't always better. Strive for
        clarity in _all_ your work, be it a research paper or a
        presentation board or a model.

Don't do something just because someone suggests you should. Who said you
        need 100 ft. of trash and 20 study models to develop an idea? How
        many times have you done this, only to dump it all and go back
        to your original concept? You know when to stop, and you're the
        only one who knows best. BTW, the profs just HATE this one!

Drop the "gotta stay in studio" attitude. How much can you learn of the
        world in which you have to build if you never leave that bunker you
        call "studio." Take a walk, go for a drive, cruise the _mall_
        fercrissake; it's better for you, and the ideas will come faster and
        clearer anyway. And don't forget this related rule:

STOP CHARRETTING! Well, at least cut back. You can't always avoid it, but
        many of my classmates have made it a way of life. Frankly, I think
        it's a waste. It does nothing but wear you down, no matter how
        much energy you think you have in that second 24 hours. The more
        indoctrinated students will try to deride you for going home to
                sleep the night before a presentation
(oops!), but they'll be the ones sleeping through the review. Some learning
        process, that one!

And I dare any professor to defend any of these as valid pedagogical techniques.
Mark