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SUMMARY:Mountains\, Exploration\, Education\, Rich Media and Design - Bill
  Buxton
DTSTART:20050421T150000Z
DTEND:20050421T140000Z
UID:TALK4329@talks.cam.ac.uk
DESCRIPTION:I want to talk about some things that I feel passionate about:
   mountains\,\nexploration\, history\, learning and design.  In particular
 \, I want to talk\nabout learning and understanding within our society\, w
 hich is becoming\nincreasingly difficult to function in\, much less influe
 nce - largely due\nto technology-induced complexity.\n\nI have to believe 
 that the objective of good design is to render the world\nmore manageable\
 , not less so.  I do believe that the more technology is\ndeveloped apart 
 from a social context\, and specific problem domains\, the\nless likely it
  will meet this test.\n\nSo I have chosen my domain:  mountaineering and e
 xploration\, especially in\nthe area surrounding the Himalaya.  Using exam
 ples\, I want to put forward\nthe case that we have the potential to desig
 n tools that could have as\nmuch impact on education and learning tomorrow
 \, as the introduction of the\nblackboard had when it was introduced in Ca
 nada in the mid-1800s.\n\nI will also argue that doing so represents a pro
 position which is as hard\nto do as it is easy to say  that is\, it is a w
 orthy 10 year project.\n\nI believe that the current slump in the technolo
 gy sector is a largely\nself-induced\, and a deserved consequence of bad d
 esign applied to poorly\nthought out problems.  Through my examples\, I wa
 nt to argue that there is\na way out of this\, and to point to a particula
 r path.  As I said: its\nabout exploration.  So a good place to start is t
 o establish some\nappropriate bearings.\n\n--\n\nBiography:\n\nBill Buxton
  is an interaction designer and researcher\, and Principal of\nthe Toronto
 -based design and consulting firm\, Buxton Design. During the\nspring of 2
 005\, he is a Visiting Researcher at Microsoft Research\,\nCambridge\, Eng
 land.\n\nBill is one of the pioneers in computer music\, and has played an
  important\nrole in the development of computer-based tools for film\, ind
 ustrial\ndesign\, graphics and animation.  As a researcher\, he has had a 
 long\nhistory with Xerox Palo Alto Research Center and the University of\n
 Toronto (where he is still an Associate Professor in the Department of\nCo
 mputer Science\, and Visiting Professor at the Knowledge Media Design\nIns
 titute). As well\, during the fall of 2004\, he was a lecturer in the\nDep
 artment of Industrial Design at the Ontario College of Art and Design.\n\n
 From 1994 until December 2002\, he was Chief Scientist of Alias|Wavefront\
 ,\nand from 1995\, its parent company SGI Inc.  In 2001\, the Hollywood\nR
 eporter named him one of the 10 most influential innovators in Hollywood.\
 nIn 2002 Time Magazine named him one of the top 5 designers in Canada\, an
 d\nhe was elected to the ACMs CHI Academy.\n\nMore information on Buxton a
 nd his work can be found at:  www.billbuxton.com
LOCATION:Rainbow Room\, Computer Laboratory
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