beautiful decay

Here's my favorite part of my systems project. It kinda goes against the positive, generative mood I've been learning to focus on to the exclusion of my usual gloomy self, but I'm really enjoying the thought of it right now. Maybe I'm just overworked and under-slept, or maybe I'm a genius for writing it:

"
The system anticipates that some of those groups may lose interest after a time and stop their maintenance routine, as well as a similar condition on a larger scale, with Beautiful Decay. The system is built with materials and designs which only gain elegance and interest as they are overtaken by nature. While high-tech elements that require power plants at the source and functioning computers on both ends will certainly not continue to function like the Roman Aqueducts which still span many parts of Europe, they can at least retain their composure like the Pyramids in case the society which supports them runs short on resources or moves away, instead of turning to ruins.
"

user-centric

give me something to stand for!

knowing value

I don't remember Pirsig writing about this - he probably thought it was too obvious to state:
Identifying value is, itself, valuable.

This means that just sifting out gold from the dust is a value-creating activity. That's an easy one, as it involves physical motion...

On a subtler level, it also means that just naming the gold and showing somebody else it's there, among the dust, is also a worthwhile contribution to society and the world.

I'm trying to push it, so this may get fuzzy: it also means that just being aware of the fact that there is a qualitative difference between the two substance is a valuable action, a worthwhile skill.

In essence, this is what I'm learning at design school: how to distinguish well-crafted, well-concieved things from those which are not.

....