I really enjoyed the everyday applications Pink provided in these next chapters as he introduced us to Design, Story, and Symphony- 3 of his six senses. I think it is not only important that he provided us with his own explanation, but he also gave us real life examples and suggestions for how we can develop these senses of our own. I feel as though this book is very practical and will prove useful for all of us as our society changes.
The first sense he discusses is Design. Here, he emphasizes the importance of not only creating something, but creating something that has beauty, something that is unique, and something that you connect with emotionally. "Utility enhanced by significance (p. 70)." These elements help to set your creations apart from those in this time of abundance. In order to become successful, in business especially, you must set yourself apart with your products. I was really intrigued by his observation of how artistic people are viewed these days. He gave an example of children refusing to admit to being artistic in a classroom by sixth grade. You can't help but think of the stigma that is still seen today, when someone says that they are an artist or a musician. I think a lot of the times it is assumed that you are "suffering for your art." When society thinks of 'artist' they think of someone tortured or broke or even uneducated. Children are encouraged to be doctors and lawyers or study business. More and more often these days, it is exactly the opposite. I like how Pink addressed the fact that design enhances life therefore it is not insignificant. If we seek to enjoy our lives on a deeper level, live more for family and experience than for money and career opportunities, it is important to surround ourselves with things we enjoy. Designs that we can connect with on a deeper, emotional level, and designs that not only allow us to accomplish our everyday tasks (utility) but help us to enjoy them and bring meaning from them (significance). Artists today could be designers for businesses and yet they are not really seen as artists... they work in business. It almost seems like a euphemism to me. I know that my sisters is looking into art school and she is an amazing photographer and we are so excited for her future because we know there are enough opportunities for her today to get an excellent education, find a well paying job, and live a more fulfilled life.
The second was Story- which I really identified with because I use story when I study! Pink says that we have an "internal story grammar." We have an automatic ability to tell stories in order to share our experiences. When we tell our friends about our day we don't give them the simple, robotic facts, we share our feelings that connect with what actually happened, our reactions, our dialogues, we provide a setting and a time frame, etc... I loved how he said that telling a story is the ability to place facts in contexts, once again adding meaning to our lives and our experiences. He primarily relates story to persuasion when discussing the importance of story in business practices these days, saying is "supplements analytical thinkin by enabling us to imagine new perspectives and he worlds (p. 108)." It should also be used to attract consumers, enhancing their buying experience- making it personal. I think it is wonderful to see modern medicine undergoing a change as well. I don't know how many times I have walked into a doctors office and felt completely unimportant, even as the patient. My experience, how I was feeling, what led up to my sickness didn't matter. The fact that I was sick was all they needed. I'm very excited for the change that Pink describes. The new practices that doctors are taking part in. I think it will be very beneficial for everyone's experience.
Finally, Pink introduces the idea of Symphony. He describes it as "seeing the big picture." He primarly relates this to automation and jobs moving overseas. Because so many L-directed jobs are seeing their jobs given to individuals overseas who can preform them faster, just as well, and for less wages, he gives value to having the ability to provide services that cannot be replaced overseas... making yourself valuable in different ways. Because our lives have so many demands on them these days, he says that it is important that we can attend to all of these demands. Specialization is no longer the key to success like L-directed thinking has led us to believe. In a world of 'multi' we need to be 'multi'. He also includes reckognizing patterns and seeing relationships. This ability to see new and different connections will allow us to be more creative and more able to relate seemingly unrelated items to eachother discovering a new and deeper level of meaning, yet again enhancing our experiences. I love his emphasis on unconventionality and his new take on brainstorming. I know that when I am tryign to come up with a great idea I put a great deal of pressure on myself. Pink says we should go for quanitity instead of quality so we will have more ideas to work from. Also, we should be extreme in these ideas. It is much easier to make an extreme idea workable than make a boring and conventional idea interesting. By far my favorite part of Symphony is his emphasis on metaphors. I had never really thought about it before, but I thought it was so interesting to see how we really do live according to metaphors. They help us to make sense of our experiences and help us to relate to eachother. It's not just an annoying literary element in English class anymore. They help us to describe how we feel not only to ourselves but to others. It helps us to me make connections and see relationships.
I can already see this book changing the way I look at the world in so many different ways. It amazes me that it is such a thought provoking, forward-thinking novel while maintaining simplicity and practicality. I keep thinking that this is so simple, it has always been right in front of us, why did it take us this long?
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