Seeking a “Minimum Viable Softness”

🌈 Abstract

The article explores the author's ongoing inquiry into the nature of lines, which are seen as dangerous constructs that divide and categorize our social fabric, identities, and understanding of the world. It examines how these lines, from the everyday to the profound, are not fixed or inevitable but rather stories we tell ourselves that shape our reality in ways we often fail to recognize. The article delves into the limitations of linear problem-solving frameworks, such as the Double Diamond, and how they can be instrumentalized for profit and control, leading to unintended consequences. It contrasts the linear nature of soccer with the non-linear, circular form of capoeira as an example of alternative ways of being and knowledge production. The article ultimately aims to disrupt the repetition of following lines and open up new possibilities for innovation and self-transformation.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Lines and Their Dangers

1. What makes lines dangerous according to the article?

• Lines mark paths between points, establishing direction and boundaries, which is precisely what makes them dangerous.
• Lines sort us into categories that feel real but are ultimately convenient fictions, such as republican/democrat, cultural/ethnic identities, and haves/have-nots.
• These lines are not fixed or inevitable but are stories we tell ourselves that shape our world in ways we often fail to recognize.

2. How does the article trace the origins of these fundamental lines?

• The article suggests that the primordial division of man from nature, as depicted in the story of Adam and Eve, set the stage for other fundamental separations, such as mind/body and I/other.
• These lines are not just ideas but fundamental ways we've learned to perceive reality, dating back to our earliest attempts to make sense of a chaotic world.

3. What is the author's rebellion against lines?

• The author's rebellion against lines begins through direct experience with a hyper-regimented design thinking initiative in healthcare, which exposed the limitations of linear problem-solving frameworks.
• The article argues that these frameworks reduce complex, intertwined realities into artificial categories, obscuring how challenges bleed into one another and entrenching us further in the technē paradigm of making and intervention.

[02] The Double Diamond and Managerialism

1. What is the Double Diamond framework, and how does the article critique it?

• The Double Diamond is a design framework that emerged from the UK Design Council, with its lines neatly separating project phases.
• The article argues that this framework's seductive simplicity orients us towards pre-determined paths, assuming a straightforward trajectory of progress, and divides complex realities into artificial categories.
• The article demonstrates how the Double Diamond framework can be instrumentalized for profit and control, creating a "trickle-down loss" affecting the problem-solvers, those they seek to help, and the sponsoring institution itself.

2. How does the article connect the Double Diamond to the concept of managerialism?

• The article explains that practitioners have voraciously adopted these linear models, aligning with the phenomenon of managerialism - the pervasive belief in the value of professional management and the systematic rollout of its methods and practices.
• Managerialism has penetrated diverse social contexts, producing a techno-centric rationalism that privileges scientism and leads to routine, dogmatic, and often inappropriate applications of scientific methods.

[03] Institutionalism, Universalism, and Solutionism

1. How does the article describe the dynamics of "innovation theater"?

• The article explains that institutionalism establishes a certain discourse through 'expert' knowledge and institutions, which is then assumed to be universal, dismissing culture or context.
• Solutionism then aligns with this discourse, problematizing certain realities over others in modern organizations, always aiming to change existing situations into desired outcomes.
• The article suggests that this approach often overlooks cultural nuances and alternative perspectives, and that the "manufactured desire" can eclipse fundamental, systemic improvements.

2. What is the concept of reification, and how does the article apply it to design practices?

• The article references Heidegger's concept of reification, where certain constructs become so ingrained that they are dismissed as facts of life.
• The article argues that design becomes "paradoxically 'sustainable and unsustainable, future-making and de-futuring, problem-solving and problem-creating'" as a result of these reified structures.

[04] Capoeira as an Alternative

1. How does the article contrast soccer and capoeira as examples of linear and non-linear thinking?

• Soccer, as a game "invented" by colonizers, is described as exemplifying linear thinking, with fixed rules, referees, and a relentless clock serving broadcasters and sponsors.
• In contrast, capoeira, a martial art, dance, and music form created by enslaved Africans in Brazil, is presented as a circular form of technology that brings bodies into motion and harmony, with no beginning or end, no winners or losers, and a porous circle that allows anyone to flow through and bring new ideas.

2. What are the key characteristics of capoeira that the article highlights as alternatives to linear thinking?

• Capoeira embodies "malícia," a playful wisdom thriving on surprise, misdirection, and adaptability.
• It creates coherence across multiple bodies, regardless of identities, and encourages deep listening and collective effervescence rather than productivity and effectiveness.
• The article suggests that when power wants people tired and compliant, capoeira will build their strength, and when society demands hustle and effectiveness, capoeira shows the value of non-linear approaches.

[05] Seeking Dis-order

1. What is the article's aim in seeking "dis-order"?

• The article argues that being in line implies facing the same direction as others and refusing out-of-line possibilities, as direction is organized and not casual.
• Disrupting the repetition of following lines and losing our politeness in following them allows lines to disappear and new ways of being to emerge.
• This "dis-orientation" creates a "condition of possibility" where reified structures become visible and malleable, opening up paths for finding one's way in a world without lines and feeling at home in an unfamiliar intellectual liminality.

2. How does the article describe innovation at its most fundamental?

• The article suggests that innovation at its most fundamental is the innovation of the self, where snapping back to binaries becomes not just difficult, but problematic.
• It describes this as a quest for a "minimum viable softness in tech," expanding our circle of concern beyond rigid boundaries.