Beyond Layers

by Ric Castillo | November 7, 2017

Generally speaking, our brains hum along best when given a consistent set of rules and variables, and we can take shortcuts and leap between observable stimuli. We like our inner soliloquy, and we like comfortable. It keeps the brain safe from perceived harm. Discussing process externally pulls back the curtain and makes ‘easy’ no longer tenable.

Let’s get uncomfortable for a moment. Put your head into something ridiculous: picture a giant, bulbous onion. Peel that onion, unfold the onion... and really get into the acrid, messy parts. The parts that make you want to cry, the layers that make you unpleasant to everyone who probably thought the onion was fine all closed up--because somehow, unfolded, it made good salsa and salads, but left unpleasantness to mystery. Instead--“No, guys...it’s really foul in here. Not okay. NOT Okay,” and I don’t know; maybe you like the scent of onions? The takeaway is, the messiness of process for the finished product... it burns the eyes. It can make many want to turn away and hide.

Challenge yourself...to unfold. Wash your hands, and wipe your eyes. Get ready to observe process. Just days from now, Mesa’s Main Street and connecting nodes will be transformed into a veritable playground for the mind’s eye, sans the onion. Prototypers will have done most of the unpleasant part of process, and are letting you join the fun parts. Consider this a living thought experiment of parts practical, whimsical, or even absurd. It will temporarily remake parts of the pavement and stucco into what could someday be. Go find something that tickles your inner limitlessness. Find something you don’t even like. Write, type, interface, speak, and see your way through all of it. Ignore the marketing, and ignore your preconceptions.

In a passive society of streams and feeds, getting the things that others surmise we want has never been easier. Fight it. I cannot truly tell you what you see or what you’re thinking, but I can say with a logician’s degree of certainty, with eyes truly open, you’ll want to see things a little differently...

Mesa's Main Street Prototyping Festival runs on Friday, November 17th and Saturday, November 18th.