Syd Mead interview

Syd Mead on Hour 25, March 30, 1984.

[@mattnielsen6793]

There is so much content here. Syd Mead reminds me of Frank Lloyd Wright when he says about making technology organic. This goes to the fundamental philosophy of life and why we create technology. It's made by living organisms to accomplish their values. There are fundamental principles of design based on the nature of living organisms in general, and every new breakthrough innovation, every new design is just a way to do the same thing, just more efficiently. The fundamentals change only when the organisms change . We used paper to store information, now we use computers. Function is similar, form is different, more efficient. Look at how many problems a computer and a smartphone can solve. A computer is an interface designed to solve a lot of problems in one place. That's the concept of a Turing Machine. Human beings have had the same problems throughout centuries - they need to communicate, have emotional connections with others, educate themselves as to how the world works, feed themselves, feed their competitive spirit (etc. ) As we progress, we need to expend less effort to achieve greater gain. We don't have to work on farms for 8h a day, we go for a half hour to the supermarket. In the past, the "interface" was hard work, sweat and a hoe. Now the interface is the supermarket. We solve the same problem (feeding ourselves) more efficiently. The interface requires less effort and provides more solutions (you can buy things other than food, or have it ready-made). The same is true with communications, we used to write letters on paper, now we use smartphones. Less expenditure of effort, much more gain. And the smartphone interface solves much more problems than just solving the problem of the need of communication. This seems to be a general principle of technological progress. Interfaces merge and become simpler to solve more problems with less effort, and more gain. One day we could have a general Human Interface that solves all of our problems in one place - it will feed us, and it will manipulate our brains into happiness. It will solve all of our problems in one place, and there will be minimal amount of effort required from us. Which is sort of depressing to think of now, but you'd change your mind if you stepped in there for 10 minutes, and you'd be hooked. Or we will become more complex organisms. Probably both will happen. Then we will realize how life is really an anomaly in the universe. What will we do if we don't have problems to solve?Maybe we will have more problems if we're more complex, like creating a universe of our own. It goes beyond human scope after that, because there are so many possibilities. So I'll stop here.

[@MetatroN197924]

Best kind of tech is organic,just see the world and the harmony that exist

[@sclogse1]

There are certain street shots that Syd did that should have been in Blade Runner 2049. Super glamorous giant spaces with massive scale to the lower levels of the buildings...not layered with stuff...but pure masses in light. Maybe some day....

[@ms.sammanthalee5156]

mr mead when my dad gets there say hello ...... i miss my parents life now sucks and im gonna b homeless