"This is what we have defined as Near Future Design.
A performative dimension in which the observation of the state of the arts and technologies meets anthropological and ethnographical observation."
"
The Design Fictions
Simulacra
Transmedia Narratives "
the output of the Design Fiction phase, thus, is constituted by a set of Transmedia Narratives implementing the simulacrum for the story;
the Transmedia Narrative is a multi-modal storytelling technique which is able to move and combine the effects of multiple media, from physical objects, to websites, urban interventions and more."
"If, as suggested by Baudrillard, we were to simulate as closely as possible a fake holdup, we just would not be able to do it, because the people and, in general, the “machine”, the process through which people constantly interpret the reality they have around them, would not be able to distinguish the signals of what is real and fake/simulated."
Transmedia Narratives
a transmedia story represents the integration of entertainment experiences across a range of different media platforms
" Transmedia is a particular form of entertainment, where a story is told and experienced through a distributed and fragmented interactive system. Transmedia design is an interdisciplinary endeavour, merging more traditional storytelling and scriptwriting with Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and interaction design."
"This represents a fifth stage in the evolution of simulacra, beyond Baudrillard's four stages of symbolic order, counterfeits, production, and simulation. In this fifth stage, which we might term 'generative simulation,' the distinction between original and copy becomes not just blurred but fundamentally irrelevant."
2. Thought experiments (Speculative Everything 一書的文字)
"One way this might be possible is to treat design speculations not as
narratives or coherent “worlds” but as thought experiments—constructions,
crafted from ideas expressed through design—that help us think about
difficult issues." p. 80. SE
"一個可行之道是不要把設計推測當成敘事或條理分明的「世界」看待，而要視為能幫助我們思考困難議題的思想實驗――用經由設計表達的構思，精心建造的物品。 " P. 105
"Thought experiments are usually done in fields
where it is possible to precisely define limits and rules, such as mathematics,
science (particularly physics), and philosophy (especially ethics) to test
ideas, refute theories, challenge limits, or explore possible implications.
They make full use of the imagination and are often beautiful designs in
themselves."
"One of our favorite forms of thought experiment uses reductio ad absurdum,
a type of logical argument in which one assumes a claim for the sake of
argument and derives an absurd or ridiculous outcome by taking it to its
extreme, concluding that the original claim must have been wrong because it
led to such an absurd result."
"我們最鍾意的一種思想實驗是採用歸謬法（reductio ad absurdum），在這種邏輯論證中，我們為便於討論，假設了某個主張，並將之推演到極致而導出荒謬的結果，進而斷定，既然原來的主張會產生如此荒謬的結果，它必是謬誤。" P. 107
"Another well-established form of thought experiment is the counterfactual. A
historical fact is changed to see what might have happened, if. . . . It is
sometimes used in history to understand the importance of key events and
their influence on how the world turned out."
"另一個已廣為接受的思想實驗形式是反事實（counterfactual）：改變歷史事實來看看，假如……可能會發生什麼事。歷史學有時會運用這種實驗來了解關鍵事件的重要性，以及它們對世界如何演變的影響。" P. 107
"...we are
more interested in using props to transport viewers’ imagination into a
thought experiment, or what-if, and allow enough room for them to make
their own interpretations." p. 93, SE
"我們更有興趣利用道具來將觀者的想像力移轉到思想實驗，或「要是……會怎麼樣」，讓他們有足夠的空間做自己的詮釋。" P. 121
Generally speaking, there are seven types of thought experiments in which one reasons from causes to effects, or effects to causes. (wikipedia) (1)
Prefactual (事前) (未來導向，事前推測)
Prefactual (before the fact) thought experiments — — speculate on possible future outcomes, given the present, and ask "What will be the outcome if event E occurs?"
(2)
Counterfactual (反事實) (過去導向，事前推測)
Counterfactual (contrary to established fact) thought experiments — — speculate on the possible outcomes of a different past; and ask "What might have happened if A had happened instead of B?"
(3)
Semifactual (半事實) (過去導向，事前推測)
Semifactual thought experiments — — speculate on the extent to which things might have remained the same, despite there being a different past; and asks the question Even though X happened instead of E, would Y have still occurred?
(4)
Prediction (預測) (未來導向，事前推測)
The activity of prediction attempts to project the circumstances of the present into the future.
(5)
Hindcasting (後報) (過去導向，事前推測)
The activity of hindcasting involves running a forecast model after an event has happened in order to test whether the model's simulation is valid.
(6)
Retrodiction (追溯) (過去導向，事後推測)
The activity of retrodiction (or postdiction) involves moving backwards in time, step-by-step, in as many stages as are considered necessary, from the present into the speculated past to establish the ultimate cause of a specific event (e.g., reverse engineeringand forensics).
(7)
Backcasting (未來回溯) (未來導向，事後推測)
he activity of backcasting —involves establishing the description of a very definite and very specific future situation. It then involves an imaginary moving backwards in time, step-by-step, in as many stages as are considered necessary, from the future to the present to reveal the mechanism through which that particular specified future could be attained from the present.
See Blade runner 2049 ->2048 nowhere to run -> 2036 Nexus Dawn -> Blackout 2022 Bladerunner (1982) 2019
Back to the Future Twins Prank - Movies In Real Life (Episode 5)
Questions: 1. What is the possible narrative scheme? Illustrate it with diagram (分組討論) 2. What are the anchors? objects, human, place, legend, or ritual? Practice: a letter from future
Compose a letter from future where the anchor event has just happened. This letter should sensitize the relationship between future and the present, inspire how to conduct a design research, and fictionize your roles and worlds.
Final project requirement: AI X Everyday Entanglement (with a fictional world, eg. Neuromancer, Ghost in the Shell, Bladerunner,...)
Demo & Exhibition 1. posters (any size) 2. Design fiction props (artifacts, newspapers, DMs, ..., any other kinds of format) 3. 10 mins presentation (using PPT or report in ACM format)
Report, photos (or trailers) : 2. ACM SIGCHI Extend Abstract (EA) format 6~10 pages 3. includes: Introduction, Background, Design research gaps, The Design, the deployment in contexts (real or fictional, simulated), Probing and Data collecting, Findings and Implications, Discussion, and Conclusion 4. photos include: mood boards, concept sketches, final props and visuals, speculative scenarios in Everyday contexts (home, street, office, city, ...)
"Bachelard sets material imagination apart from formal imagination [2]. Rather than being conceived intellectually in formal imagination, material imagination is an idea that comes from contact with nature material,
such as water and fire." p. 2524
2. What is Possible World Theory?
3. What is pragmatist speculation?
4. What is formal speculation v.s. material speculation?
Final Project: (proposal 5/4)
Design Fiction with AI
team-work or individual
At least 3 ideas and the possible forms of design fiction for final project
物質推測：作為批判性探究的真實人造物》（Material Speculation: Actual Artifacts for Critical Inquiry）主要建立在物質推測（Material Speculation）這一核心理論架構上，並整合了文學、哲學與設計研究的多項理論。以下是論文中的主要理論及其概念解釋與引用：
We propose a complementary concept – material speculation – that utilizes actual and situated design artifacts in the everyday as a site of critical inquiry.
Possible worlds theory relies upon the ideal that reality is comprised of all that we can imagine and that it is composed of the “actual world” and all “possible worlds”.
Ryan referred to this potential in her principle of minimal departure in which she argues that in the case of fiction a reader construes a possible world to conform as much as possible to his or her actual world.
An actual counterfactual artifact not only opens up speculation on the artifact but on its conditions as well... including the systemic, infrastructural, behavioral, ideological, political, economic, and moral.
It is important for the depth and quality of the emergent possibilities that material speculations be a lived experience rather than simply an intellectual reflection.
7. 物件知識 (Thing Knowledge)
引用自 Davis Baird。認為人造物本身可以承載知識，在我們能夠用語言理論化或推理之前，知識就已經體現在物件的物質形式中。
物件知識——人造物在我們有能力透過語言進行理論化或推理之前，就能夠體現並承載知識。
thing knowledge—artifacts can embody and carry knowledge prior to our ability to theorize or reason through language.
Discussion:
1. What are the differences between Design Fiction and Speculative Design?
(clear fiction v.s. techno-poetic speculation) 2. Aesthetics of speculation: What if an an everyday object is a diegetic prototype of another possible world?
How about science fiction?
also see TEI 2017 student design challenge references:
Watching/Reading List
We encourage wild, obscure references to any kind of sci-fi media. Here’s some our favourite to get you started
• Vermilion sands [JG Ballard] - Houses with memory, living fashion and sound jewellry.
• Rainbows End [Vernor Vinge] - Augmented Reality, haptic feedback and silent messages.
