Archive for 'Simplicity vs. Complexity'
Something Is Better Than Nothing
As you read and learn more about design a basic principle appears again and again. Design for simplicity. In fact one hallmark of great design is that it makes the complex simple. That said, as Garr Reynolds put it in a recent presentation, simplicity should not be confused with simplistic. Simplistic is about dumbing things [...]
Posted by StevenB on July 22nd, 2009 under Information Literacy, Simplicity vs. Complexity.
Comments: 1
Feeling Lost In A World Of Search Zombies
Maybe I’m getting more removed from mainstream search. I know that some aspects of online searching can be complex, and depending on the uniqueness of some disciplinary databases (think about using financial screening tools in NetAdvantage or ValueLine Research Center) search can reach the extremes of complexity. But I would never have thought to associate [...]
Posted by StevenB on April 15th, 2008 under Simplicity vs. Complexity, Top Issues.
Comments: 5
Open and Closed Questions
Another way to introduce students to the idea of complexity in the research process is through open and closed questions. In Second-hand Knowledge: An Inquiry into Cognitive Authority, Patrick Wilson describes closed questions as matters which (for now) have been settled beyond practical doubt and open questions as questions on which doubt remains. [...]
Posted by Marc Meola on February 14th, 2008 under Authority, Information Literacy, Simplicity vs. Complexity.
Comments: 3
Why Students Want Simplicity And Why It Fails Them When It Comes To Research
The research process, by its very nature, can be both complicated and complex. For students it presents a gap between the known and unknown. They get a research assignment, usually broadly defined by the instructor, and then need to identify a topic without necessarily knowing much of anything about the subject. Then to further complicate [...]
Posted by StevenB on February 4th, 2008 under Simplicity vs. Complexity.
Comments: 9
Sharing Some Worthwhile Quotes
I came across some quotes recently, via articles and blog posts, that I thought were worth sharing here. They should, I think, resonate with academic librarians:
“Simplicity is an important trend we are focused on. Technology has this way of becoming overly complex, but simplicity was one of the reasons that people gravitated to Google initially. [...]
Posted by StevenB on December 25th, 2006 under Libraries and Learning, Simplicity vs. Complexity, Worth Reading.
Comments: none