by hand

“…humanity is more important than architecture while simple handicraft is more important than technology.” (Wang Shu, Statement)

HUMANS, TECHNOLOGY
Technology is the system (components and relations) of techniques, technical activities or processes[1], technical objects[2] and individuals[3]. In history, relations between elements were established by living human individuals. The care and organization of technical objects and realities by individuals gave rise to a ‘technical culture’ (see Simondon, cited in, Dumouchel, 1994) – the culture of the artisan and craftsman. The single most important element which determines the particular form of a given technology is the extent to which that technology contains technical individuals instead of humans (see also Verbeek, Heidegger). This is because cultures relate the diverse elements which make up technology through humans. Technical individuals, on the other hand, assure satisfactory relations without the mediation of culture. Thus, technical realities can exist outside of culture and domains can develop that are self-regulating or at least able to function outside of the control of humans (Dumouchel, 1994). Without the human element then, cities, structures and environments begin to exist outside of culture and thus outside of the meaningful feedback and communication relationships necessary for the healthy human(e) process.

HAND
The hand and the head are intricately linked, as is the hand to human evolution – it is our window on to the mind[4]. To grip is a decision and relates to the ability of the first humans to work and think. To release is to let go, to surrender control over others (blind, brute force is counterproductive in hand work). To touch is to both open oneself to unbounded data and to guide with conscious intent. Localized touch (proactive, probing touch without conscious intent) further stimulates thinking. The hand relates to prehension (anticipation, contact, language cognition and reflection), and works on human values – truthfulness lies at the fingertips and casts off false security (Sennett, 2008:151-7, 171). Hand action also relates to language – verbs are derived from hand movements, nouns ‘hold’ things, and adverbs and adjectives come from hand tools that modify movement and objects[5].

Improvements in the material and social condition of urban life may depend on the liberation of the people’s own vastly underrated capabilities and at hand resources (ref. Heidegger) – Fine grained, relevant-scale[6] approaches that employ resources (small quantities, deep and specialized knowledge, personal networks, spare time, motivation) that large organizations cannot access, displaying flexibility and adaptability to local and personal needs and opportunities. These lateral information and decision networks are totally different from large-scale vertical and hierarchic organizations (Turner and Roberts, 1975:126, 130, 133) and they facilitate essential feedback, engrams etc, while resisting metamorphosis.

[1] TECHNICAL ACTIVITY: A process of production which results in a product which is distinct from the process and in some way self-subsistent is a technical activity. The nature of the activity and its product depends to a large degree on available techniques and when there is no recipe or algorithm which determines the weighting of techniques in a technical activity that activity can be considered an art (Dumouchel, 1994).

[2] TECHNICAL OBJECTS: Objects, not events or actions. May comprise, or be the seat of technical activities or processes. Two conditions must be satisfied for something to be a technical object: (1) It must be the result of a technical activity, and (2) It must be functionally defined – a tool or intervening element in a technical activity. Something that fulfills (1) but not (2) may do so at a later date (e.g. a new molecule isolated for the first time may not have a use until much later). Thus, the quality of being a technical object is not a physical characteristic but an historical characteristic – that is, how it was brought into the world and its relational characteristics (how it is used and defined) (Dumouchel, 1994).

[3] TECHNICAL INDIVIDUALS: Particular type of technical object that has certain ‘autonomy’ – it can do something by itself (such as transforming circular motion into electricity). The main characteristic is that processes within the technical object are related so that the realization of each one becomes a precondition for the realization of every other. This means that technical individuals can be used to regulate processes and activities (Dumouchel, 1994).

[4] Kant, quoted in Sennett (2008:151)

[5] Sennett (2008:180) discussing Gesture and the Nature of Language.

[6] We can’t ask wolves to eat sunshine! (see Brakken et.al., 2011)