Developing Usable Experiences

Cultivating growth

June 4th, 2009 6:31 am —  24 views

Vegetables and herbsA coworker made a remark the other day that problems don’t get solved until people are bored and annoyed by them. Something about this comment, made while fixing an annoying problem, stuck in my head. The degree of truth it held could explain a lot.

We can be told to work on a project, to follow a list of requirements or a design. That takes a certain degree of problem solving skills, but that isn’t what I’m talking about. There are different qualities that come into play when considering the paths to project completion or problem solving. It’s the difference between an auto shop returning your car repaired with maybe a paper floor mat, or returning it repaired, washed, with your receipt waiting on the passenger seat. The main problem is solved, but the situation as a whole is treated as the problem to solve so tangential details are given attention.

When a situation as a whole is treated as a problem to solve there are more variables that come into play. Whether they are dealt with might be related to how bored or annoyed a person happens to be. We also considered how everybody has different bored and/or annoyance thresholds that govern their instigation to take action.

Maybe cultivation is the encouragement of situations where others have the opportunity to be bored and/or annoyed enough to take interest in something. However I’m inclined to think this is only part of the problem of encouraging contribution, interest, and growth.

Image: Our young vegetable deck garden, taken about a week ago. Since then I’ve added two pots of salad lettuce…trying something new.

Related Posts

4 Comments 

Comments

4 Responses to “Cultivating growth”

  1. Dawn on June 5th, 2009 6:09 pm

    what’s in all the pots? I can (maybe) tell a tomato, basil…what else? (besides the lettuce I mean!)

  2. Leanna Gingras on June 6th, 2009 10:40 pm

    I have an herb garden in my yard, but have been considering doing it in pots from now on…Michigan has a great tendency for surprise late-year frost.

    I’d agree that it takes a lot to get people to fix problems, but I’m not sure boredom and annoyance are the only two factors. Occasionally, fear and love come into the mix as well.

  3. Spike on June 14th, 2009 6:23 am

    I’ve got grape tomatoes, rosemary, basil, russian basil, pet grass, tabasco pepper, green pepper, and two pots of salad lettuce (not pictured). They are coming along well so far…though I’m on the lookout for the beetles (grr).

    Thanks for the comment Leanna. I agree there are more factors than boredom and annoyance.

  4. Dawn on June 14th, 2009 12:19 pm

    Sounds like a great garden. Hope you can keep the Japanese beetles out! I’ve been thinking about your painting…haven’t seen anything in a really long time, and summer probably isn’t the time to start again, but I miss seeing them…

Leave a Reply




Subscribe without commenting