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The age of average

alexmurrell.co.uk

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Re: The age of average

#341

Post by mxmbrb »

thomastjeffery wrote: post #237
crazygringo wrote: post #123

What the article describes is correct, but I don't think the words "average" or "homogeneity" or "conformity" are the right terms, as they seem to carry negative connotations here. Rather, the right word is "convergence". The point is, people like certain things aesthetically. It used to be that artists and designers were still trying to figure out what looks good, and trying all the things. But now we've tried so ma…

On the contrary! There is a key difference going from "convergence" to "conformity": circular reasoning. People who need to sell the thing they invent, tell themselves that "convergence" is the best way there. Customers like familiar traits. So they design for intentional convergence, and that is the essence of conformity. 99.99999% of keyboards are the same physical layout. This layout is a standard that conforms to…

Thank you for your analogy. Demand shapes supply is a capitalism fairy tale. For most markets you just can't buy what you want. Even if you would be willing to pay 2 to 4 times. You have to buy the mass produced sameness. We do not choose what there is to buy. In 95% of products and shops the supply dictates the demand, often with a simulation of choice. Look closely, for many applications there's only one or two products used nearly world wide. Often they are neither the best nor the cheapest. And don't get me started on the "choices" when it comes to smartphones.

Re: The age of average

#343

Post by guntherhermann »

ssnistfajen wrote: post #291
Last5Digits wrote: post #135

I'm always wary of articles like this. The feeling of things becoming mediocre strongly resonates with me, but I am aware that there could be a great many different biases at play. When I was younger, entertainment media felt magical. The complexity and depth of experiences I could get from even a second-rate story was immense. I remember staying up late at night to process the last movie I watched, or feeling that r…

>Is it because the modern entertainment industry truly has become stale, or is it because I've lived long enough to see the simple patterns underlying most of our desires and fantasies? Most likely the latter. There's so much content being created nowadays thanks to advancements in pretty much everything, making it easier to for anyone to create content. Patterns eventually emerge since creating truly original and un…

There are 9 superhero/marvel films out this year.

I sit on the side of "It's because the modern entertainment industry has become stale."

Re: The age of average

#344

Post by eimrine »

8note wrote: post #327
thomastjeffery wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the contrary! There is a key difference going from "convergence" to "conformity": circular reasoning. People who need to sell the thing they invent, tell themselves that "convergence" is the best way there. Customers like familiar traits. So they design for intentional convergence, and that is the essence of conformity. 99.99999% of keyboards are the same physical layout. This layout is a standard that conforms to…

That layout is not the case. For instance, Canadian keyboards have a different layout from American ones, and keyboards that support other languages have different keys as well

Canadian layout is slightly different from regular qwerty, but they both use to share equal amount of stupidity.

Re: The age of average

#345

Post by rippercushions »

pnw wrote: post #229
nradov wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Car paint colors are driven by pull from franchised dealers and the dealership financing model, as well as by push from supply chain issues. In the US at least, most mainstream consumers expect to buy a car from dealer inventory and drive it away that day. So dealers mostly order only a few bland colors because most consumers are willing to settle for those as long as the car has the options they want and they get a…

Tesla have reduced their palette to just five colors, presumably to cut costs. Porsche is the leader in paint color choice, no doubt about that, with 14 basic colors plus custom options. And to your point, consumers are willing to wait for the Porsche factory to build their car, rather than driving one off the lot that day.

At least for the Model 3, Tesla also charges extra if you choose anything other than white. Guess which color is the most common by far?

Re: The age of average

#346

Post by trgn »

misterprime wrote: post #326
crazygringo wrote: post #123

What the article describes is correct, but I don't think the words "average" or "homogeneity" or "conformity" are the right terms, as they seem to carry negative connotations here. Rather, the right word is "convergence". The point is, people like certain things aesthetically. It used to be that artists and designers were still trying to figure out what looks good, and trying all the things. But now we've tried so ma…

I know some people are making the point that taste is subjective, but I'd like to argue that, at least in some aspects, certain designs are solvable. There may be an interesting period of variety while we solve something, but eventually, we can get there. I was taken aback while watching Something's Gotta Give recently. The movie is from 2003 and spends a lot of time in a nice house. Well, the kitchen looked perfect…

You might know already, but just to add on to it, director Nancy Meyers is (rightfully) admired for the impeccably designed homes in her movies https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/nancy-meyers-film-kitchens-... Jokey tone from the article aside, she nails that aspirational suburban rich people house.

Re: The age of average

#347

Post by lotsofpulp »

JALTU wrote: post #240
crazygringo wrote: post #123

What the article describes is correct, but I don't think the words "average" or "homogeneity" or "conformity" are the right terms, as they seem to carry negative connotations here. Rather, the right word is "convergence". The point is, people like certain things aesthetically. It used to be that artists and designers were still trying to figure out what looks good, and trying all the things. But now we've tried so ma…

I cringe at this idea, and especially when it comes to human distinction. I see what the "media" (advertising) portrays as a beautiful human body. I look at the people around me. Not the same.

This reminds me of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-a64OwOYqU

Re: The age of average

#348

Post by misterprime »

trgn wrote: post #346
misterprime wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know some people are making the point that taste is subjective, but I'd like to argue that, at least in some aspects, certain designs are solvable. There may be an interesting period of variety while we solve something, but eventually, we can get there. I was taken aback while watching Something's Gotta Give recently. The movie is from 2003 and spends a lot of time in a nice house. Well, the kitchen looked perfect…

You might know already, but just to add on to it, director Nancy Meyers is (rightfully) admired for the impeccably designed homes in her movies https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/nancy-meyers-film-kitchens-... Jokey tone from the article aside, she nails that aspirational suburban rich people house.

That's completely new information to me. Thanks!

Re: The age of average

#349

Post by rippercushions »

oxfordmale wrote: post #218
crazygringo wrote: post #123

What the article describes is correct, but I don't think the words "average" or "homogeneity" or "conformity" are the right terms, as they seem to carry negative connotations here. Rather, the right word is "convergence". The point is, people like certain things aesthetically. It used to be that artists and designers were still trying to figure out what looks good, and trying all the things. But now we've tried so ma…

They did similar studies to determine the looks of an ideal romantic partner. The resulting look was very close to the average of all available romantic partners. However, that doesn't mean that individuals don't have different preferences. It is the same if you do a study of people's favourite colours. The average result will have little to do with people's personal preferences. These designs are not people's prefer…

It's well known that symmetry is considered beauty, so when you average up enough imperfect faces, you'll get a symmetrical and thus beautiful average.

https://petapixel.com/2013/05/28/what-averaged-face-photogra...

Re: The age of average

#350

Post by efields »

crazygringo wrote: post #123

What the article describes is correct, but I don't think the words "average" or "homogeneity" or "conformity" are the right terms, as they seem to carry negative connotations here. Rather, the right word is "convergence". The point is, people like certain things aesthetically. It used to be that artists and designers were still trying to figure out what looks good, and trying all the things. But now we've tried so ma…

Yep. I love that I don’t have to think about Car. Because I don’t care about Car. If I’m lucky enough to buy new Car then I _know_ Car will work great because we figured out Car.

Interiors, exteriors, etc… great. I’m glad there are building codes that make buildings safe, and that ugly poorly made furniture is kind of hard to find.

Convergence is a great word for this phenomenon. I’m glad humans tend to converge around good ideas; it’s gotten us far.

This article is ultimately a ramble with no strong purpose. Just like most internet articles. “Convergence.”

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