The Moment

汪亞婷_Ya Ting Wang_2012

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Preface

I’d like to call my thesis the result of a great growth in the recent years of my life.

I started my thesis journey asking how to change our perception of value with consumer products, and then a friend suggested me to study into collaborative consumption. It turned out what inter-ested me more was the cooperative relationship between peoples. I then switched my subject from products to people, and started asking people the most common and basic question that many have been looking for the answer since long ago, and the question was: “What is valuable in your life?”

Funny how I then went through two breakdowns after I started asking people the question. I have got myself stuck trying to answer the same question, but “none”, was the pathetic answer at that time. I started doubting the meaning of my life. I felt lost and vulnerable because I did not know where I belong anymore. I came to realize I am in fact one of the victims in my own study:

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a girl living in a highly mobile society inevitably facing a lack of sense of belonging. Loneliness, is the elephant on this page. One of the findings in my research was that, most of the time people feel lonely because they find few people to discuss important mat-ters, and that was exactly how I felt; it was like all the sudden I was forced to face this huge empty hole that’s been covered up in my mind for a long time. Although I do have a few friends who could help diminish my loneliness, most of them are either far away or always busy. And that was what I felt most helpless about.

But one of the answers I got from a friend changed the way I perceive this endless lonely road. It was the simplest answer that I first even judged how naïve it was. He answered me: “I feel happy to be alive because everyday is different.” Although we know it by heart as a student in Syracuse, especially in the winter, there really isn’t much going on everyday, but he reminded me the importance of recognizing the differences in every moment. I felt ashamed doubting the meaning of my life because simply being is already the best answer to the question.

So now I am here to share this idea with you, by collecting the articles I’ve read, the photos I’ve taken, and the experiences I’ve gone through that inspired me during my thesis journey. If you ever have the same doubt, I hope this pamphlet will guide you in some way. At the end, a thesis is to tell the others his or her own theory regarding a chosen subject. And such a subject in my thesis is called, life.

Syracuse, 04/28/2012

沉澱

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[Chéndiàn] v. to precipitate.to precipitate in Chinese sometimes refers to spending a period of time settling minds for better, just as high quality wine and cheese need time to ferment.

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Edinburgh, 2011

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“The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted,

uncared for and deserted by everybody.” _Mother Teresa

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Our highly mobile society has increased the insecurity within our inner life. We are always moving around that we become afraid to invest in relationships; one cannot even be sure if he will see the person he meets today again. This insecurity brought us new challenges and questions that we cannot yet answer.

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“Most folks are as happy asthey make up their minds to be.”

_Abraham Lincoln

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But we don’t always need to seek for an answer. Sometimes we only need to give ourselves moments of tranquility to accept the changes, as the Serenity Prayer has approached:

Give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,Courage to change the things I can,And wisdom to know the difference.

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What Is Valuable In Your Life? (survey)

wilderness

to do what you love to do, to live what you want to live, is valuable

i consider my career, my girl, family, friends as valuable, not to mention myself and money too but money comes way later. when i say myself it means my private space which is the most important thing to me, i wanna do what i want to and won’t appreciate anything that disrupts this

時間 時間要在大家記得它的時候才會有價值, 才會想到 喔 我在浪費時間這件事情

i believe something valuable fills a need. i value intimate relationships with friends, space and privacy, and fulfilling work.

time. time makes all things possible. (people tend to crave for more time in all circumstances.)

love, family, friends, people, curiosity, happiness

i consider my hands to be valuable. i would rather lose both my legs than one hand.

the most valuable thing is my positive thinking. always lead me and give me lots of energy. let me enjoy every moment in life no matter what happen maybe in sorrow or in happiness. so i could share this positive attitude to others and encourage someone who needed.

我覺得生命中最有價值的東西是『故鄉』這個概念！ 像是莫言說過：「故鄉留給我的印象，是我小說的魂魄。故鄉的土地與河流、莊稼與樹木、飛禽與走獸、神話與傳說、妖魔與鬼怪、恩人與仇人，都是我小說的內容。」

親情很珍貴

travelling, eating, family

memory, experience (past), experiment (present), expedition (future).

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不管你做什麼工作、或從哪個國家來，都沒有關係。大多數時候，我們都很困惑，都在尋找答案，而且在每個夜晚感到寂寞。

沒關係。你會沒事的。我們都會沒事的。

生活是辛苦的、生活是無聊的、生活是困惑的、生活是可怕的。而且多數都沒有答案。

我們都寂寞，所以，寂寞的人聚在一起，我們是不寂寞的。

我們都寂寞 所以我們不寂寞＿鍾子偉

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It doesn’t matter what kind of job you have or where you are from. Most of the time, we all doubt and try to find an answer. Furthermore, we feel lonely every single night.

But it’s ok. You’ll be fine. We all will be fine.Life is hard, life is boring, life is confusing, life is scary, and most of the time, there is no answer to it.

We all are lonely, so when lonely people get together, we are not alone.

Alone Together_Joey Chung

| Translation |

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「你跟我哥好像，」她說「兩個人說起話來都很快，總是在查看你們的手機，似乎都對你們眼見的四周事物感到很陌生，你上次到一個安靜小鎮是什麼時候？」

「我在兩年前開了咖啡店。我哥老是笑我，好奇我怎能過著這種無趣的生活，而他則在外面賺大錢，幹掉競爭者，遊覽全世界。但這真的取決於你想要的是哪種人生。他跟他的黑莓機睡在一起，總是很緊張很疲累，而我很少看到他笑。他幾乎沒有個人生活或是跟朋友出去。我每天工作八小時，然後回家、看書，跟朋友見面，在我的社區當義工。我每年出國旅行兩次，也順便看看這世界……而99%的時間，我都面帶微笑。你呢？」

我保持沉默，不確定要說什麼，還在仔細思考我自己到底信仰著什麼。

過一個無所事事的週末吧 ＿鍾子偉

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“You are like my brother” she said, “you both speak really fast, always checking on your cell phones, and always seems unfamil-iar with the surroundings. When was the last time you’ve been to a quiet town?”

“I opened up a coffee shop two years ago. My brother always teases me about how I can live in such a boring life. In contrast, he is always out there making great amount of money, compet-ing with different people, and traveling around the world. But it really depends on what kind of life you want. He sleeps with his Blackberry, always seems anxious and tired, and I seldom see him smile. He barely has his personal life or hangout with friends. I work eight hours a day, then go home, read books, meet up with friends, and volunteer in my community. I travel overseas twice a year and get to look around the world. And 99% of the time, I am smiling. And you?”

I kept silent, not sure what to say. I was still trying to figure out what I believe.

Try To Do Nothing On A Weekend_Joey Chung

| Translation |

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“Wasting time for one person is thought provoking or inspirational for an-other. It can be in these moments of tranquility that our clearest and most profound thoughts occur.” _Patrick Stevenson-Keating

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“There’s this slow-food movement right now. Maybe we could also have a slow-art movement, and take an hour.” _ James Turrell

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This was a merchant who sold pills that had been invent-ed to quench thirst. “You need only swallow one pill a week, and you would feel no need of anything to drink.” “Why are you selling those?” asked the little prince. “Because they save a tremendous amount of time,” said the merchant. “Computations have been made by experts. With these pills, you save fifty-three minutes in every week.” “And what do I do with those fifty-three minutes?” “Anything you like...” “As for me,” said the little prince to himself, “if I had fifty-three minutes to spend as I liked, I should walk at my leisure toward a spring of fresh water.”

The Little Prince _Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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“What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?”

_W. H. Davies

“Life’s most beautiful moment is when you are welcomed to stop and breath deeply.”

Bristol, 2011

生命中最美好的, 莫過於那些可以停下來用力呼吸的時光。

生命中最美好的, 莫過於那些可以停下來用力呼吸的時光。

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生活的藝術＿林語堂

「 藝術不能藉刺刀強迫而產生, 正如我們不能用金錢向妓女買到真正的愛情。 」

“We can’t force art with a bayonet, just like we can’t buy true love from a prostitute.”

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「 古教堂、舊式家具、版子很老的字典以及古版的書籍，我們是喜歡的，但大多數的人忘卻了老年人的美。這种美是值得我們欣賞，在生活是十分需要。我以為古老的東西，圓滿的東西，飽經世變的東西才是最美的東西。 」

“We fancy old church, antique furniture, old typeface dictionary, and incunabulum books, but we often forget the beauty of the elders. This kind of beauty is worth our appreciation; it is needed in our lives. I believe old objects, life fulfilled objects, and the objects that have gone through ages are the most beautiful things.”

The Importance of Living _Lin Yu Tang

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生活的藝術＿林語堂

「 我們對于人生可以抱著比較輕快隨便的態度：我們不是這個塵世的永久房客，而是過路的旅客。 」

“We don’t need to take life too seriously: we are only passersby of this world, not permanent residents.”

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「 一般人不能領略這個塵世生活的樂趣，那是因為他們不深愛人生，把生活弄得平凡、刻板，而無聊。 」

“Most of the people don’t comprehend the joy of life because they don’t love life, and that makes life banal, mediocre, and boring.”

The Importance of Living _Lin Yu Tang

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“The sky is my emergency exit.“ Scotland, 2011

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“One of the best things to do sometimes is simply to be.” Syracuse, 2012

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Syracuse, 2010

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如果有人問我,生命的價值是什麼？我會回答他,「是活著這件事。」

像是在星期天慵懶的午後,為自己煮一頓飯。細心的切著洋蔥,當下只專注在此,不為別事煩心。可以聽著音樂下廚只為掩蓋抽風機的雜聲,然後再為自己費心的煮上一杯cappuccino。不會只是即溶式,而是沸騰過開水虹西式濾過咖啡粉再添上細緻濃密親手打的奶泡。打開門關心天氣狀況,後聽聽鳥兒的啼叫聲與細微青草和綠葉被風吹動的聲音。鼻腔內則流動著剛剛煮沸的咖啡以及外面或者濕潤或者乾暖的土地味道。當微風（亦或是冷冽的寒風）輕觸我臉頰至包圍整個身體, 我慶幸我是活著的。

_雪城, 2012

If someone asks me, what is valuable in my life? I would answer him: “it is sim-ply the being.”

Like making myself a brunch on a lazy Sunday afternoon, carefully cutting the onions, focusing only at the moment, and not to be distracted by others. Turn on the music just to cover the noise of the ex-haust fan. Then diligently making myself a cup of cappuccino, waiting for the boil-ing water to complete filtering through the coffee ground and top with the milk foam steamed from an espresso machine. Open the door to check the weather, and listen to the birds chirping and the sound of the grass slightly moving with the leaves blown by the wind. What fills in-side my nose would be the smell of the coffee that’s just been made mixed with the smell of the dirt that could be wet or dry. When the breeze (or even the freez-ing gust) touches my cheeks till it cuddles my whole body, I appreciate I am alive. _Syracuse, 2012

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Conclusion

If I never asked myself the question, I probably wouldn’t have gone through the breakdowns, and my life will go on just fine. But because I had the chance and time in my fifth year to “precipitate” myself, I now have deeper appreciation on my surroundings. Al-though my life hasn’t changed much on the exterior, I cherish every moment of happenings. I now understand the importance for time to elapse, so I rush less to simply enjoy being. After all, a life with-out time’s sculpturing and polishing is like a rough wooden chunk, lacking the definition and sophistication. I no longer doubt or being short sighted because I have the serenity to face whatever comes after; I have faith in everything I do at the moment (though most of the time they might seem irrelevant to the present) will become the important factors for a great future. 35

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path.”_Steve Jobs

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THE MOMENT

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42”

40”

30”30”

research of 90 percentile adults dimensions:

height_ ~75.6”waist height_ 33.1”~35.4”

leg height_ 36.6”~40.2”hip width_ 18.3”~16.9”hip thickness_ 13”~14”arm length_ 19”~20.8”

operating body sway_ 24”shoulder width_ 20.6”viewing distance_ 16”

common display zone_54”~62”

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The Moment is a project located in city spaces to give people the opportunity to precipitate themselves as to encourage a slow movement. It gives the user a moment of serenity and a space to allow one to stop and simply enjoy breathing without doing.

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2nd Model

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When a user enters The Moment, he has entered into a spotlight silhouette: it is the spotlight of his own life stage. Thus the design is to hint the user to take a moment and take back the control of his own life stage. It is for the user to focus on listen-ing what his heart tells him.

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The 1st model was to create a peaceful environment where users can have the perfect amount of isola-tion from the outside world, and focus at the mo-ment while being inside.

Many users think it successfully creates a peaceful environment and it has a nice acoustic, echo effect inside. Still, some responded their backs being ex-posed made them feel vulnerable and anxious.

_1st Model

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The 2nd model was added with a frame on top for hanging the curtain outside the model to create a little bit of pri-vacy. Then it was put in a lobby with a questionnaire inside for people to write down feedbacks privately.

_2nd Model

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The curtain frame was taken down to reduce the cumbersome feeling; the curtain was then moved inside the model. The bottom part was added with more wooden panels to continue the outline of the opening on the top part and to create a sense of security and completeness of the model.

_Final Model

now take a moment and simply enjoy breathing and being.

live in the moment.

a great part of my research was inspired by the book, Happiness by Richard Layard, and many of the blog entries by Joey Chung, in which he posted on Business Weekly website: http://www.businessweekly.com.tw/blog/list.php?cid=0000000003

Syracuse UniversityIndustrial & Interaction Design

2012 Thesis