Day 185 – Form before Function

So when I was teaching at a college I had this informal debate going on with the “artists” on the floor below where I taught. They constantly were preaching that function follows form. I disagreed, as a computer scientist I believed firmly that you had to determine the function had to be determined before you could come up with the form it would take. I had a very utilitarian argument.

I am changing my mind. The crayon carrying hippies downstairs were actually making an argument that was beyond my capacity to understand. They were not arguing just that you create beauty and then find a function for it – they were saying something much different.

If you have every learned to be a good artist (I have not, and I am guessing here) I am sure that you have learned that you have to follow a specific form, repetitively, and become good at it before you can become functional. You cannot paint a masterpiece until you can actually draw basic forms, and do them well. Great functional art will follow precise forms, and beauty is only possible if you have the form to do so.

Take my pushups for example. This morning I was in the hotel gym and I saw a guy doing pushups. As he gasped through a set of 25 or 30 pushups, I pridefully thought – I will show him. I will drop down and do 50 or 60 in a row!! However, as I watched this person do his pushup routine, I noticed that his pushup routine was almost perfect in form. There was no cheating.

After he left the room, I decided to try to perfect my form. I spent time carefully watching my arm position, the position of my hands, the feel of my muscles. I made sure I fully extended each pushup. Sure enough when I got to 30 – it was getting very hard, and much more intense. I was focusing on the form and by so doing the function was very real.

As I go though life I have had little disregard for form. I am always in super pursuit of function. This 365 commitment has taught me that form is very important. It is the foundation. How can I expect to have a good day, unless I follow the correct form? How can I have a good team, unless I do the basics really well? How can I expect anything to be done right if I am not making sure the basic form is setup correctly and working before I try to get the most out of it (function)?

This commitment is teaching me form. I have never had proper form before. I was always flaying about my day with no purpose, direction, or even a trajectory. Now I have a form to set me on correct course. I imagine it will take a year, perhaps two or three to get the form right, to get the form perfect.

I talked with a friend who practices as a Hindu. He was excited to hear about my new meditation routine that I follow in the morning. He spent the entire time asking me about my form. Was my back straight? How were my legs crossed? Where was I holding my hands? Was my head upright? I was thinking – these things are meaningless, lets talk about what I am getting out of it. The outcome is important here! I could tell he was thinking in his mind – oh, you silly westerner. The form precedes the function.

Guy Reams (185)
365 Member

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