“But it is not an experiment if it cannot fail.”
Burdick et al., “One: Humanities to Digital Humanities,” in Digital_Humanities (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012), 22.
This quote stood out to me because I enjoy how it highlights the experimental basis of using technology, Something I have enjoyed in my life is playing with different technologies whether it’s a video editing software, spreadsheets, AI agents, and now fusion is learning from my original failures in the certain software. I feel like failure and experimentation is how I grow the most when learning new technologies.
I experienced this while using Fusion 360 for the first time. Making a die sounded pretty simple, but I struggled with basic things such as zooming and moving around the model because I was not using a mouse. I eventually found a setting that made Fusion easier to use on my computer. Although this was frustrating, figuring it out helped me understand the program better. The mistakes I made were not separate from the assignment. They were part of how I learned to use the software.
This experience helped me understand the idea of Digital Humanities as something experimental. A digital project will not be perfect on the first try. Testing, changing, and improving the project throughout the process is what makes a true digital humanities project. That makes learning unfamiliar technology feel less intimidating.
This term, I am most interested in learning how maps can tell stories. I have always enjoyed looking at maps especially because of my obsession with the game geoguessr. I am eager to see how digital maps can also connect locations, images, data, and historical events to create a larger narrative. I am interested in how the choices made by a map’s creator can shape the story people see.
I also want to explore data visualization, 3D modeling, websites, and AI bias.
Hi Zach,
I completely agree. I think what you’re describing is the iterative design process or method, which is the name for the cycle of planning guiding designing, design guiding testing, and testing guiding analyzing, then using the analysis to guide a new design. Though it was modeled by computer scientists and computer science educators, I’d argue most of us have been accidentally using it in our day-to-day lives for a long time.