With this being the first of many articles I plan to write on this column I thought I would kind of give an overview of what I plan to explore here. The title of this column (technically its a blog but I like column better) is The Socratic Method, which is inspired by exactly what its named after, the Socratic method.

For those of you who aren't familiar, the Socratic Method is a kind of argumentative dialogue based on asking and answering questions in order to stimulate critical thinking and to dive deeper into what one's preconceived notions about something might be. By asking questions we allow ourselves to think a bit deeper about something which could result in interesting outcomes.

I hope to use this platform to stimulate thought on various topics pertaining to the practice and study of design. Everything I write will be intended for further discussion and, like Socrates himself, I'll rarely assert a specific position. Every article will pose a question followed by my thinking in response to that question. I think there is an opportunity for designers to ask better questions that can lead to extraordinary innovations. And my hope is that this column can begin to kick start some of that thinking. 

While I will be talking about a variety of topics the next article I will write will be about design and people. The question will be, "Why is the building more important than the person?" I'll talk about my perplexity with why architectural education and literature is disproportionally focused on buildings and hardly on the people that inhabit them. Shouldn't architects be not only master builders but masters of people? Having knowledge in things like psychology, sociology, and biology? How can we design environments for people that we don't understand?

Join me soon for this discussion. And feel free to comment with any questions of your own!