Labyrinths & Mazes For Total Morons

MAAZ was the firstborn son of RAM (I Chronicles 2:27). Thus a maze is a place where you lose your sheep. —Anon.

There is a great deal of confusion regarding the similaities between mazes and labyrinths, and their spelling. This confusion is natural, because people are easily confused. But this confusion is also easily dispelled. Here are simple guidelines you can follow to discover whether you are lost in a maze, in a labyrinth, or just in a twisted skein of indeterminate space-time.

• A maze is a place where you get lost; a labyrinth is a place where you lose yourself.
• If your conundrum has just one entrance and exit, it may be a maze but it's more likely a labyrinth.
• If you're in a labyrinth you can probably find your way out; if you're in a maze you might not be able to.
• A labyrinth may be holy but a maze may be damned.
• In a maze you must exercise your mind; in a labyrinth you exercise your spirit, or whatever.
• Nobody ever made a living by creating or selling puzzle-books of labyrinths.

Maze-Labyrinth Resources (under construction)

• Think Labyrinth: Maze Algorithms
• Google directories: Games/Puzzles/Mazes and Society/Folklore/Literature/Tales/Labyrinths

Christopher Alexander's 15 Principles of Style / Design / Architecture

You can't invent a design. You recognize it, in the fourth dim­en­sion. That is, with your blood and your bones, as well as your eyes. —D.H. Lawrence

Whilst perusing vapid websites I chanced upon a reference to alleged principles. You may or may not wish to observe them. They may or may not work for you. Memorize them if you want. Makes no difference to me.

1.) Levels of Scale
A balanced range of sizes is pleasing and beautiful.

2.) Stong Centers
Good design offers areas of focus or weight.

3.) Boundaries
Outlines focus attention to the center.

4.) Alternating Repetition
Repeating various elements creates a sense of order and harmony.

5.) Positive Space
The background should reinforce rather than detract from the center.

6.) Good Shape
Simple forms create and intense, powerful center.

7.) Local Symmetries
Organic, small scale symmetry works better than precise, overall symmetry.

8.) Deep interlock and ambiguity
Looping, connected elements promote unity and grace.

9.) Contrast
Unity is achieved with visible opposites.

10.) Gradients
The proportional use of space and pattern creates harmony.

11.) Roughness
Texture and imperfections convey uniqueness and life.

12.) Echoes
Similarities should repeat throughout a design.

13.) The Void
Empty spaces offer calm and contrast.

14.) Simplicity and inner calm
Use only essentials; avoid extraneous elements.

15.) Not-seperateness
Designs should be connected and complementary, not egocentric and isolated.

Notes On Extreme Architecture

Everything at the extremes and everything in between has architecture. Atoms have small-scale architectures. Rocks have architectures. Microchips and computers have architectures. Galaxies have architectures. The universe and multiverse have large-scale architectures. Yada yada yada.

The architectures at the extremes don't much resemble intermediate architectures, mainly because the operant forces and constituents are rather different. Inter-atomic energies and black matter determine their structures in ways we don't notice on the human scale. How boring. Wouldn't you rather be something other than human?

Extreme architecture is all about finding the limits of what can be done with the forces and constituents at hand, and pulling or pushing those limits. You can tell when you've exceeded real limits because whatever you're trying to put together, doesn't happen. Thus anything you can actually build is stale and obsolete. But don't let that stop you.

One approach: impose onerous limits. Constrain yourself to work with only the most basic of materials, like building a house from only marbles and snot. Such extreme limitation will force you to exercise your creativity to the fullest, like a real genius.

Another approach: remove all possible limits. Build with something other than crass material stuff - build with light, with sound, with words, with scents, with tastes. You may end up with something brilliant, if a bit impossible and unusable. Just don't expect to win approval from your local zoning commission. But who needs those focking Philistines?!?!?

You can also redefine 'architecture', 'design', 'building', 'usefulness,' and other relevant terms. This can lead you in totally novel directions. But see the caveat in the previous paragraph.

Think outside the box. Think outside the paper bag. Think outside the condom. Think outside the inflated goat's bladder. Think outside the cargo ship. Think outside the pustule. Wherever there's a boundary or barrier, think on the other side of it. Then think about coming back, eventually. If anyone will have you.

To be successful as an extreme architect, you must be an extreme person. Do everything, Think and dream everything, Eat and drink and smoke everything. Love and hate everything. Fight and fuck everything. Nothing is ever accomplished by a reasonable person. Moderation is for monks. Get extreme.

(to be continued...)

ARTICLES

 HYPERNORMAL: 
ArchiSculpture
Barbecuing
Deconstruction
Existence
Evolution
Knowledge & Belief
Labyrinths & Mazes
Logic
Millennial Madness
Proof
Redefining Time
ReDoing Space-Time

 PARANORMAL: 
Buddha
ChemTrails
Crop Circles
(De)Material­ization
InnerSpace Exploration
Levitation
Lycanthropy
Mental Radio
NewAge Buzzwords
Paranormal Research
Perpetual Motion
Pyramidology
Self-Delusion
TeleKinesis
Time Travel
Vampirism
Vril Power
X-Entities