[HN Gopher] A Pattern Language (1977) [pdf]
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A Pattern Language (1977) [pdf]
Author : zeeshanqureshi
Score : 59 points
Date : 2021-06-10 09:30 UTC (13 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (arl.human.cornell.edu)
(TXT) w3m dump (arl.human.cornell.edu)
| thebooktocome wrote:
| I return to this book every year or so but it hasn't aged well as
| an utopian text. Balkanization at the world, nation, and local
| levels isn't the slam dunk he seems to think it is.
| mcphage wrote:
| Not all of the patterns are winners, but some of them are
| really out there. I still love it for how many hit the mark.
| brudgers wrote:
| The book itself has a star rating system for the quality of
| each pattern. Some are one star, others are more.
| plainOldText wrote:
| I have have been introduced to many of Alexander's ideas through
| this series of lectures on architecture and urbanism by Nikos
| Salingaros [1]. Mind bending stuff.
|
| [1] https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLre1SQJb-
| jSXex1MlLFlGrsRj...
| glennericksen wrote:
| Thanks for sharing this. The lecture format helps draw out some
| of the implications of the Alexander's work. For example, "a
| healthy mind in a healthy body-in a healthy environment",
| connecting the value of shaping the environment well to human
| benefit.
|
| He also simplifies an explanation of why algorithmic design vs
| "all at once" may be preferable: an algorithm offers
| opportunities for discovery beyond intuition and memory. In
| other words, trust the process.
| throw0101a wrote:
| Some of the co-authors / contributors of _A Pattern Language_
| distilled the original >200 patterns to what they though were
| the 10 most essential in the book _Patterns of Home: The Ten
| Essentials of Enduring Design_ :
|
| * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/885970.Patterns_of_Home
|
| * http://www.architectureweek.com/topics/patterns.html
| raihansaputra wrote:
| I feel like A Pattern Language is overrated standing on it's own.
| Too much people are extrapolating based on this book only instead
| of diving deeper into Christopher Alexander's other works. The
| patterns becomes a small thing in the mindset of working from a
| whole, piece by piece, and iterating with real world feedback
| instead of planning everything to the minute detail.
| chrisdinn wrote:
| Reading A Pattern Language without reading The Timeless Way of
| Building makes no sense at all. We do it, I think, because many
| technologists stumble on A Pattern Language through its
| relationship to Gang of Four and other "pattern" approaches.
| The book I always return to, more and more as I get older, is
| The Timeless Way of Building.
| twodayrice wrote:
| I second this. A Timeless Way of Building is a beautiful
| book.
| mandelbrotwurst wrote:
| Would you why summarizing why it "makes no sense at all"?
|
| I was aware that there was a trilogy, chose to dig into
| "Pattern" first, and got a lot out of it.
| mandelbrotwurst wrote:
| The introduction to the book agrees with you and warns about
| that - it specifically mentions that it is just one possible
| pattern language, which is why the title is "A Pattern
| Language" and not "The Pattern Language"
| 1123581321 wrote:
| Completely disagree. Many of the patterns contain interesting
| ideas. My house, property, relations with my neighbors and
| civic volunteer work is different because I read it. I also
| build software to enable different things, and in general, see
| details with more scrutiny as well as awareness of the benefit
| of compromise to aid the whole effort. It is a deeply
| insightful book into the way humans relate to each other.
|
| I do second the recommendation to read the other works as well.
| If pairing one book with Pattern, I would choose The Battle for
| the Life and Beauty of the Earth because it most clearly
| portrays the process of taking Alexander's thinking into the
| real world and overcoming its perverse incentives to impose
| ugliness and financial difficulty. I gave a talk for a bunch of
| developers immediately after reading it because it mapped so
| well to what we do and struggle with.
| brudgers wrote:
| _A Pattern Language_ is applicable when putting lines on paper
| or nails in wood, i.e. actually designing and /or building.
| Though interesting, _A Timeless Way of Building_ tends to be
| mostly useful for complaining about the way something has been
| built. Nobody talks about the third book in the trilogy _The
| Oregon Experiment_ because the resulting buildings don 't look
| like what people want to be the result of _A Timeless Way of
| Building_.
|
| Anyway, in the actual practice of architecture, _A Pattern
| Language_ is by far the best of the set. There are other books
| that make approximately the same case as _Timeless Way of
| Building_. [1] Most of it 's fame is from standing in relation
| to _A Pattern Language_.
|
| [1] e.g. _How Buildings Learn_ , _The Timeless Way of Seeing_ ,
| _Structure of the Ordinary_ , etc.
| bmitc wrote:
| I couldn't find a book named _The Timeless Way of Seeing_. Is
| there another name? Who is the author? It sounds interesting.
| teraflop wrote:
| Just based on a bit of googling, the parent commenter might
| have been meant to refer to this: https://www.goodreads.com
| /book/show/2785.The_Old_Way_of_Seei...
| bmitc wrote:
| Thanks for your sleuthing! That indeed looks interesting.
| brudgers wrote:
| Yes. It has been about 25 years.
| zwieback wrote:
| I bought a hard-copy back when SW patterns came in vogue, just to
| have it. It's pretty interesting even though I know nothing about
| architecture.
|
| My daughter goes to UO, where Alexander had a hand in applying
| some of his ideas. If you go to the campus today, though, it's
| overwhelmingly Uncle Phil who shapes the look and feel, sadly.
| luckyorlame wrote:
| Uncle Phil?
| 0xcde4c3db wrote:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Knight#University_of_Oreg.
| ..
| coley wrote:
| I also own a hard copy of this one and know nothing about
| architecture. I've found the patterns helpful for video game
| level design. Whether it's the layout of a small town, window
| placement, or the tiered chambers of a church or temple, this
| book is extremely insightful for someone who doesn't know where
| to start when it comes to this stuff.
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