Author: Ronal Bista

Initially, my plan was to create a physical map featuring all the landmarks I visited in Berlin. However, I am not very good at Arts & Crafts and could not produce the results I had envisioned. Therefore, I opted to use StoryMapJS. This time, following the advice of Harshini, I chose not to focus excessively on the grade I might receive. Instead, I concentrated on enjoying the process of creating this story map and coming up with engaging titles and humorous descriptions. You can find the final presentation here.

Here are the explanations for the different titles and their descriptions:

2. Only place to call home.

Title: This is the only campus residence in NYU Berlin for J-term. Unlike a normal semester, there aren’t any other option.
Description: Based on the state that our common living room is in, I have to say it has taken a toll on me.

3. Academic Excellence and Beer Gardens — What more could you want?

Title: The restaurant right in front of campus, where the orientation was organized, has ample seating areas and alcohol options.
Description: One of the primary reasons to apply for a campus site in Europe is the Schengen Visa. Seeing that most students are extending their stay in Berlin to travel across Europe, it is hard to refute this fact.

4. I’ll lose weight some other time.

Title: I have been trying to get my body back in shape but with the order I had at this restaurant: Butter chicken, pineapple juice, spicy chicken wings, and Naan, I am a bit far from my goal.
Description: Related to the fact that there are a lot of Doner in Berlin and a Nepali guy eating Indian food doesn’t really scream variety. Spice is a staple in our cuisine.

5. My first photoshoot model

Title: I take a lot of pictures of the same objects from various angles to get that one perfect shot.
Description: Unlike this building, most usually have a rectangular shape. And from what I understood from our little conversation as part of Mariam and Fatima’s description, Linda likes squares.

6. One route, twice the stop.

Title: I travel the same route twice a day between campus and residence and therefore use this station often.
Description: Since I frequent this station, one would expect it to be a historical landmark of some sort.

7. BEST DINER IN THE CITY

Title: I get all my groceries from this place so most of what I eat comes from here.
Description: Once food digests, it becomes waste.

8. AVENGERS, ASSEMBLE!

Title: Related to the fact that we had to wait for everyone to gather in front of our meeting point. Also, a popular Marvel movie phrase.
Description: This is related to the meme about popular anime series Dragon Ball’s characters Goku and Veget looking for an empty space to fight. Since the FIELD studio was very empty, it fulfills their requirements.

9. NOT THE PERSON I THOUGHT HE WAS

Title: When I first looked at the graffiti, I thought it resembled a famous dictator.
Description: The graffiti turned out to be dedicated to a Ukrainian soldier who was shot dead in captivity by Russians after saying “Slava Ukraine”.

10. DON’T FORGET YOUR BOTTLE

Title: Considering the number of drunks at the park we were in. Also a reminder to myself before leaving for the airport.
Description: The food hunt, and the laughs we had courtesy of the drunks. Since we joked about Aaron paying for our food, the only thing that couldn’t make the day more perfect as him not doing so.

11. LEG DAY FOR EVERYONE

Title: For the fact that we had to stand for the entire visit, as well as outside Gazzo, the pizza restaurant.
Description: We wanted chairs to sit on.

12. GOOD FOOD, BETTER COMPANY

Title: The demonstration for the day was about building connection between two people and the food was great.
Description: We all remember the encounter we had.

13. NICE DOING BUSINESS WITH YOU

Title: Darko was very excited about being hired at Flora&Fauna.
Description: Related to the book we all received. I feel like they gave it to us also because there were a lot of them lying around and they wanted to get rid of some of them.

14. THE KISS OVER FOOD, ANYDAY

Title: We decided to see the socialist kiss at the East Side Gallery first, even though some of us were hungry.
Description: Choosing to see the kiss over the food (sort of) tells us where our priorities are.

15. MY FAVORITE WORK

Title: Self-explanatory. My favorite work from this class.
Description: The joke here is the sarcastic remark about there not being a joke. It is a straightforward title and I wanted to end the presentation with this creation I am most proud of.

1. And I am done.

I admire the passion and enthusiasm he has about his projects. I was amazed at how comfortably he is able to use lateral thinking processes for his creative work. I particularly liked his work on Apes. It was also impressive how he was able to identify that we would like to ask about funding, and then went on to provide us valuable information on it.

All rights to this audio are reserved to The Pokémon Company and its respective owners. This audio is used here under for educational and non-commercial purposes only.

May 21, 2024
It’s a brand-new region to explore.  

Start.

The title sequence plays, overwhelming me with information. I don’t recognize anything—vague symbols, a different language, brand new Pokémon. I only know that the journey is going to be exciting.

Set. Region: Berlin. Character name: Ronal. Major: Computer Science & Mathematics.

I exit the back of the vehicle, enter the building that is now my new home, reset the clock, and check the Menu. As expected, the two most important options are missing: Pokédex and Pokémon. The graphics haven’t changed. Has the story? Tomorrow, I will meet the Professor.

Save.

May 22, 2024
Continue.

The introduction hasn’t changed. “Welcome to the brand-new world of Pokémon”. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. As I enter the lab, I feel nostalgic yet unfamiliar. The plot is somehow different. In this region, the Champion is the Professor. My rival character is absent. Instead, there are 11 others like me—brand new trainers waiting for their first Pokémon. Champion Aaron hands us three Pokedex: Lateral Thinking, Art & Fear, and Flow. My entries are empty, and he expects me to complete them, but I simply want to catch Pokémon and battle. I am excited to see what brand new creatures this region has for me. We all receive the same starter: creating.nyuadim.com. What are its stats? Its rarity? What EVs and IVs does it have? What is its nature? Everything is confusing as I try to understand the mechanisms of this brand-new game.

Suddenly, a Pokémon appears! It is weak: a mere 23 minutes. Kermit never stood a chance against my strategic play. My first Pokedex entry! The region looks doable.

Save.

May 23, 2024
Continue.

I have prepared as best as I could. I stand in front of my 1^st gym. I am nervous. The gym leader 30 Circles looks strong. I am unsure if I can beat it with my Pokémon’s level. My first battle was a complete failure. The Professor gave us a useful tip: “Do not focus too much on the loss. Train more and battle again”.

I will be using this strategy a lot in future battles. I spend hours training, battling wild Pokémon, and improving my team’s abilities. Eventually, success! My Pokémon gained a lot of experience from this fight. But I know, the stronger my Pokémon grows, the slower it will level up. Wait, is that a Legendary Pokémon?. Otis Sandsjö appeared. Everything is happening so fast. Noooooooooooo. I could not catch him in time. He has escaped. This game is more challenging than I had thought.

Save.

May 24-June 5, 2024
Continue.

I’ve traveled through various terrains, from dense forests to bustling urban centers. My Pokémon have grown significantly stronger, learning new moves and evolving. I’ve formed alliances with other trainers, discovered hidden areas, and unraveled parts of the overarching storyline. The complexity of the game world keeps me engaged, constantly pushing me to explore and experiment. Current Progress:

Number of Badges: 7

Gym leaders defeated: 30 Circles, Alternative Meanings, Why, Design, Reversal, Random Word, Meaningful Connection

Pokedex entries: Kermit, Lateral Thinking: Introduction (pp 9-14), Lateral Thinking: How the Mind Works (pp 25-38), Lateral Thinking: Innovation & Suspended Judgement (pp 105-111), Art & Fear: The Nature of the Problem (pp 1-7), FIELD, Art & Fear: Fears About Yourself (pp 23-36), Art & Fear: Fears About Others (pp 37-47), Flow: Paths of Liberation    (pp 20-22), The Conditions of Flow (pp 71-77).

Legendries encountered: Otis Sandsjö , Mariana Carvalho, Merche Blasco, Ming Poon, Harshini J. Karunaratne, Robert Seidel, Marco Borotti.

This game defied the principles of my usual gameplay. No user manual to refer, no set route to move through, no perfect run. I was forced to expand my vision beyond the boundaries of my Gameboy. Unlike the structured, linear progression of typical Pokémon games, this experience demanded flexibility and adaptability. There was a lot of trial and error when deciding the direction my character had to move. More often, I would get lost. But that is what made me realize the element which makes Pokémon so much fun: the exploration. Every step into the unknown was an invitation to uncover the secrets of this vast new region.

To obtain key items, I had to meticulously explore every inch of the region. Talking to NPCs made me realize that their mundane dialogues often contained the clues needed to advance in the game. Finding hidden pieces required me to be patient and observe. But most importantly, I found out that obtaining the Master Ball isn’t always the optimal strategy. Sometimes, I have to affect the Pokémon with a status condition, learn the boosted catch rates of every Pokeball, and ultimately, throw the best ball I have at my disposal. The thrill of discovery kept me engaged. The lack of a perfect speedrun taught me to embrace imperfections. It became clear to me that the beauty of the game lay in its unpredictability. The journey was no longer about simply “catching them all”, but about growing and learning through the process. This game might not have given me the ability to modify the settings, but it did remind me of how non-competitively fun Pokémon can be.

Save.
June 6, 2024
Continue.

As I approach the final gym, I reflect on my journey so far. The battles, the friendships, and the countless hours of training have all led to this moment. The anticipation of what lies ahead fuels my determination. I have prepared myself as much as I could. I will battle the last gym leader tomorrow. Then, I face Champion Aaron.

Save.

“Do an activity for 21 days, and it becomes a habit.” I do not remember the exact source where I got this from, but it is a guiding principle I rely on for personal improvement. This approach reflects my commitment to “mental discipline” rather than the “constant spontaneity” discussed in “Paths of Liberation.” By consistently turning actions into habits, I believe it is possible to achieve a state of flow, since the book suggests that one of the reasons for failing to achieve flow is the inability to modify our habits.

Similar to the example of Alex and tennis, I find myself in a state of flow when I am learning and truly understanding something new. Here is where I stop aligning with the book. The book claims that repetition, as a specific level of challenge, leads to boredom and disrupts flow. I disagree. Since achieving complete mastery over a skill is impossible, there is always something new to learn from repetition. For instance, while practicing a tennis shot, the way I rebound the ball may stem from repetition and established neural patterns. Yet, I can still experiment with different techniques or the power of my shots and observe the results. This continuous experimentation and adjustment represent a learning phase, thereby inducing flow.

Furthermore, Roger Caillois’s division of the world’s games into Agon, Alea, Ilinx, and Mimicry overlooks everyday activities such as exercising, cooking, or singing. It is entirely possible to achieve a state of flow while engaging in these activities.

His work was hypnotizing. The first film he played for us did not make sense to me. I could not understand neither his intentions nor his art. However, his last demonstration: Hysteresis was mesmerizing. I could make out shapes in his art and it was breathtaking to watch. When he said “there is so much more than what others see”, I recalled to how the book Art & Fear talks about the efforts to success being invisible and only the results mattering. His presentations today directly relates to this. He also talked about the process of development which I found very useful since I was introduced to a new term Optical Flow algorithm, and he also mentioned several 3D rendering tools: Blender, Touch Design, and VQFan which I will be experimenting with in the near future.

For this Making assignment, we decided to create a meaningful connection between two individuals by having them listen to each other’s heartbeat in a contactless manner. Initially, we proposed having the participants face each other while maintaining eye contact to provide a sense of intimacy. Each person would wear headphones connected to a heartbeat monitoring device, such as a stethoscope, which allows them to listen to their partner’s heartbeat. Since the assignment was for people to have meaningful connections, however, we considered enhancing the experience by separating the participants so they could not see each other. For that we decided to place a partition in front of their seats which would drop down at the end of the experiment so that the participants would be able to see each other and contextualize their partner. This was our first alternative. Below is a rough sketch we made. It might not be too clear, but you should be able to make out the table, chairs, and partition.

Then, we refined our approach to create an even more meaningful experience by having the participants interact anonymously.  To achieve this, we decided to remove the partition and instead place the participants in separate rooms or divide the room with a wall. Our plan was to have the room dimly lit to diminish their sense of sight, thereby enhancing their other senses, particularly hearing. In this way, each person could concentrate on the sound of the heartbeat more intently. Additionally, we considered using speakers to amplify the heartbeat sounds, so that each person could not only hear the heartbeat, but also feel the vibrations. Following is a rough sketch of this version.

Finally, instead of vibrations, we thought of using a pin screen to have the two people interact with each other. Since the screen constantly changes based on each push, it provides for a more realistic contactless interaction experience. We also had to figure out how to record the heartbeat after being in separate rooms. For that, we decided to use a fitness watch.

To facilitate the in-class demonstration, we have sample heartbeats ready to be played.

The way I view the whole acceptance and/or approval thing is as follows:

At any given point in time, a particular person might be considered the greatest to exist in their field—think of figures like Galileo, Euclid, Newton, Leibniz, Euler, Einstein, Feynman, etc. As someone starting out in the field, I would aspire to achieve the recognition that such a person had in their time period. But if I were to reach that level of greatness, would I be satisfied? How could I know if I am the greatest of my time period or of all time periods? There isn’t a reliable measure to compare the contributions of Newton and Einstein. Who do we label as the genius of geniuses? If we were to swap their eras, would Einstein have discovered the theory of gravitation like Newton did? Would he have sat under the same tree? Would Newton, if he lived in the early 1900s instead, have been able to develop the theory of relativity given the pre-existing theory of gravitation?

We cannot know if these individuals, placed in different times, would achieve the same accomplishments. Since the answer is likely no, one should not focus too much on acceptance or approval since what is considered art is one era might not in another. As the book mentions, the reward for recognition might arrive later, or even, never. Thus, focusing too much on acceptance hinders creation. Copernicus was a madman then when he proposed a heliocentric solar system model. Today, he is a man of science. Had he been too focused on acceptance, Earth would still have been the center of the universe. A bit pompous of us should I say. Therefore, what we can strive for is the goal to become better than we were a moment ago (a cliché, yes, but important nonetheless) because that is actually measurable.

This section of the book resonates with my personal experiences and work habits. As a master procrastinator who often worries about public perception, I sometimes doubt my talent and whether I deserve the opportunities I’ve received. Following the book’s advice, I am actively trying to overcome this mindset.

However, I find certain aspects of the reading confusing. First, in the section about “pretending”, by focusing on the process of making art, the book indirectly implies that one must not focus too much on public feedback. Yet, in the “Talent” section, talented individuals who don’t gain recognition are shunned by the world, implying that public opinion does matter.

Additionally, the book’s advice in the “annihilation” section to simply produce art seems to contradict the principles of lateral thinking, which warns that such behavior can create mental patterns that limit creativity.

Moreover, I disagree with the book’s argument that “Art is human, error is human; ergo, art is error.” This analogy can be manipulated to support any viewpoint. For example, saying “Progress is human, error is human; ergo, progress is error” would suggest we halt all human advancements, which is clearly not advisable. Therefore, I find this argument unconvincing.

Impressions of FIELD

I was thoroughly impressed by their projects, though I was disappointed that there weren’t any demonstrations. The studio visit stood out from previous artist visits in that it clearly showed teamwork. While the other artists certainly have teams they collaborate with, they only mention them in passing. However, the FIELD team in the background certainly boosted their presence. Also, gaining insights into the business aspects of ‘making’, like planning projects, work division and meeting deadlines, reminded me of what to expect in the future.

Impressions of Harshini J. Karunaratne

I really loved her energy, and even more so her outfit. As I have started thinking about my Capstone, I will definitely pay heed to her advice to do what I love and not worry about the grades. While I do not have much knowledge about her fields: projection design and video jockeying, I enjoyed every piece that she presented for us. My favorite of those is Ophelia.