Ideas

One of the extreme problems we face today is our inability, perhaps a structural inability (this is even more worrisome) to distinguish between an opinion and an idea.

I have listened to lots of crap over the last few weeks as the term begins, and no doubt I'm going to have to listen to a whole lot more (and what's more maybe this has always been the case) in which case we should worry seriously about the subject itself, and that sends me into a deep funk and.....

Lets just say, an idea can be dangerous. It is the result of a hopefully rational process of thought which may demand consequences not entirely pleasant to either those who think it or those it might be directed at. An idea tends to gravitate towards truth and maths. It does not involve notions such as 'architecture that heals people' except under strictly regulated NHS tests. You might as well demand an architecture which fosters 'lasting relationships'. Such stuff is baloney.

For instance, If I'm asked to think for a moment about a space which 'heals me' my first thought is the bar at the Riviera Las Vegas with the buxom Bulgarian cocktail waitresses who conspicuously moan all the time. This place has given me much pleasure and no pain at all, it is bright and vulgar and fabulous in my opinion, but that is not an idea. Neither is it an idea to posit that a nice old wooden chair set against a distressed distempered wall is 'healing', that is simply 'taste'.

Hold on to your hats.