Satoshi's Sidewalk #1
Welcome to the first edition of Satoshi's Sidewalk - This is your brain on the built environment - Check out Bitcoin Urbanism #2: Follow the Money, Part 1
Welcome to the 1st edition of Satoshi’s Sidewalk!
In these notes I’ll discuss real estate-related happens that cross my desk or twitter feeds. Each of Satoshi’s Sidewalks will a quick piece meant to bring light to something in the built environment and will be viewed through the lens of bitcoin.
First up, let’s take an evolutionary view of your brain on architecture and design with a book by Ann Sussman and Justin B. Hollander called Cognitive Architecture: Designing for How We Respond to the Built Environment (published 2015). Ann writes on her blog, Genetics of Design, and is the president of the Human Architecture and Planning Institute. Professor Hollander teaches in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University.
Cognitive Architecture kicked off my interest in how evolutionary biology and psychology play a role in the design of buildings and the built environment. The book looks at design and design principles found in historic sites from the perspective of evolutionary biology and psychology.
Concepts such as thigmotaxis - the wall-hugging trait - describe the human propensity to walk closer to the edges of spaces such as a sidewalk close to a building or along the outer edges of a plaza. Humans and animals walk along the edges when exploring a novel space. It’s a survival strategy. A few of the many topics discussed in the book: pareidolia, fractal designs, shapes, distance-sensitive visual recognition, and bilateral symmetry.
Cognitive Architecture is a primer on the behavioral forces at play deep in the minds of humans experiencing the built environment. The book is a first step to understanding the old Red Letter Media phrase: you didn’t notice, but your brain did.
If you missed the newest Bitcoin Urbanism article, check it out here: Follow the Money, Part 1