"If I have to be alone, it will be on my own terms. I could never talk about it, ever show it, even though the world is watching while I squirm alone." -- Todd Rundgren

It's Good Friday, so let's talk about a non-Autodesk-Labs topic. If you have 19 minutes and 48 seconds of uninterrupted time, you can learn something:

I found this TED talk to be very thought provoking with quotes like:

• "We're getting used to a new way of being alone together."
• "You can end up hiding from each other even as we are all connected to each other."
• "Goldilocks effect: People want relationships in bits they can control: not too close, not too far, just right."
• "...someday, someday, but certainly not now, I would love to learn how to have a conversation. The problem with a conversation is that it takes place in real time, and you can't control what you're going to say."
• "We short change ourselves when we sacrifice conversation for mere connection."
• "We are tempted by machines that offer companionship. Have we so lost confidence that we will be there for each other?"
• "We expect more from technology and less from each other. We create technology to provide the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship."

With regard to design projects, infinite computing is great for computationally intensive actions and collaboration, but it is not enough. There's no substitute for conversations between architect and engineer, shop foreman and plant worker, or director and actor. Autodesk looks at technology as a way to speed up analysis and connect people to the latest and most accurate information available. Technology augments the design experience - it is not a substitute for it. It still takes humans to IMAGINE, DESIGN, and CREATE a better world - humans who have real conversations about appliances, automobiles, buildings, bridges, or movies - conversations about how things work, what they are made of, and how they perform. If you agree with me, you can email me at scott.sheppard@autodesk.com.

Self-reflection is alive in the lab.