"It is a magical thing to start from nothing and bring something new into the world. For some, the primal act of creation is a moment of self-doubt and fear. What if what you make isn't good? What if people don't like it? What if it causes you to lose face, or money, or to waste a bunch of time and energy on a useless folly? To people who think this way, the best strategy is to follow some pattern, some standard or some best practice that worked out last time. Adopting a vetted standard reduces your personal responsibility if something goes wrong. And, anyhow, if there is a single right way to do it, why would anyone choose a different way? If you picked this book up, I hope you are already thinking differently. Real acts of creation must acknowledge the norms and standards of practice as an important historical precedent. But they must also look beyond them to imagine something the world hasn't seen before. I am optimistic that the best designs for the future are those which question acknowledged norms, critique the ideology of their inception and look past them to imagine something different. Design is a progressive act. You must believe that the future you propose is better than where the project started. Embrace that and treasure any opportunity to take part"-- |