10%

A long time ago, I was surprised to hear that humans generally only use 10% of their total brain's capacity. Last week, I was just as surprised to hear that designers generally design for only 10% of the population. It's almost like when I first learned that Earth was one of many planets in the solar system which is part of a much larger galaxy and so on. Last week's lecture by guest lecturer Dr. Bruce Becker made me feel simultaneously very minuscule in the grand scheme of the world but not as powerless or ineffective as I would've thought.

On a day-to-day basis, I'm content with solving the immediate tasks and demands in my life. Having seen the presentation of much larger global needs and demands, it's easy to just throw my hands up in the air and give up. The problem is huge. Over 60 million people need help and I'm just 1 person. It's times like this when I wish I could be a cartoon superhero that upon summoning could provide immediate and effective help to people in need. I'd settle for being some kind of super genius problem solver who could come up with brilliant solutions on a regular basis. Exaggerations aside, the lecture prompted me to wonder why this idea of designing for people in poverty or in disaster relief areas has never come up in conversation in my past experiences here at RISD.

As a young 20-something girl born and raised in a middle-class family, my peers generally share the same economic status. At RISD, most of the students are either middle class or wealthier. It's not common to come across someone who comes from lower class unless I count the occasional homeless person asking me for money on the street. Ask me about poverty or about being homeless and I'm completely dumbfounded. Ask my friends about lower class people, and they express discomfort and disdain. I'm going to be honest and will say I share their perspective. Collectively, we're content with staying middle class and we're happy that we don't come in contact with those different from ourselves. We're more concerned with maintaining the status quo rather than helping to better the lives of the homeless people we see. There were times in high school when I volunteered in local food banks and soup kitchens. While part of me felt like I was making a small difference, I knew that providing people in poverty with a meal or two won't help them find better jobs or live happier lives in the long run. What could I possibly do for the global community if it's difficult to solve problems for the small local communities?

And so I looked at the "Design for the other 90%" website for inspiration to see how others handle the issue. The designs deal with the most pressing and immediate needs. Some of the shelter solutions only last for a year or two. Dr. Becker said that certain people stay in displacement for decades. They face bigger problems like dealing with depression and a lack of feeling of belonging and purpose. A lot of the designs try to fix the problem of providing clean water to the people. In looking at the kinds of problems and solutions over 60 million people face around the world, we're still stuck in trying to solve problems in the short term. It's not that short term problems aren't important. Sure, water, food, and health are fundamental to every person. It's just that when these needs are met, a significant portion of the 60 million don't leave these relief temporary camps or have problems re-integrating themselves into society.

So what can we do? I don't have many definite answers but here are a few thoughts. Educating people and making the issues known is crucial. It would be great if we had more school courses during the summer or wintersession that would bring us into areas where we can experience what the other 90% experience and perhaps work on projects that would help the areas that we visit.