This blog will be an attempt to document my academic life this quarter, although most days the line between socializing and edification doesn't exist. Since today was Monday I only had one class, Information Architecture, with Professor Jon Kolko. Considering teaching style, enthusiasm and tattoos, Jon is my favorite teacher. Today he gave a lecture covering the basics of Information Architecture. A short explanation of this broad domain would be someone who translates large amounts of complex data into an understandable form that can be shared with others. This could be in the medium of pamphlets and brochures, instructions, sinage, statistical data, maps, charts and graphs, or websites, intranets and interactive media. This is an area in which I have always been interested and now I am learning the structure, engineering and vocabulary behind it. Our first assignment is "Baseball, Deconstructed" which will collminate in a written narrative explaining the game of Baseball, a concept map illustrating the conceptual elements in Baseball, and a process flow diagram illustrating the flow of information through a game. To give ourselves a foundation, we had a class field-trip to Forsyth Park where we played a few innings. It was a lot of fun to return to a childhood sport and was a clear reminder that the game of baseball is not just a list of rules and if/then statements, but a complex mash of emotion, athleticisim, competition and history. It will be interesting to see how these intangibles can be conveyed in flow charts and graphs. Well, stay tuned to see!