Journalism and Biotechnology as Design Problems: A Personal Account

Abstract

This is a short commentary on Michael Lissack’s two-part article “Understanding is a Design Problem: Cognizing from a Designerly Thinking Perspective.” I reflect on my careers in journalism and biotechnology in the context of Lissack’s rubric of cognizing, including his concepts of compression and representation and his use of agency and choice. The relevance of his analysis to everyday acts supports the potential of Lissack’s cognizing toolkit in overcoming civic and social discord. Keywords: Design, journalism, biotechnology