ABSTRACT
It is one of the mysteries of our civilization that the noble and prominent activity of design has found little scholarly attention until recently. During the last decades this has begun to change (1962 was the fi rst conference on design methods in London).1 The present conference here in Boston is an indication of a sudden burst of interest across numerous disciplines. Perhaps, the reason is not just intellectual curiosity, but also widespread dissatisfaction with our ability to design the worlds we live in.
