Yesterday we officially welcomed our first cohort of students to the exciting new UC Berkeley MDes program! As I was reflecting on how to welcome the students and capture my hopes and goals for the MDes program, I recalled American architectural critic, Michael Sorkin’s list of 250 things an architect should know. Building on this as inspiration, I generated a list of the 67 Things a UC Berkeley MDes Student Should Know by the time they complete their degree at Berkeley. This list is very much personal and poetic but after I read it to them I was asked to share it online. I am including it below in hopes it will inspire others and serve as a guide. Be aware that some items are specific to the Berkeley campus and surrounding areas and will not generalize to all geographies. Enjoy!

67 Things a UC Berkeley MDes Student Should Know
why 67?…because 67 is a prime number (which you should also know)
by Eric Paulos

1. When to start using technology
2. When to stop using technology
3. How to use a hand tool
4. How to make a hand tool
5. How to take things apart
6. How to listen closely
7. The percentage of the population living with disabilities
8. The history of Xerox PARC
9. Your neighbors
10. How to get lost
11. The history of the Ohlone
12. How the algorithm actually works
13. How to dérive
14. Who will benefit
15. Who will be excluded
16. The voice that needs to be in the room
17. What a Smoot is
18. The contents of the Voyager Golden Record
19. How to sketch an idea
20. How to sketch a circuit
21. What to work on next
22. Jane Jacobs in and out
23. That the conversation is not always about you
24. The history of Stanley Milgram
25. How social justice effects design
26. How design effects social justice
27. When to ignore StackOverflow
28. How to watch a transit of the International Space Station
29. How to be an ally against stereotypes
30. The history of the computer mouse
31. How to transfer the benefits of your privilege to those who lack it
32. How to find the original source material
33. When to be digital
34. When to be analogue
35. How much power is required
36. How to share … without social media
37. Have a favorite artist
38. Have a favorite scientist
39. Have a favorite activist
40. How to discover the truth
41. The reason for the first computer game “easter egg”
42. What data was used to train the algorithm
43. When to logoff
44. The best time of year to enjoy a Pluot
45. How to be an antiracist
46. How to be tactfully contrarian
47. How to misuse technology
48. How to find the limitations of a technology
49. How to use limitations of a technology as the inspiration for innovation
50. Embrace problem making
51. Jerry Lawson
52. Ed Roberts
53. The view from the Campanile
54. The view from the Albany Bulb
55. Workshop safety
56. That more than 50% of humanity are women
57. When to take a walk
58. How to inspire wonderment
59. What to refuse to do, even for the money
60. The exquisite corpse
61. The wages of workers producing your design
62. The conditions of workers producing your design
63. How to get to the Morrison Reading Room
64. That your education is up to you and no one else
65. What the client can afford
66. What the planet can afford
67. The smell of concrete after rain