An Amazing Show and A Thoughtful Journey
The experience that I will talk about for Reflection 2 is my trip to The Sphere in Las Vegas. I watched the show called “Postcard from Earth” on the Sphere. In this show, I felt like I was on a spaceship, visiting famous places of interest in the world, and even went to the depths of the universe.
The reason why I chose this special experience is very simple. First, I was really shocked. This complete experience took more than two hours, but when I finished watching, I didn’t feel any fatigue at all. I just sat quietly in my seat, reviewing everything I had just experienced, and then bought another ticket, eagerly looking forward to doing it again. Secondly, this show, or we can call it a documentary, was filmed by Oscar-nominated director Darren Aronofsky. It is the first multi-sensory film with its own weather. I wasn’t interested in gambling, or the life of Las Vegas. However, this performance gave me the motivation to go.
The Sphere always thinks from the perspective of the audience. From the world’s largest and highest resolution LED screen to seats with vibration feedback technology, to the ability to use 4D special effects including smell and wind to display virtual scenes. The entire building is designed around the experience of the viewer, ensuring surprise, delight, and amazement. Applying the knowledge I learned in class; the first stage of design thinking is empathy. Understanding the needs, problems, and desires of the end-users is essential. Solutions are built with the user in mind.
The second reason why I think this performance is very successful, and also my thinking about innovation, is that I think this performance breaks out of people’s usual thinking framework, and even makes them doubt their existing cognition. Before, when people talked about the end of the world, they thought of the movie 2012. I didn’t take it too seriously. But when I was in The Sphere and saw that the sky above my head was constantly squeezing downwards and cracks really appeared on the soles of my feet, I felt the insignificance of human beings. At that moment, I really felt suffocated, and my heartbeat accelerated. Fear and trepidation. In that performance, I couldn’t distinguish between virtuality and reality, and for the first time I had doubts about the earth I lived on and my daily lifestyle. Likewise, in Design Thinking, challenging assumptions are an important part of innovation. It’s crucial to think outside the box and approach problems from a unique perspective.
This was an extraordinary experience, which not only inspired me with Design Thinking, but also allowed me to see the unique charm brought by technology. I strongly recommend everyone who has the opportunity to experience the shock that comes from the combination of technology and nature.
