But a lecture by Nicolas Terry has reassured what my intuition was telling me for years. Just following the instructions leads to copy paste. There is no added value by the folder herself other than enjoying the process. That might be a good enough target, but as Terry claims, this is what differentiates a good model from a great model. Bringing your own passion into the model is critical. And so it is in code
And that the thing that both developers and folders are afraid of. There’s a constant feeling that things that other people make are better than my own. But this feeling is just in our imagination. Most creators of both software and origami would be excited to see different interpretations of their creations. It gives their work another level of meaning.
So, both origami and software allow for different levels of creativity on top of a technical field. A craft morphing into art during the process, if the creator only lets themselves to stop following instructions.
Through every step of the folding process, there is a rigorous eye watching how every crease aligns on the same millimeter that it should. As opposed to programming, in origami this is a must for the model to succeed. You cannot engineer your way out of bad implementation.
My profession and my hobby require similar skills and have similar properties. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, should it? But I feel that putting the finger on it helps to improve on the things you care about and which make you happy.
