An anatomy of shikakes

Abstract

We propose a framework to dissect a shikake to identify its fundamental aspect as a shikake. The framework consists of four elements: mechanics to cause the effect; action provoked, prompted, or inspired by the mechanics; effect observed as the result of the action; and principle, which explains how and why the mechanics lead to the effect through the action. By using these four elements, this paper presents the anatomies of three artifacts as shikakes: (1) a telescope-like cylinder in the zoo as a canonical example of a shikake; (2) a museum candle, which we have designed and studied as a probe to investigate the inspirational experience at a museum; and (3) an omni-viscosity string, which we have developed for communicating weight through visual interactivity by using pseudo-haptics. The anatomies demonstrate that a shikake’s low-cost and simple but yet effective nature comes from the aspect that exploits human psychology, cognition, and perception, and that the principle element plays a key role to ascribe the way the action mediates the mechanics and the effect to human nature.