Book Review: The Ideal Order
The ideal order is a novel written by Christoph Bartneck, up to know he has been known as the author behind the LEGO minifigure catalogs.
This time, with the idea of creating a sorting method for LEGO pieces, Christoph Bartneck relates to us the day to day of Dr. Rob Park: father of two little girls, a man with marital problems, problems associated with his academic career and how to find a new way of being for himself, his LEGO collection and for his family.
Ever since having kids, Rob’s interest for LEGO has returned. He realizes he needs to organize his collections of sets that have been saved in boxes over the years so that he can once again rebuild the sets from his childhood. While searching for an ideal sorting method he realizes that he is missing some pieces. From there, Rob goes on through the different phases that most AFOLs, once having left from their dark ages, go through. He goes on to discover that there are people who have the same passion for the LEGO as himself, web pages dedicated to classifying the different sets and their pieces, pages of instructions, stores that sell pieces and sets and even his first encounter with AFOLs and the formation of a LUG.
Through the conversations that are held between our protagonist and a university colleague, Professor Doctor Smith, we have the opportunity to discover different systems and scientific classification methods as well as philosophical reflections. Personally I found it interesting to find out how Pluto came to not be considered a planet anymore in our solar system :)
In conclusion, a nice reading book that we AFOLs will identify with as we the protagonist return to the world of LEGO.
The Author
Dr. Christoph Bartneck is an associate professor at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. He published over 150 scientific articles,chapters and books. The media frequently covers his research work on robotics. Working for the LEGO Group reignited his passion for the brick. He uses LEGO bricks for teaching courses and he is the author of the acclaimed LEGO Minifigure Catalogs. Christoph is the a founding member of New Zealand's biggest LEGO Users Group and the Imagination Station, New Zealand's first play and learning center using LEGO.
More information: http://www.minifigure.org/book/the-ideal-order/
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