Contact:cdent@burningchrome.com
Dervin, B. (1999). Chaos, order and sense-making: A proposed theory
for information design. In R. Jacobson (Ed.), _Information
Design_ (p. 35-37). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Presents a theory of information and information design, called a
communication perspective on information, which attempts to resolve the
power and perspective conflicts present in other theories of information
that have existed throughout history by presenting information as an
active process of ongoing information design, designing the world,
making sense of the world. This is followed by discussion of
Sense-Making, a methodological approach to research based on the
presented theory.
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Contact:cdent@burningchrome.com
Norman, D. (1993). Chapter 1: A human-centered technology (p. 3-17).
Chapter 2: Experiencing the world (p. 19-41). In _Things that
makes us smart_. Cambridge: Perseus Books.
Comments from listening in 501.
-=-=-
In a guest lecture for L501 (20010917), Dean Blaise Cronin stated that
innovation comes from interaction. Norman states that reflective
cognition is that mode of thought which involves comparison and
contrast, thus involves the participation of a least two things: ideas
or people. Reflective cognition, therefore, is the result of
interaction: our ability to learn new things comes from encounters
with the unexpected (that which lies outside our experience, that
which is not part of our experiential cognition) that turn our path,
leading to new knowledge: innovation.
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Contact:cdent@burningchrome.com
Engelbart, D. C. (1963). A conceptual framework for the augmentation
of man's intellect. In P.W. Howerton (Ed.), _Vistas in
information handling_ (p. 1-29). Washington, D.C.: Spartan Books.
Outlines the conceptual framework for starting a research project with
the goal of augmenting a human's ability to solve complex problems.
Assumes there are four basic classes of capabilities which can be
augmented: Artifacts, Language, Methodology and Training. Problem
solving is the breakdown of large problems into smaller solvable
pieces wherein solving the smaller problems are individual process
managed by an executive process which keeps the bigger picture in
mind. Augmentation allows for manipulating the processes with improved
artifacts, language and methods by a trained individual or group.
-cjd
-=-=-
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Contact:cdent@burningchrome.com
Engelbart, D. C. & Hooper, K. (1988). The augmentation system
framework. In S. Ambron & K. Hooper (Eds.), Interactive
multimedia: Visions of multimedia for developers, educators
& information providers (p. 15-31). Redmond WA: Microsoft Press.
Updated discussion of Engelbart's framework for augmentation more
fully discussed here:
http://burningchrome.com/~cdent/fiaarts/docs/1000792620:31113.html
The current document provides additional information by reporting some
of the developments that happened in Engelbart's research group after
the 1963 article including a description of information management
within the group. -cjd
-=-=-
Don't like this one. Strikes me as somewhat redundant.
See also the discussion of Engelbart at:
http://www.burningchrome.com/~cdent/sliswarp/scope/index.cgi#3.5
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Contact:cdent@burningchrome.com
Found in the margin of my notebook from 597 class, written 20010918, seemed worth saving: Transcend the information architect to the information artist, who is a vorticist standing in the vortex of history, where information is in flow and flux. The artist selects, digests, rejects, creates a beam of new info. Looking back on this from about a week later, I'm not sure what I was getting at. In a William Carlos Williams seminar my final project was an effort to relate WCW to the Vorticist movement from the early 20th century. In that movement the artist was a monumental figure standing at the crossroads of the past and the future, taking a view into the past, selecting what was good and creating the future. The past was visualized as a swirling vortex of art and ideas or, simply, information. The idea of the information architect, with its concentration on stakeholders, content management, goals, and _easy_ acquisition leaves out some of the aggressive magic that can be seen in the artist. Information has the power to change. The genius artist can see the relationship between divergent paths and draw them together synthesizing new connections. Back to the Index
Contact:cdent@burningchrome.com
References:
Horn, R.E. (1999). Information design: Emergence of a new profession.
In R. Jacobson (Ed.), _Information design_ (p. 15-33). Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press.
Norman, D. (1993). Chapter 1: A human-centered technology (p. 3-17).
Chapter 2: Experiencing the world (p. 19-41). In _Things that
makes us smart_. Cambridge: Perseus Books.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2001 00:26:25 -0500 (EST)
From: cdent@burningchrome.com
To: ejacob_597ia_fall01@indiana.edu
Subject: Norman, Chapter 1: Specialization v Horn,
Information Design: Professionalism, plus a little bit of Engelbart
Norman, p.8:
Each new discovery changed society to some extent. The background
knowledge required more and more learning, thereby leading to more
specialization.
Horn, p.15:
In any field of human endeavor, there is a process of, first,
specialization and, then, increasing professionalization.
In each of these situations a privileged elite is being created, a
caste of knowledges haves, a priesthood that has access to the holy
books. That elite amasses and maintains the keys to a certain class of
information.
If you agree that this discrimination occurs and is potentially a bad
thing, how do you justify your own participation in an academic
program which apprentices future information professionals?
One possible justification could be Engelbart's notion of
bootstrapping: take some folks who demonstrate aptitude in utilizing
tools to augment their problem solving abilities, put them in (what he
calls) outposts and let them work on the problem of improving
augmentation, hopefully pulling other folk along. Will that work or
will that just increase the distance between the elite and the
downtrodden? How do you plan to turn around and reach down the stairs
to pull someone up?
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Contact:cdent@burningchrome.com
Norman, D. (1999). Chapter 1: A human-centered technology (p. 3-17).
In _Things that make us smart_. Cambridge: Perseus Books.
Humans use technology to allow themselves to do more than they could
otherwise. Norman argues that although technology does allow us to do
more it can also make it difficult to get things done because so much
knowledge is required to use it. This difficulty is the result of a
machine-centered view of design.
A human-centered view of design approves of and accounts for the human
characteristics that a machine-centered view discounts and considers a
liability. Norman draws special attention to the human characteristics
of distractability and flexible responses to error.
One area in which modern learning technologies fail is the way in
which they encourage experiential cognition but not reflective
cognition. Experiential cognition feels good and is the essence of
elegant interaction with technologies. However, reflective cognition
is the soure of new ideas, new concepts and new understandings.
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Contact:cdent@burningchrome.com
Norman, D. (1999). Chapter 2: Experiencing the world (p. 21-41). In
_Things that make us smart_. Cambridge: Perseus Books.
After going on a long jag to complain about science museums and praise
video games (!) Norman revisits experiential and reflective cognition.
Most technology design does not properly explore the need for both
reflective and experential cognition in the use of the technology.
Frequently it's too much of one or the other or one when the other is
needed.
The discussion of cognition and the need for more reflective learning
leads to a discussion of learning styles. Here Norman renames familiar
concepts of learning from Piaget, Vygotsky and others to give himself
some credit he doesn't really deserve. His names for three styles of
concept/category adjustment are: accretion (accumulation of
facts/extending the category), tuning (transforming reflective mode
into experiential mode/category optimization), restructuring (concept
acquisition).
Motivated people learn best. A motivated person is engaged by their
activity. Norman says that people in this mode are experiencing
optimal flow. Multimedia designers claim their educational tools will
be able to engage students. Norman is skeptical: flow involves a lack
of distraction and fluff. Multimedia designers, so focussed on keeping
attention create a great deal of fluff.
Personally I think Norman hits the nail on the head when he talks
about motivation. If educators, and students, cannot solve that
problem, all other effort is wasted.
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Contact:cdent@burningchrome.com
Brown, J.S., & Duguid, P. (2000). Chapter 2: Agents and angels. In
_The social life of information_ (p. 35-62). Boston: Harvard
University Press.
John and Paul throw a wide net to call just about anything on the
Internet that does information gather an agent. That nets too big. An
agent should have some measure of distinguishing power for itself.
Without that, it's just a shovel. What we really want is a sieve.
But that's neither here nor there: their point is that we cannot
simply rely on agents to fulfill their promise of agency because they
cannot work like we do. They must have rules, rules that are strict,
in order to go finding things. When a human goes searching they are
not following strict rules, in fact they are often deliberately making
their approach very flexible so as to allow for serendipity.
If I were an international super spy I'm sure that I would have a very
large body of technology out there scurrying all over the Internet
gathering information, looking for patterns, classifying, diagnosing,
attempting to see things that I cannot see. These tools will be
useful. More useful, though, will be my army of human helpers who have
the simple job of just paying attention to stuff, feeling around. More
than likely they will use my body of technology but that body of
technology will augment them not replace them.
When the chips are down the awesome power is in the humans: the
ability to see what lies between things too close together or too far
apart. That thing that lies between, that inference, is the discovery,
is the secret, is the thing that I, international super spy, need to
know to protect and destroy nations or find the best Christmas present
for my beautiful wife.
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