TCC 315 Notes -- February 2, 1997

Next time: Bring in a good or bad graph.

* Meta-Symbolism: thinking about the relationship of symbols to things

* Roger Shepard traced the evolution of major designs - every breakthrouhg had to do with externalizing the mental image

* The importance of achieving a shared representation

* Aids to memory, thought and reasoning:

* Language, writing

* Diagrams

* Artifacts - like a phone message system, which requires the user to remember a spoken message - one linear communications channel that can't be adapted to the user's style

* William James: attention span is ten seconds; therefore, external aids need to focus and keep attention

* Individual differences in thinking styles -

* Verbal

* Visual

* Kinesthetic

*...See Gardner's work on multiple intelligences

* The priesthood of computer technicians pre-1976: computers were designed for this priesthood

* Experiential vs. Reflective artifacts: the former enhance your experience of the world (telescope); the latter removes you from experience and allows you to manipulate symbols