Distributed Cognition
May 7, 2008 by matthewbyrnes
In the pursuit of my path through grad school, I have been given the term Distributed Cognition. Thanks, Pamela.
people think in conjunction and partnership with others and with the help of culturally provided tools and implements(Salomon).
What is it? Proponents argue that cognition is not to be found within the head only; rather cognition is distributed over other people and tools. From everything I have read it does not seem to be defined very well as a theory. Rather, it seems like a broad educa-psycholo-technical framework.
I like the idea that a facet of our thinking is not only within ourselves but embedded within our world, animate and inanimate objects. It has that “Ghost in the machine” vibe.
From a designers POV I hope that this is so, because I am trying to both, get people to think about a particular topic and not think about how I am doing it. Did that make sense?
I think it does make sense… I always appreciate your thinking (and I’m glad you’re spending some time in NM).
I think an issue that comes up fairly often is the question of contextual boundaries. Specifically, depending on who you’re talking with, sometimes nearly ‘everything’ is related to the subject at hand, or only one very small subset/object is pertinent.
I believe either can be the right answer, but it takes someone with an appreciation and ability to define the context to enable effective thought and discussion.
but that might just be a tangent.
Best wishes,
e
Eric
Thanks for the comment and the tangent.