FLORES, Fernando & WINOGRAD, Terry. Understanding Computers and Cognition. A New Foundation for Design. Addison-Wesley, 1986
This is a book about the design of computer technology. In it, we look closely at computers as they exist today and we set out new directions for future development. The discourse presented here, however, is not what one would expect to find in a book of science and engineering. It moves among topics and purposes that appear to be worlds apart: it is both theoretical and practical; it is concerned with computer technology and with the nature of human existence; with the philosophy of language and with office automation. But it is more than a study in contrasts. Our intention in bringing together these diverse elements is to generate understanding — to let the apparent chasms become spaces in which new possibilities are revealed.
All new technologies develop within the background of a tacit understanding of human nature and human work. The use of technology in turn leads to fundamental changes in what we do, and ultimately in what it is to be human. We encounter the deep questions of design when we recognize that in designing tools we are designing ways of being. By confronting these questions directly, we can develop a new background for understanding computer technology — one that can lead to important advances in the design and use of computer systems.
When we began the collaboration that led to this book, we had no idea where our discussions would lead. We had lived through very different experiences; we spoke different languages (both literally and metaphorically); and we had studied in disparate fields, Terry Winograd has been actively engaged for many years in computer science and artificial intelligence research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.. His work has consisted primarily of designing systems (both formal languages and computer programs) for the representation and analysis of language and knowledge. Fernando Flores has had experience with social and political organization at the highest level of government, in his posts as director of the state-owned corporations, Minister of Economics, and Minister of Finance in the government of Salvador Allende in Chile between 1970 and 1973. He was instrumental in a large-scale project to apply cybernetic theory to practical management problems (see Beer, Platform for Change, 1975) and is primarily interested in the understanding of social reality that we can gain through combining theory and practice. In spite of these differences, we had a sense that we shared much in our understanding of the world, and we entered into a dialog to explore this common ground. The dialog evolved into a paper, the paper in turn expanded and became a book, and the book evolved through a series of drafts whose focus shifted dramatically.
In our reading and discussions, we came to the realization that although our formal training was in the technical fields of mathematics and computer science, many of our guiding intuitions about language and thought were not compatible with the traditions in those disciplines, We found ourselves in much closer accord with writers who were far removed from the mathematico-logical paradigm, who identified their interests as biology, hermeneutics, and phenomenology. One of the initial attractions of this work was the understanding it provided of the larger human context in which the study of cognition has meaning. What surprised us was that the ideas were so relevant to the practical work in which we are engaged: the design of computer systems and the management of complex organizations. The philosophical ideas of thinkers such as Heidegger, Gadamer, Maturana, and Austin provided a framework to integrate what we had previously learned through our practical experience.
As we studied further, we began to formulate new theoretical foundations for the design of computer technologies. In working to clarify the nature and role of computers we were forced to reject many assumptions that we had long accepted implicitly and that go unquestioned in most discussions of computing. We had to address new questions, and these in turn led to looking more carefully at what people actually do with computers, and what might be done better.
Readers with a background in science and technology may find it implausible that philosophical considerations have practical relevance for their work. Philosophy may be an amusing diversion, but it seems that the theories relevant to technological development are those of the hard sciences and engineering. We have found quite the opposite. Theories about the nature of biological existence, about language, and about the nature of human action have a profound influence on the shape of what we build and how we use it. We have accordingly devoted a considerable amount of space, especially in the first part of the book, to discussing matters that appear unrelated to computers but that are nonetheless indispensable in the process of opening up for the reader new possibilities and new directions for what we can do with them.
In the course of developing a new understanding we came across questions that have long been the subject of debate, such as “Can computers think?”, “Can computers understand language?”, and “What is rational decision-making?” We address these questions not so much to solve them as to dissolve them. They arise in a background of understanding about human thought and language, a background that itself needs to be reexamined and revised. In the end, we are not concerned with providing new answers to questions about technology as they have traditionally been posed. We look towards new questions that can lead to the design and use of machines that are suited to human purposes.
Our book is intended for a wide audience — not just those who are professionally involved in computer research, design, and production, or scholars working in related fields such as cognitive psychology, linguistics, and management science. We address everyone (expert and layperson alike) who has a serious interest in understanding what computers are and how they fit into our lives.
Although we devote a good deal of attention to philosophical background, we have not attempted to make this a scholarly book. Our intention is to lead the reader through some of the intellectual pathways that shaped our own understanding, and this process is by necessity selective. We do not attempt to trace historical antecedents, to assign proper credit for originality, or to point out the many other thinkers ‘who have dealt with the same topics in related ways. In fact, much of what we cite is from books intended to provide popularized accounts and from articles appearing in the popular press. The concern about what computers can do is not an abstract conundrum to be puzzled over for intellectual amusement, but a practical question at the center of a significant discourse in society as a whole. The answer as understood by the public (including those who make political and business decisions) is ultimately more significant than the twists and turns of academic debate. By dealing with the understanding that appears in the public discourse about computing, we can better achieve what we have set out to do — to reveal the pre-understanding we and others bring to computer technology and by doing so to open a new clearing in which to glimpse future paths for design.