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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