Judy,
Thanks for the invitation. It will be a pleasure to introduce you to
M. Lasagna and his siblings.
Francoise,
And of course I agree with you that subjects and objects
(cooks and their lasagna) inhabit the same world, come in
intimate contact with each other to the point of mutually
creating each other, but again that sort of dynamic is only
possible in my experience when both subject and object are
irreducibly different, or separate, if you prefer.
I would say that "object" and "subject", although different are mutually
dependent. In that sense, historically they are connected. I have a
problem with the world "irreducibly" in your statement.
I see three main genres on how to understand "difference".
I'll give an example to make it clear. Consider the development of
computer systems. Recently, after a lecture, I was talking with a
researcher who works in the management of distributed systems.
Distributed systems are networks of computers. I've commented with him
that the framework used for implementing management by the lecturer was
very much based on a Tayloristic model of production. (I control, you
obey). He just said "That is not our concern", we are just interested in
how well the system performs. I would say that in this genre, there is no
difference, the researcher is not even aware that there is someone out
there. In HCI these people are those that talk about user friendly. They
cannot see the differences, therefore they anthropomorphise the computer.
A second genre happens when people become or are aware that humans and
machines are different. It creates a kind of dychotomy, in which the
development of one has nothing to do with the development of the other,
because they are not comparable. It can turn into a dialectics, in which
although different, they are always present. In HCI this movement is
called "User-Centered Design".
A third genre is that one in which the focus is on the dynamics of
interdependence between humans and technology, or between humans and the
environment. They are still different, in their locales, but because they
are dependent, they can't be separated. I would say there is not a name
for that approach yet, but Participatory Design, together with Situated
and Distributed Cognition, and Cultural Historical approach, are
collaborating to its emergence.
The three genres are only abstractions and are not necessarily evolutions
of one another. I join your choir about interdisciplinarity, although I
think I missed Judy's message. Without generalizations, there are certain
predominances of genres in certain disciplines. To mix them, is always a
challenge.
Ate mais,
Luiz
_____________________________________________________________
Luiz Ernesto Merkle merkle who-is-at csd.uwo.ca
University of Western Ontario voice: +1 519 858 3375 (home)
Department of Computer Science fax: +1 519 661 3515 (work)
N6A 5B7 London Ontario Canada www.csd.uwo.ca/~merkle
_____________________________________________________________
Luiz Ernesto Merkle merkle who-is-at csd.uwo.ca
University of Western Ontario voice: +1 519 858 3375 (home)
Department of Computer Science fax: +1 519 661 3515 (work)
N6A 5B7 London Ontario Canada www.csd.uwo.ca/~merkle