The QWERTY situation is an important example of the need to disseminate
more about technological design - especially in its historical context.
When Papert writes "For me this symbolizes the way in which technology can
all too often serve not as a
force for progress but for keeping things stuck. The QUERTY arrangement has
no rational explanation, only a historical one. ", he is bringing latter
day values to bear on the interpretation of a process that occured quite
some time ago. The qwerty keyboard layout was appropriate for the
technology of the day, making the typing process less error prone. It was
a solution to make the typewriter-typist faster, not slower! In the think
of the present, in which keyboards are electronic, it is easy to overlook
that it was ultimately faster in the days of mechanical designs to use a
qwerty keyboard, then to continuously take the time to unstick the keys!
Papert falls into what historians understand as interpretation out of
historical context - using present day values to interpret past events.
That is not to say that there are not constraints as well as affordances to
technological design. Don Norman has been writing about both for quite
some time, and his influence shows in Ben Schneiderman's
software-usability studies. As for the folks who do technological design,
they do not see their designs so often half-empty or half-full, but closer
to being half of either, seeing a design as enabling certain actions, and
preventing others. Sometimes all of this comes together in a really good
design, where the constraining features provide safety to the user, say in
the kick-back bar of a chain saw. Other times, there are constraints on
development money, or time, or available supporting technology, or personal
interest, that just prevent the designers from solving existing design
problems and developing creative alternatives, say in the design of space
shuttle O-rings.
That qwerty is retained to this day reflects a 'cultural inertia' - the
continuation of existing practices - we see this same phenomenon in places
promoting the adoption of innovations. One way I have viewed adoption is as
the evaluation of a Wundt-like utility function. Does the
potential-adopter first have awareness of the innovation, which makes
possible a choice? Then, in making a choice, does the innovation have some
expected value that will benefit more than the time and effort it takes to
learn the new system, and in the case of dvorak, additional cost, or the
inability to work at someone else's computer? Manufacturers also face
similar decisions. Like Eva, I was little surprised to find that I did not
fit the prediction of having a misguided theory of keyboard design,
although I plan to use qwerty for quite some time.
It is interesting to see how the fiberglass pole has influenced the action
of pole-and-vaulter since its introduction. As a ex-pole-vaulter, and one
who has had sons in track for quite some time, I have observed the impact
of the fibreglass pole for a number of years. [And aside, I was surprised
to find female pole vaulters at the high school state competition a few
years ago, only to find out that women have been setting records in pole
vaulting since 1911. It is only recently that we have had international
competition.] At the high school level in northeast U.S. the fiberglass
pole forms a barrier to many pole vaulters. If the flexibility of the pole
is matched well to the speed and weight of the vaulter, then when reaching
a height of about 10'6", the pole changes its behavior from being
essentially rigid, to having significant bend.
The result is that at about that height, [in the interpretation of the
vaulter] the pole begins throwing the vaulter into-the-bar, or
into-the-uprights, or in many other directions than over the bar. It take
great courage to trust it, to lean back and put your feet above your head,
and *let it throw you*, hoping you have the balance right, that your speed
was great enough, that your hands are in the right position, and that this
crazy pole won't break and skewer you. Somewhere around 10'6" is what
gets you into the state competition in massachusetts. Those that go above
it jump a foot higher almost immediately. And interestingly, in Texas,
where the pole vaulting season is much longer, the high school records are
far higher than in Massachusetts. The bend of the pole continues to be a
constraint as well as an affordance for many kids. It is half-full for
some and half-empty for others, depending upon their mastery, their savior
faire, their courage, and their time-on-task.
Bill Barowy, Associate Professor
Technology in Education
Lesley College, 29 Everett Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-2790
Phone: 617-349-8168 / Fax: 617-349-8169
http://www.lesley.edu/faculty/wbarowy/Barowy.html
_______________________
"One of life's quiet excitements is to stand somewhat apart from yourself
and watch yourself softly become the author of something beautiful."
[Norman Maclean in "A river runs through it."]