Thanks Pedro,
I think the structure / content issue is a touchy one. It has a lot of
political connotations that need to be seriously considered. In general, my
reading of Vygotsky's work with the war patients was the use a external
signs were important because the higher mental processes (in the hardware)
were destroyed or not able to develop as in the case of cognitively disabled
children (collective).
From a cultural-political standpoint both Vera and Mike's stands are
interesting. Cultural pluralism with Vera, and Mike argueing against
culturally specific cognitive styles. My take on the research coming out of
neuro-psychology is that it validates the work of Vygotsky-Luria and points
towards the structural side.
I guess I took your quote as stating the structural aspect was outdated or
no longer pertinent, yet I feel its an issue far from being solved. It seems
to me to be a central tenet of the earlier cultural-historical school.
Yet if the network is distributed its a big waste of waste of time focusing
on one computer (mind).
Nate
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