Re: [xmca] technological tools & foreign cultures

From: Mike Cole (lchcmike@gmail.com)
Date: Wed Feb 08 2006 - 10:57:12 PST


e.g. constraints are both restricting and enabling.
To use a hammer you must subordinate yourself to the structure of the hammer
at the same time that, having subordinated yourself, you are enabled to
drive in a nail.

This is why Luria and LSV emphasized that self control arises in conjunction
with mediated action.
 mike

On 2/8/06, Wolff-Michael Roth <mroth@uvic.ca> wrote:
>
> To say it in more dialectical terms, affordances embody their own
> negation, they are non-affordances. What we see, the QUERTY as affording and
> non-affording, however, only are the outer expressions of the underlying *
> inner* contradiction.Michael
>
> On 8-Feb-06, at 10:08 AM, Mike Cole wrote:
>
> Hell Basile-- I think that a lot of people on xmca are interested in the
> issue you point
> toward.
>
> A couple of pointers that may be redundant and a comment.
>
> About a week ago don cunningham argued against using the term affordances
> for
> things cultural. I do not agree but there has not been time for us to
> discuss to explore
> what is at issue, although Don makes some of the issues clear.
>
> Jim Wertsch and Don Norman have both explicity written about qwerty.
>
> Comment in question form. What is an example of a nontechnological tool?
> mike
>
> On 2/8/06, basile zimmermann <Basile.Zimmermann@lettres.unige.ch> wrote:
>
>
> Hello,
>
> I was wondering if someone on the list could help me find information
> on "affordances or cultural constraints 'inside' technological tools,
> based on history and design".
>
> Things like when an ASCII keyboard is based on the latin alphabet,
> which is inconvenient for writing in Chinese, the issue of 'corrupted'
> French (and other foreign languages) accents in e-mails*, or the fact
> that websites names can only be written in plain English etc.
>
> Any help really appreciated (I am looking for more
> references/comparisons for my thesis) --thanks very much in advance,
>
> Basile
>
> *I actually wrote myself a very short "first-try" article (5 pages) on
> these issues about a year ago. If someone wants to have a look email me
> privately and I'll be very glad to send a copy.
>
>
> --
>
> Basile Zimmermann
> Teaching assistant
>
> Unit of Chinese Studies
> Faculty of Arts
> University of Geneva
> 2, rue de Candolle
> 1211 Geneva 4
> Suisse
>
> Phone. +41 22 379 72 40
> Fax. +41 22 379 72 81
> E-mail. basile.zimmermann@lettres.unige.ch
> Web. http://www.unige.ch/lettres/meslo/chinois/
>
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