Thank you, Ricardo, for the summary of Mario Golder's ideas.
I am inspired to write about one of the papers I heard at ISCRAT which
made a deep impression on me. It was given by Martin Hildebrand-Nilson.
I did not expect Martin to turn up because he had not been well and he
did not send his abstract.
For a long time, Martin has worked with severely handicapped peoplem using
AT ideas and, as I interpret him, the idea of "re-mediating" functions
a la Luria. But he uses high tech devices like computers and robots.
Anyway, Martin gave the case history of a preteen/teen kid who was paraplegic
and very uncommunicative owing to his disability. He managed to create a
computer interface that, with extensive training, allow the child to
communicate in writing (perhaps also computer-generated speech, I do not
recall). The boy got involved in the work and very enthusiastic, putting
out an enormous effort to learn to communicate in via Martin's device. But
when he succeeded he was thrown into total despair. His motive was NOT
communication with others in general, it was a desire for normal human
relations with girls. But girls were no more interested in him, owing to
his disability, after he learned to communicate. As a result, he fell into
a deep depression and stopped communicating altogether.
The symposium featured action/intervention projects. I engage in such work.
It always worries me that my good intentions can be the road to hell for
others, never mind me. Martin's case provided clear evidence of my nightmare
and forced upon me, once again, the need for enormous humility and deep
knowledge of the people with whom I work, always understanding that, with
rare exceptions, I act upon insufficient knowledge of the objects of those
I am supposedly helping.
mike
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