Malcolm McCullough is an associate professor at the University of Michigan where he teaches architecture and information design. He seems to be interested in" urban computing and place-based interactive design" since he has lectured extensively on those topics. He likes using his architect and technology background.
The first section of this article describes what exactly craft is. Tools and technologies working with the hand is the very general definition the author gives right off the bat. There are both differences and similarities between these types of work. "These motions are quick, small, and repetitive, as in much traditional handwork, but somehow they differ. For one thing, they are faster--in fact, their rates matter quite a bit" (1-2). The author then goes on to say that the digital artisan isn't focusing and looking on the hands; they look at the screen. Another part of craft is that it usually isn't talked about in regards to technology. However, the world is becoming more high-tech. "...the usual meaning opposes high-technology processes in which the hand plays a diminished role. Thus the proposal of craft in an electronic medium is somewhat of a paradox. But can we, here in the computer age, with fully optimistic and benevolent intent suggest that the word needs a more inclusive definition?" (2).
The next section goes into what direct manipulation is. "Direct manipulation is term coined in 1983 by software designer Ben Shneiderman to describe a principal that we now take for granted: pointing at our work with a mouse" (2). Although I'm still a bit confused on exactly what direct manipulation is, the text says that programs like MacPaint and MacDraw were some of the first programs to use direct manipulation. That makes me think that maybe direct manipulation is the act of using a mouse, clicking, etc. Haptic, a word which means the "exploratory and manipulative aspects of touch" is somewhat the next step after using the mouse for computer work. They talk about touch as being important. I agree that in regards to craft the sense of touching is vital. The hands are touching materials and working with fabrics, etc when doing traditional craft. With digital craft you cannot physically touch your work like traditional craft. In the last part of this article the author describes how the hands work together during digital craft, the pace matters, problems arise and they get fixed, etc. They way he describes this sounds so close to the descriptions of traditional craft. He also describes how eventually you can become a master of the computer, just like you can with a craft. All in all, he ends this article stating that digital craft is indeed real craft. The last paragraph explains that well.
QUESTIONS:
I'm a bit confused on what "direct manipulation" is. First, it says that direct manipulation is pointing at things with a mouse. However then it says that MacPaint and MacDraw were some of the first direct manipulations. Those programs are more than just pointing a mouse. What is a clear definition of direct manipulation?
Weiner
Norbert Weiner was a math professor at MIT. He contributed work to electronic engineering, electronic communication, and control system. He also created cybernetics.
Cybernetics has a lot to do with how machines think and how they interact with humans. From what I got out of it, it deals with the messages that machines send and humans send to each other to get an output. He describes the industrial revolution. On page one, he talks about how in the first revolution the "human arm is replaced by industrial machines" and in the modern industrial revolution is "devaluing the human mind".
A large part of this article was the point that messages no longer are sent from humans to humans. Electrical messages are sent all of the time. Turning on a coffee pot sends a message to a machine is just one example that Weiner gives in this article.
Then, Weiner compares older machines to newer ones. "The older machines, and in particular the older attempts to produce automata, did in fact work on a closed clockwork basis. On the other hand, the machines of the present day possess sense organs; that is, receptors for messages coming from the outside" (3). Chunks of the article like this almost give the article a sense that machines are taking over. That's the general feel I got from this article.
QUESTIONS:
I did not understand why the art of pilot and steersman and the "governor" was included in this article. (pg 2) It did not seem to add anything to the text but as a promotion for other ones of his books. Why was that paragraph in the article? I don't see what it does for the audience.
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