Draft:
Extended Abstract for paper: Conference on Cognitive Technology,
City Polytechnic of Hong Kong, August 24-27, 1995.
CTTT: Cognitive Tools, Techniques, Training, & Technology
Dr. Laurence J. Victor
Pima College, Downtown Campus
1255 North Stone Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85709-3030 USA
lvictor@pimacc.pima.edu
(602) 883-4407 (voice, msg)
Crews of highly developed cognitive beings, augmented in
their collaboration by well designed technological systems are,
by far, the most powerful force for change in the known universe.
The future survival/thrival of humanity depends on our ability to
create such crews, far more functional than our contemporary
best. We have the necessary potential; but there are many
barriers to be overcome and new perspectives and paradigms to be
acquired, before this can be achieved.
Two decades ago, after reading Donald Michael's On
Learning to Plan and Planning to Learn, and after years of
experience with various social change movements, I came to the
disturbing conclusion that the reform of large, complex,
dysfunctional social systems is impossible. The
counter-synergistic effect of the problem/solution paradigm for
very large and complex systems, as outlined in the Club of Rome's
concept of a Global Problemateque, argues further against the
possibility of fundamental reform. Since that time I have been
designing models whereby collaborating humans augmented by
technological systems could facilitate the emergence of a new
global, nested hierarchical, social system, without requiring
transformation of existing social systems. The models are quite
complex and difficult to summarize in terms of contemporary
paradigms (as they require an interactive system of paradigm
shifts). The model suggests that once a threshold of new
organization is achieved [analogous to the formation of a newly
fertilized egg, capable of self-organization and subsequent
embryonic development - roughly a community of 100-300
individuals augmented (a la Doug Englebart) in their
collaboration (a la Michael Schrage) by contemporary technology]
the organistic bootstrapping emergence of a sustainable global
organization for humanity would take only a few decades. The
model avoids confrontation with established orders, and can be
immediately enjoyable and rewarding for those who participate.
The seeming impossibility of this claim is countered by the
awesome potential of Cognitive Technology. Raw technology,
single-minded tool creation for transformation, lacks this
potential.
I find useful the analysis of "technology" into four
interactive categories: tools, techniques, training and
technology. Tools are structures, capable of being used,
transported, and duplicated; tools include both hardware and
software. "Text" (symbolic structures) can be tools. Techniques
include the tacit knowhow of cognitive beings in the use and
design of tools and interactions with each other facilitated by
the tools. Some tools (instructions) can be used to guide the use
of other tools. Techniques are gained through training, which can
also be guided by educational tools and techniques. Technology is
the complex socio-psychological process whereby tools, techniques
and training evolve and emerge. Contemporary technology, at its
best, is heavily weighted to the design and manufacture of tools,
with much less emphasis on the systematic development of advanced
techniques and training. In addition, the technological
imperative is limited to the transformation of systems, with
little to no attention given to augmenting the creative emergence
of new systems. The developing human mind/brain must become the
primary subsystem in CT, augmented in collaboration by computer
technology.
Contemporary technology produces new tools faster than we
can learn to use them wisely, and many of them are not tailored
for the applications we need, in augmenting collaboration. I have
experimented with various forms of computer technology in an
attempt to organize a community (of crews) capable of
bootstrapping the emergence of new tools, techniques and
training. Unfortunately, funds for state-of-the-art tools are
only available if one proposes to transform systems; contemporary
institutions won't fund work to replace them. This lack of
adequate tools has, fortunately, led me to concentrate on the
human side of technology, training for techniques. Procedures and
protocols for tool use and training are critical structures to
create. In particular, we must go beyond communication in
attempting to share large, complex missions that require new
perspectives and paradigms. I am designing a number of linked R&D
projects for developing tools and techniques to augment
collaboration, including some parameters of the tools needed. I
will briefly outline some of these projects.
1. NEW TOOLS, TECHNIQUES, TRAINING FOR CT
a) A NU PERSPECTIVE
Transformation implies gradual, incremental, operations
performed on an initial form, leading to a new, transformed final
form. Contemporary science is the study of transformations.
Healing, fixing, maintaining, reforming are examples of
transformation. I propose that the contemporary form of human
organization is incapable of fundamental self-transformation to a
more viable and sustainable holarchy of systems. But,
transformation doesn't exhaust the modes of change. Creative
emergence occurs when a new form comes into being from
self-organization in a pre-existing substrate, but which is not
the transformation of a prior form. We have yet to create a
science of emergence, of origins. Instead, we attempt to reduce
all creative emergence to transformation, and ignore, to our
peril, the "miracle" of creative emergence.
Things are "new", when they are different from what has
preceded them. The "new" is usually described in reference to
past forms, transformed. I propose a new term, "nu" when the
novel form in the present is described primarily in terms of its
potential, what it may yet become.
I believe that the perspectives of "new" and
"nu" form an essential cognitive complementarity. That when we are
naturally drawn to fix and heal that which is familiar, we are
excluded from consideration of creating anu. If, we are to create
a nu social organization (personal to planetary) we must create
working environments that augment collaborative emergent
creation. These nu environments, created with cognitive
technology, must shield us (temporarily, for extended periods of
time) from the ever-present, very human, attraction to heal, fix,
or reform. LORD-ET (Learning, Organizing, Researching, Developing
"Expeditions-in-Time") will provide a useful metaphor for
creating nu-enhancing environments.
b) SYSTEMS CONSTRAINTS ON CT
The potentials of CT is determined by the distribution of
biological potentials and limitations re cognition in the human
population. Individual human differences must be seriously
incorporated in an design of CT. Cognitive styles (such as
field dependence/independence), imagery styles (the author lacks
mental imagery in all sensory modes), primary language, etc. are
all very important. Biological factors such as biorhythms
(diurnal, annual, lifespan) are important; and attention
limitations such as Miller's 7+/-2 law. Limitations of expression
relative to the faster and more complex processes of thought must
be taken into account. However, potentials and limitations are
quite sensitive to developmental history; and we should not be
too quick to exclude potentials because of contemporary apparant
limitations.
In a culture of rapid technological change, what is
the minimum autonomous CT unit? I propose it to be a community of
crews. The futuristic model of isolated individuals networked by
powerful computer systems is insufficient. Time needed to keep up
with the technology, for user influence on technology, time
required for learning to use new tools and to upgrade skills,
time to maintain equipment, etc. are beyond the developable
potentials of individual humans, and possibly even small crews. A
centralized CT support system may be adequate for social
transformations but are not sufficient for self-organizing
emergence.
c) THE FUNDAMENTAL REALITY OF TEXT*
It is proposed that "text" be considered as a fundamental
reality. Text, is partly defined, as material structure, capable
of cognitive interpretation into meaning. The material domain (of
organized matter and energy) is the substrate for text, as well
as the substrate (in neuro-molecular patterns) for mind and
meanings. Yet, all that we know is embedded in text, which must
be elevated in fundamental reality considerations on par with the
material and mental, not merely derivative of them. The mind/body
issue must be expanded to consider a third contestant: text. All
records are text. The empirical base of science is text (patterns
in data), and not the external observed world. In addition to
having deep epistemological and ontological implications, the
"reality of text" has immediate practical application. Human
actions are strongly influenced by text: holy books,
constitutions and records, histories and news reports, designs,
instructions, project management software. Our textual
environments are the most significant. Social-political actions
can be viewed as efforts of text creation and transformation.
Democracy may be viewed as open collaborative text creation and
editing. Worldmaking can be viewed as a cyclical
scripting/performing process. Creating better tools for
augmenting collaborative text manipulation is necessary for human
survival. These are the missions for the LORD-ETs.
d) SCRIPTING/PERFORMING CYCLES
All relevant social action in NU will be in terms of
creative performance to scripts. Scripts are symbolic structures
(text) collaboratively designed to guide performance (which
includes learning, organizing, researching, and developing). New
scripts can be composed according to script composing scripts.
Modifications of scripts and ideas for additional scripts are
part of the performance. An accessible database of evolving
scripts become an analog chromosome system for human social
evolution. The distinctions between creating "real" things and
designing with simulations will blur. Scripts both facilitate and
constrain.
e) PARTICIPATORY & INTERACTIVE CYWEBS
Scripts will be embedded in a larger context, comprised
of what I call cywebs. Cywebs are nested hierarchical networks of
text (hypertext is the primitive forerunner), that are both
interactive and participatory. Interactive implies user choice in
navigation of the cyweb. Participatory implies that users
contribute to the creation and modification of cywebs. We need CT
that augments both, in both synchronous and asynchronous modes.
Extensive protocols will be required to make this system REEEE
(relevant, effective, efficient, enjoyable, elegant), which
implies extensive R&D of training systems. We cannot build REEEE
CT and limit the tools to those requiring only quick training for
use. We must distinguish between "novice friendly" and "nested
levels of user competency". We must bite the education bullet.
My experimentation with participatory cywebs has been
through using Neil Larson's (MaxThink) software that facilitates
the creative side of composition and not the polishing side for
commercial production. Primary human activity will shift to
composing cywebs (including scripts) and navigating cywebs
(including performance to scripts) - the production of material
goods and the organization of human activity will follow in
course.
f) RT/DT SYNERGY
A REEEE augmenting system will employ RT/DT (Real-Time /
Delayed-Time) Synergy. We must research the balance between
working synchronously (RT) and asynchronously (DT) and how the
two modes can be best coupled. RT processes must be unobtrusively
recorded and processed into the DT system, which should be
accessible during RT sessions. Short term DT technology, such as
"instant replay" so as to "hypertext" discussions, will augment
what occurs RT. Scripts for semi-structured activities will guide
RT sessions. Human emotional needs must be seriously considered
for both DT and RT systems. "Rituals" must be integrated into
human interactivity. A major emphasis for CT R&D must be
the creation of better RT/DT synergy augmenting systems.
g) SCAFFOLDING - NURTURING EMERGENCE
The growth, development, and evolution of new human
systems must be organistic and self-organizing, where mechanistic
systems can be components or tools. We must guard against overly
restrictive top-down, engineering style design. On the other
hand, engineering style design can be employed to create
scaffolding for the organistic emergence of new self-organizing
human systems. Other metaphors for scaffolding are looms and
farms. Scaffolding augments bootstrap emergence, where we can
think of the cywebs we create through scripting/performing as the
new scaffolding to augment the next cycle of emergence,
h) EXPEDITIONS-IN-TIME
Traditional expeditions are self-organizing human systems
in space and time, interacting with but not becoming part of
their environments. Expeditions-in-Time have a similar
relationship with the social and physical environments. Both the
organization of the human systems and what they create are
important. LORD Expeditions-in-Time attempt to integrate the four
factors: Learning (of both individuals and organizations),
Organization, Research and Development. LORD-ET enables growing
populations of humans to self-organize a better global system
without requiring support from or transformation of existing
social systems. LORD-ETs may become the nu "institutions" that
will integrate the functions of R&D, education, and industry.
2. FIRST EXPEDITION
The paper will expand upon these, and other supporting,
ideas. I will discuss the nature of the first expedition-in-time,
whose objective is to create a system to facilitate learning
about this complex model/mission. Conventional communication and
educational processes are inadequate.
* -- a paper to be presented at the International Society for the
Systems Sciences, at Monterery CA, June 14-19, 1994.