Beyond the Cuckoo Clock
Man is a tool-using creature
First tools were extensions of our physical abilities
Medieval clock was first extension of our mind
Cuckoo clocks are analog computers--take input (swings of pendulum) and turn them into data (time representation)
Computers are digital computers, and infinitiely flexible (unike analog computers)
Is There an Aesthetic of Programming?
The Ethical Quotient
ethical challenges: qualities of magnification, precision, alienation, believability, malleability of information, impermeability, and autonomy of operation
magnification: computers magnify our thought processes significantly, but have no conscience or controls beyond what we put on them
precision: instructions to a computer must be precise
alientation: computer isolates programmers and operators from the people affected by their actions/code. "Instead of seein the program as a real instrument affecting the lives of real people, programmers sometimes see it as a game, a challenge to their ingenuity. The alienating quality of the computer permits us to overlook the human consequences of a programming decision or error." This happens to users on the Internet as well.
believability: we believe the computer because it presents us with too much information to be able to effectively doubt any of it
malleability: data can change without us knowing it
impermeability: we cannot observe the computer, only its side effects and results
autonomy of operation: the computer is capable of acting without our intervention or supervision
Last modified 16 December 2024