i just came across a few bits about the human brain -- not that it matters,
just for fun:

did you know that the number of neurons in a baby's brain is larger before
birth than after and slowly decays as we mature?
what changes in the brain of a human being is the increasing numbers of
connections among a decaying number of neurons.

the brain is the primary human organ that converts the history of
experiences (interactions) literary into flesh (gray matter, connections).
true, it is not the only part of the body that responds to the
environment -- our feet are shaped by the shoes we wear -- but the brain
does mainly that, extremely well, appropriately fast, and in support of the
human body's viability.

it follows that our knowledge of how a particular brain responds to current
experiences is a function of the history of experiences that shaped that
brain.  it cannot possibly be a function of a disembodied logic called
cognition, which is (a) abstracted from observed behavior (ideally stated as
a computer program that can be run on any machine) and (b) radically
individualized (located as occurring entirely inside a human being, which
ignores the social history of the brain, the history of experiences).

cognitive theory is an invention within the artificial intelligence
community, which is committed to a way of languaging that heavily relies on
computer metaphors of the human brain.  i suggest reading ai and cognitive
science literature for the metaphors it takes for granted.

to me, design cannot be explained by theories for reasons given earlier,
much less by a theory of cognition.  a good deal of design is to convince
others of the value of what designers propose and this is a social
competence

klaus krippendorff
gregory bateson term professor for cybernetics, language, and culture
the annenberg school for communication
university of pennsylvania
3620 walnut street
philadelphia, pa 19104.6220
phone: 215.898.7051 (O); 215.545.9356 (H)
fax: 215.898.2024 (O); 215.545.9357 (H)
usa


-----Original Message-----
From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and
related research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf
Of Charles Burnette
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 8:28 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: generic design cognition Re: some questions on design
cognition


Dear Rosan:

I think you have to move away from the idea of
falsifying an hypothesis when talking about design
thinking. There are many valid outcomes to most design
activities. Prediction of outcomes in a given
situation is OK because it is based on prior knowledge
regarding a situation but as Herbert Simon pointed out
design seeks a satisfactory outcome not a truth
condition.

Design cognition shares ways of thinking that cut
across the domains in which it is applied and
instantiated. If it did not, the brain would be
extremely "balkanized" (an old world term) and
collaboration across disciplines would be very
difficult. One can certainly concentrate on a domain
in which design cognition is applied, but a much more
powerful position
is obtained if you look at what is common when design
thinking is applied in different contexts. What we are
looking for is an "ecology of abstractions" as Charles
Simonyi has suggested, that characterizes what is
involved in the collaboration of thoughts that occur
whenever we design.

I hope this is of help.

Chuck

Dr. Charles Burnette
234 South Third Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: +215 629 1387
e-mail: [log in to unmask]