Difference between revisions of "Distributed Cognition"

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===Definition===
 
===Definition===
All media and technology can be re-envisioned through this perspective. Writing allowed us to free our memory and direct the brain to other tasks. Computers have allowed us to take this process to an entirely new level by allowing us to store information in a medium that can be accessed from anywhere. The internet combined with search platforms could be considered the collective cognition of our species, sometimes called the "noosphere".<ref>[[noosphere]]</ref>
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All media can be understood as augmenting humanity's basic cognitive structure, both in the concrete sense of literally re-wiring one's brain and in the more figurative sense of displacing certain tasks to other forms of media. The internet combined with search platforms could be considered the collective cognition of the human species, or the "noosphere"<ref>Krippendorff, Klaus. Noosphere. Web Dictionary of Cybernetics and Systems. Principia Cybernetica Web. Publish date unknown. Accessed April 2011. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASC/NOOSPHERE.html</ref>. The invention of writing allowed individuals to free their memory and direct the brain to other tasks. Computers allow humans to take this process to an entirely new level by allowing one to store information in a medium that can be accessed anywhere. Wikipedia is an example of distributed cognitive network, as nodes of content and edits can be added from anywhere around the world. Collectively, Wikipedia represents the cognitive makeup of many different kinds of people from different cultures, backgrounds and ideologies.  
 
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===Examples===
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Google. Twitter.
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==References==
 
==References==
 
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“A term modeled after "atmosphere" and biosphere" signifying (a) the space occupied by the totality of information and human knowledge collectively available to man and (b) the processes operating in this space, e.g., combinatorial mating, classification, reproduction, simplification, selective decay”.
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Source: [http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/krippendorff/ Klaus Krippendorff’s A Dictionary of Cybernetics] (unpublished, mentioned in the [http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASC/NOOSPHERE.html Web Dictionary of Cybernetics and Systems].
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Latest revision as of 03:54, 18 December 2011

Distributed-cognition-maggie-nichols.jpg

Definition

All media can be understood as augmenting humanity's basic cognitive structure, both in the concrete sense of literally re-wiring one's brain and in the more figurative sense of displacing certain tasks to other forms of media. The internet combined with search platforms could be considered the collective cognition of the human species, or the "noosphere"[1]. The invention of writing allowed individuals to free their memory and direct the brain to other tasks. Computers allow humans to take this process to an entirely new level by allowing one to store information in a medium that can be accessed anywhere. Wikipedia is an example of distributed cognitive network, as nodes of content and edits can be added from anywhere around the world. Collectively, Wikipedia represents the cognitive makeup of many different kinds of people from different cultures, backgrounds and ideologies.

References

  1. Krippendorff, Klaus. Noosphere. Web Dictionary of Cybernetics and Systems. Principia Cybernetica Web. Publish date unknown. Accessed April 2011. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASC/NOOSPHERE.html