Things that make us smart pdf download

Add another edition? Copy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help? Things that make us smart Donald A. Donate this book to the Internet Archive library. If you own this book, you can mail it to our address below. Not in Library. Want to Read. Download for print-disabled. Check nearby libraries Library. Share this book Facebook.

July 7, History. An edition of Things that make us smart This edition was published in by Perseus Books in Cambridge Massachusetts. Written in English — pages. Subjects Man-machine systems , Philosophy , Cognitive science , Technology. Things that make us smart: defending human attributes in the age of the machine , Perseus Books.

Libraries near you: WorldCat. Things that make us smart First published in Subjects Man-machine systems , Philosophy , Cognitive science , Technology. Edition Notes Includes bibliographical references and index.

Media can deceive and seduce even the discerning mind" Well, if the medium can manipulate the message and its recipients, then how can he possibly claim the medium is not at least part of the message? Norman also seems vague with some definitions, as when he tries to distinguish between good and wasteful activities.

He occasionally describes an action as a waste of time, and more than once invokes 'higher pursuits' such as , 44 , but never convinces me that he has a clear definition of which is which. A book which assumes a corrective stance toward society and technology ought to have well-defined criteria Another example of vague terms comes when he states that retaining skills requires practice, but "[i]n general, artifacts don't change our cognitive abilities; they change the tasks we do.

Another disappointment: in the final third of the book Norman acts like a futurist, badly dating the book and often digressing from the core thesis. In fact, I question how concretely he ever describes how we might work ourselves out of this predicament, for partnering the best of machines with the best of people requires a better understanding of the human needs and attributes he doesn't articulate very well.

I feel that the problems Norman describes are more pronounced than ever. We seem to have come to regret - if unconsciously - our human minds, with all their emotion, inconsistency, and inefficiency, along with our equally problematic human bodies, which can have such influence upon those minds.

At times we seem to be on a crusade to expel ourselves from ourselves. Can't we program, or legislate, away our endless fleshly scandals of inefficiency and inconsistency? Can we really trust people to ensure values like fairness and impartiality or whatever calculus takes the place of what now seem like naive calculations of equality?

Shouldn't we prefer the new set of rules and new history that are already being written for us, according to the the precise recall and execution of our modern saviors, our cameras and data archives and search algorithms and tirelessly-executed lines of code? But why do we take up this cause?

Why are we so eager to judge ourselves - or at least everyone else - by machine standards? Of course we are not - not in every case. For example, in the workplace I have met numerous people who know that "[t]he human side of work activities is what keeps many organizations running smoothly, patching over the continual glitches and faults of the system.

Alas, those inevitable [issues] are usually undocumented We sense the wrongness of this state of affairs, or we feel frustration, a sense of injustice, when human factors are mislabeled and mismeasured - when our characteristics are called what they are not and judged on bad pretenses. Yet how often do we once again return to the machine mentality - better quantification, better rules - to save us?

I believe that we are in a crisis of measurement. We place too much faith in calculation and in the calculations currently at our disposal. We struggle to understand the neutrality or lack thereof of the tools we use, we struggle to contextualize their immensity, which gives them a false aura of naturalness and inevitability, and finally we contend with the motivations of their creators.

Or we do not have faith in any of these Or am I all wrong? How am I to know? What parts of myself should I trust in this or any problem-solving process, and what parts of myself should I augment with technology? I wish that Norman had provided more clear steps to improve our predicament. I do agree with him that products and systems ought to be more flexible for people's sake, but in what ways, and how? For now, I will have to settle for the avenues of inquiry he opens up.

As he himself observes, "[w]e often are not really certain of either the question or the answer: That is why we are looking" I agree, and I hope for redemption of the role of uncertainty. Like Norman, I believe that with a better set of conditions, with more human-centered tools and systems, "the process of exploration will let us discover the question as well as the answer.

Jul 26, Vicki rated it it was amazing. Hot DAMN. Everyone in tech should read this book. It should be mandatory if you are starting any kind of job in technology, particularly if you work with social networks.

The main thrust is that there are things computers are good at, and things people are good at, and these are two different kinds of things, and for people who work with computers, they need to approach computer programs and interfaces with humans in mind first.

Please read this book if you're in tech. There is so much wisdom here, and you kind of end up wishing Norman was at the helm of things like Facebook from the start. Aug 08, Dave rated it liked it. Definitely worth reading - my copy is now dense with Post-It flags - but the overall structure and coherence was not great.

The latter half of the book felt like Donald Norman scavenged whatever writings he had on hand to hit his deadline. Mostly it was still interesting, but some chapters especially the chapter on predicting future trends in technology felt like an annoying diversion from the theme of designing-for-the-human instead designing-for-the-machine.

Cited in Toward a Theory of Design Definitely worth reading - my copy is now dense with Post-It flags - but the overall structure and coherence was not great. Cited in Toward a Theory of Design as Computation. View 1 comment. Feb 19, Michael rated it really liked it. Dec 28, Stuart Macalpine rated it really liked it.

A really interesting topic, which explores how cognitive artefacts can support thinking and make us smarter. As someone who loves to use lots of these tools, and generally covers their windows in post-it notes, much of this resonated with me. The essential point is that any cognitive artefact, from a sketch on paper to a complex computer program, has three attributes: it has affordances, which is what it lets you do, such as the ability to quickly compare size or importance; It has limitations, A really interesting topic, which explores how cognitive artefacts can support thinking and make us smarter.

The essential point is that any cognitive artefact, from a sketch on paper to a complex computer program, has three attributes: it has affordances, which is what it lets you do, such as the ability to quickly compare size or importance; It has limitations, which are all the things that it cannot do, for example a pencil drawing of a system map does not allow you to see flows between stocks, in the way that Loopy online system app does.

And most importantly, the cognitive artefact has a mapping, which is how it maps to the reality that it seeks to represent. So it feels a bit like playing Trivial Pursuit.

I do enjoy his books, and intend to read the others in the series, but I do wish he spent more time developing his own ideas and presenting them simply and powerfully. May 15, Abhilash Gopalakrishnan rated it it was amazing. Dan the Guru of Design Brings us to get to understand how as human race we are smarter and continue to be.

The attributes would help us defend when automation can overpower us in many areas. Important to read to make yourself comfortable that we will win the race! Jun 29, Eugene Miya rated it really liked it Shelves: cognitive-science , cognitive-engineering. The best implementation of this book is the Voyager Publishing Co.

Deserves to be read by more people. I will add more later. May 05, Tyra Baker rated it it was amazing. Incredible and very quick read. Would suggest everyone reads this at least once in their life. Jul 10, Mike Murray rated it really liked it Shelves: education. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Well written, very good insights about how the world influence the view of people.

A little bit dated now--sometimes this contradicts Norman's claims and insights, but more often it supports them. I enjoyed this book A little bit dated now--sometimes this contradicts Norman's claims and insights, but more often it supports them. I enjoyed this book Jun 09, Xi Tang rated it liked it. Its a reading assignment from one of my class.

Not bad for a rough understading of how technologies evolve. Sep 05, Tracey rated it liked it. I've had this book sitting around for awhile - I'd read Norman's The Design of Everyday Things originally titled The Psychology of Everyday Things sometime last summer and really enjoyed it.

Things That Make Us Smart is more scholarly - discussing the viewpoint that technology should adapt to us, instead of the current state where we are adapting to technology. The majority of the book discusses experiential vs. The book is no beach read, but not quite as dryly written as the average textbook.

Norman makes some very good arguments, and I'd be curious to read an updated version, as it was written in , just prior to the explosive growth of the Internet and World Wide Web. He makes a passing reference to "personal information devices" as well - I wonder what he thinks of the current generation of PDA's? A good library read, though if you're interested in man-machine interactions, it is probably worth purchasing.

I'm planning on reading some of his other books on this topic - such as Turn Signals Are the Facial Expressions of Automobiles love the title! Mar 19, Yates Buckley rated it it was amazing Shelves: essential. And most importantly the perspective is a humanist view of technological development and its challenges. When we make technology we transform culture and this should maintain the human at its center rather than be a bureaucratic system. Aug 18, Dwight rated it really liked it Shelves: work.

It is amazing that this was written in That is a few years before many people had internet access. Except for a few sections and anecdotes that talk about the state of the art in '93, this book could have been written yesterday. The premise is that people and machines are good at different tasks and we waste much time trying to get each to behave like the other.

The author argues for a human centered view of technology where the machines conform to us rather than the other way around. Mar 08, Jaco Delport rated it it was amazing. Using tools such as writhing to extend our intelligence, very thoughtful observation. As an engineering major I can definitely relate, it is nearly impossible to analyse an engineering problem with many variables without the tool of pen and paper to extend your working memory and a calculator to automate tedious arithmetic.

Very good book. Examples are outdated but principles still apply. Sep 10, Tore rated it liked it Shelves: cognitivescience. Raises key points about our attitudes towards machines and ourselves. Artefacts and human-centred design. Generally well written. Norman also makes some surprisingly accurate and of course some blatantly failing predictions about technology usage.

Apr 09, Darwin Sass rated it really liked it. I've read it once since then.