Models and Theories in Human-Computer Interaction/A mix of CogSci and SocSci

How Wikibook is a mix of Cognitive Science and Social Science

The entire idea of a wiki is that the information posted can be edited, removed, or added to through the wiki community. While certainly there are a lot of cognitive actions from each individual user, it would be something closer to an academic article or blog without the ease of editing from the community. The cognitive actions involve finding the information, posting the information, and editing information. The social aspect of it comes when others add to the original post. They can see what was posted, learn something, and add some of their own information. I agree with Edwin Hudgins that knowledge lies not only within the individual, but also in the individual's social and physical environment. By the transparency of the collaborative computer-mediated interface, the human to human interaction is encouraged.

How Socially Distributed Cognition Applies

Since much of the theories discussed over wikibooks (our class included), involve more than a mathematical equation and are more subject to interpretation, the ability to gain knowledge from the other users is critical. Even before posting this I read a few of the other postings. Much of the knowledge gained is through the transduction of the actual information. The environment in which knowledge is shared is a significant factor. Complex information sometimes can not be fully embodied in something like the GOMS model, instead it is on a macro scale. The representations, instead of being certain aspects of cognitive processes in the brain are all of them as well as the computer processes. The inputs and outputs are for the entire system (the computers, information, human thoughts, and means of relaying the information.