DOI: 10.1145/2730872 COPYRIGHT HELD BY AUTHOR
is an early, detailed, and
well-articulated example
that fits well into Shapiro’s
definition of constitution;
it illustrates how elements
outside the traditional
boundary of the mind are
fundamentally involved in
ongoing cognitive work.
More fundamentally, I
found its intricate and
fascinating description to
be plainly inspiring—a
compelling and nuanced
illustration of the ways and
means that sophisticated
tools and contexts can
be designed to fit human
abilities and activities.
The Plenitude
By Rich Gold (2007)
HCI is interdisciplinary. Go
to a major conference and
we’re proud that designers,
engineers, scientists, and
artists all brush shoulders.
But such different
perspectives remain
hard to rationalize, and
these light touches often
mask bumpier underlying
relationships and thornier
misunderstandings. Gold’s
posthumous book provides
and ultimately overcome
with equal measures of
smarts, sacrifice, and
struggle. It’s an engrossing
and highly intelligent book
that drives its plot forward
with an unconventional
mix of philosophical
argumentation, intrepid
journeys, and occasional
violence. It made my list
because its protagonist
and major characters
are secular monkish
intellectuals who spend
much of the book inhabiting
their ivory towers, barred
from sustained contact
with the outside world.
Stephenson describes them
richly: their bizarre rules,
rituals, and costumes; the
challenges of their decade-long apprenticeships; their
unlikely do-or-die rites of
passage; their curious clubs
and petty politicking; the
incomprehensibility of
their elders; their bitter and
inexplicable internal feuds.
Its hilarious—a gentle,
elegant, and ultimately
affirming parody of
academic life.
Ian Oakley is an associate
professor in the School of Design
and Human Engineering at the
Ulsan National Institute of Science
and Technology, Republic of
Korea.
a lighthearted and personal
perspective on his three
decades of working for
companies such as SEGA,
Mattel, and Xerox PARC to
help produce the plenitude:
the wealth of “human-made
stuff.” Although the main
focus of Gold’s ruminations
is creativity, he presents an
articulate vision of the roles,
values, and contributions
of science, design, art, and
engineering to the shared
labor of making new stuff.
This short book provides
a refreshing and insightful
perspective that celebrates
diversity and highlights
points of connection
between very different
fields and approaches. It is
honest, frank, and fun, and
there’s something in here
that might help us all work
together just a little bit
better.
Anathem
By Neal Stephenson (2009)
Stephenson’s weighty
science fiction epic spins a
classic tale: A mysterious
alien invasion is detected,
investigated, unraveled,
Embodied
Cognition is
an accessible,
comprehensive,
and critical
introduction
to embodiment
that’s well worth
reading.
Specs
Focus: Interaction
design that leverages
human physicality:
tangible, sensory,
and multimodal
Base: Ulsan National
Institute of Science
and Technology,
Republic of Korea
INTERACTIONS.ACM.ORG MARCH–APRIL 2015 INTERACTIONS 11
