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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mindblowing!, 27 Jun 1999
By A Customer
In early 1997, this book helped change the course of my career. I study software engineering processes, especially software quality assurance techniques. I'd been troubled by the linear, cartesian reasoning we use in our field to justify some practices and deprecate others. What Hutchins did for me is open the door to a whole different way of thinking about cognitive processes in relation to technology. Up to the moment I was drawn to the interesting title on the shelf of a Barnes and Noble bookstore, I had only a vague idea that there are people who study how other people think and make decisions. Since then, I've discovered interesting ideas about how to organize and train software testers from lots of different fields. But it all started with Cognition in the Wild. What's so special about Cognition in the Wild? I think there are a few factors at work: - Hutchins style of writing is personable and readable. - His conclusions are supported by vivid and detailed accounts from the bridge of a warship. I felt like I was there, with him. - His ideas about naturally situated cognition are so immediately applicable to any system where a group of people are producing an intellectual product. - His description of the paradigmatic differences between Western and Micronesian navigation practice helped me make sense of similar fundamental differences among factions in my own field. Since I discovered this stuff, I've oriented my SQA process work squarely toward helping people think better in groups-- a social cognition focus.
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