COPING WITH COMPLEXITY

Abstract

Although the rapid spread of information processing technology is widely expected to have dramatic social impacts, the argument most commonly advanced for this position, a simple appeal to the speed of technical progress, is quite weak. Any more compelling case must identify the attributes of information technology which distinguish it from other, less disruptive, technical innovations. One such is informa‐tion technology's combination of high reactivity, coupled with a basic lack of understanding of its underlying conceptual structure on the part of those who have to adapt to it. This lack of understanding not only implies that users will become alienated from their environment, but also presents practical difficulties to applications of information technology such as office automation. This analysis makes the basic cognitive skills, such as procedural reasoning, underlying any effective use of information processing devices a topic of central concern. However, neither the difficulty nor the importance of these skills are widely appreciated. Most of the techniques which have been proposed to facilitate the use of complex, programmed devices are simply incommensurate in scope with the problem. A Gendanken analysis of programming is advanced to indicate why this is so and to serve as the basis for an agenda of cognitive science research.

Citation

Sheil, B.A. (1983), "COPING WITH COMPLEXITY", Office Technology and People, Vol. 1 No. 4, pp. 295-320. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb022617