(2003-10-07) Thackara Cooperation

John Thackara on "The Thermo-Dynamics of Cooperation". How do we design work that enhances Tacit Knowledge and embodied knowledge, rather than pretending that they do not exist, or do not matter?... How do we improve the capacity of situations to support these kinds of inter-personal interactions?... Are we sure that the design attention we give to tools for community and collaboration - the "we-ware" - is in balance? Or do we need to think more about the "why?" issues of collaboration? (Collaboration Ware, Knowledge Management)

• re Educating Kids: Antoine Saint Exupery put this simple point more memorably. "Don't teach men how to build a boat. Teach them to yearn for the wide and open sea."

• That's why I talk about thermodynamics. Human System-s need inputs of human energy to do well. Everything else - the internet, agents, wireless, knowledge-mining - is contingent. They're support, not the thing itself. So, when designing systems, services, infrastructures - and work itself - we should ask whether our design actions will enable or disable Human Agency.

• Unfortunately, the mainstream of Architecture - including most of the big-name designers - has lost the plot. They're designing spaces as spectacles, not spaces that foster interaction and encounter.

• For me, the best description of the destination is by Ivan Illich. Illich said, 35 years ago, that we need to: "Give back to people the capacity to resolve their problems within the Network of their own relationships (Voluntary Association)."... "Re-frame institutions (such as medicine, or work, or education) as a support service in this transition - not its substitute."... "Recover the ability for mutual Self Care (Mutualism) and learning, helped by - but not centered on - the use of modern technology."