Winograd and Flores respond to reviews of their book "Understanding Computers and Cognition," focusing on differing interpretations. They argue that reviewers from different academic traditions (analytic philosophy, AI, ethnomethodology) understood the book based on their own backgrounds. The authors critique the rationalistic tradition's emphasis on logical arguments and the AI field's focus on explicit symbolic representations. They value ethnomethodology's understanding of diverse traditions, but note it relies on systematic methodology. Winograd and Flores emphasize the importance of openness to new discourse and acknowledge where their writing may have caused misinterpretations. Ultimately, they aim to generate a new theoretical basis for design grounded in understanding human action and technology.
Please note that the podcast covers key points from the source with synthetic voices, which may have glitches. It’s a reflective, not comprehensive, interpretation.
Winograd, Terry, and Fernando Flores. “On Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design.” Artificial Intelligence 31, no. 2 (February 1987): 250–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/0004-3702(87)90026-9.
