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Boostingmankindscapabilityforcopingwithcomplex,urgentproblems
DougEngelbart

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Home AUGMENTINGHUMANINTELLECT:
HistoricLegacy ACONCEPTUALFRAMEWORK
ADrivingVision

OurWork ByDouglasC.Engelbart
October1962
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About SRISummaryReportAFOSR3223Preparedfor:DirectorofInformationSciences,AirForceOfficeof
ScientificResearch,WashingtonDC,ContractAF49(638)1024SRIProjectNo.3578(AUGMENT,3906,).
Clickhereforscanoftheoriginalprintedreport(pdf)
0
1
I.INTRODUCTION
1a
A.GENERAL
By"augmentinghumanintellect"wemeanincreasingthecapabilityofamantoapproacha
complexproblemsituation,togaincomprehensiontosuithisparticularneeds,andtoderive
solutionstoproblems.Increasedcapabilityinthisrespectistakentomeanamixtureofthe
following:morerapidcomprehension,bettercomprehension,thepossibilityofgainingauseful
degreeofcomprehensioninasituationthatpreviouslywastoocomplex,speediersolutions,
bettersolutions,andthepossibilityoffindingsolutionstoproblemsthatbeforeseemed
insoluble.Andby"complexsituations"weincludetheprofessionalproblemsofdiplomats,
executives,socialscientists,lifescientists,physicalscientists,attorneys,designerswhether
theproblemsituationexistsfortwentyminutesortwentyyears.Wedonotspeakofisolated
clevertricksthathelpinparticularsituations.Werefertoawayoflifeinanintegrateddomain
wherehunches,cutandtry,intangibles,andthehuman"feelforasituation"usefullyco
existwithpowerfulconcepts,streamlinedterminologyandnotation,sophisticatedmethods,1a1
andhighpoweredelectronicaids.

Man'spopulationandgrossproductareincreasingataconsiderablerate,butthecomplexity
ofhisproblemsgrowsstillfaster,andtheurgencywithwhichsolutionsmustbefound
becomessteadilygreaterinresponsetotheincreasedrateofactivityandtheincreasingly
globalnatureofthatactivity.Augmentingman'sintellect,inthesensedefinedabove,would
warrantfullpursuitbyanenlightenedsocietyiftherecouldbeshownareasonableapproach1a2

andsomeplausiblebenefits.

Thisreportcoversthefirstphaseofaprogramaimedatdevelopingmeanstoaugmentthe
humanintellect.These"means"canincludemanythingsallofwhichappeartobebut
extensionsofmeansdevelopedandusedinthepasttohelpmanapplyhisnativesensory,
mental,andmotorcapabilitiesandweconsiderthewholesystemofahumanandhis
augmentationmeansasaproperfieldofsearchforpracticalpossibilities.Itisaveryimportant
systemtooursociety,andlikemostsystemsitsperformancecanbestbeimprovedby
consideringthewholeasasetofinteractingcomponentsratherthanbyconsideringthe 1a3

componentsinisolation.

Thiskindofsystemapproachtohumanintellectualeffectivenessdoesnotfindareadymade
conceptualframeworksuchasexistsforestablisheddisciplines.Beforearesearchprogramcanbe
designedtopursuesuchanapproachintelligently,sothatpracticalbenefitsmightbederived
withinareasonabletimewhilealsoproducingresultsoflongrangesignificance,aconceptual
frameworkmustbesearchedoutaframeworkthatprovidesorientationastotheimportant
factorsofthesystem,therelationshipsamongthesefactors,thetypesofchangeamongthe
systemfactorsthatofferlikelyimprovementsinperformance,andthesortofresearchgoalsand
1a4
methodologythatseempromising.1

Inthefirst(search)phaseofourprogramwehavedevelopedaconceptualframeworkthat
seemssatisfactoryforthecurrentneedsofdesigningaresearchphase.SectionIIcontains
theessenceofthisframeworkasderivedfromseveraldifferentwaysoflookingatthesystem
1a5
madeupofahumanandhisintellectaugmentationmeans.
 Theprocessofdevelopingthisconceptualframeworkbroughtoutanumberofsignificant
realizations:thattheintellectualeffectivenessexercisedtodaybyagivenhumanhaslittle
likelihoodofbeingintelligencelimitedthattherearedozensofdisciplinesinengineering,
mathematics,andthesocial,life,andphysicalsciencesthatcancontributeimprovementsto
thesystemofintellectaugmentationmeansthatanyonesuchimprovementcanbe
expectedtotriggerachainofcoordinatingimprovementsthatuntileveryoneofthese
disciplinescomestoastandstillandwehaveexhaustedalltheimprovementpossibilitieswe
couldgleanfromit,wecanexpecttocontinuetodevelopimprovementsinthishuman
intellectsystemthatthereisnoparticularreasonnottoexpectgainsinpersonalintellectual
TABLEOFCONTENTS effectivenessfromaconcertedsystemorientedapproachthatcomparetothosemadein 1a6
[Top]
AugmentingHuman
personalgeographicmobilitysincehorsebackandsailboatdays.
Intellect:AConceptual
Framework
1 Thepictureofhowonecanviewthepossibilitiesforasystematicapproachtoincreasing
I.INTRODUCTION humanintellectualeffectiveness,asputforthinSectionIIinthesoberandgeneraltermsof
II.CONCEPTUAL 2 aninitialbasicanalysis,doesnotseemtoconveyalloftherichnessandpromisethatwas
FRAMEWORK
III.EXAMPLESAND
stimulatedbythedevelopmentofthatpicture.Consequently,SectionIIIisintendedto
3
DISCUSSION presentsomedefiniteimagesthatillustratemeaningfulpossibilitiesderiveablefromthe
IV.RESEARCH 4 conceptualframeworkpresentedinSectionIIandinarathermarkeddeviationfrom
RECOMMENDATIONS
5 ordinarytechnicalwriting,agoodportionofSectionIIIpresentstheseimagesinafiction
V.SUMMARY
6 dialoguestyleasamechanismfortransmittingafeelingfortherichnessandpromiseofthe1a7
VI.CONCLUSIONS
NOTES
7
possibilitiesinoneregionoftheimprovementspace"thatisroughlymappedinSectionII.
8
REFERENCES
ThestyleofSectionIIIseemstomakeforeasierreading.IfSectionIIbeginstoseem
unrewardinglydifficult,thereadermayfindithelpfultoskipfromSectionIIBdirectlyto
SectionIII.Ifitservesitspurposewellenough,SectionIIIwillprovideacontextwithinwhich
1a8
thereadercangobackandfinishSectionIIwithlesseffort.

InSectionIV(ResearchRecommendations)wepresentageneralstrategyforpursuing
researchtowardincreasinghumanintellectualeffectiveness.Thisstrategyevolveddirectly
fromtheconceptspresentedinSectionsIIandIIIoneofitsimportantpreceptsistopursue
thequickestgainsfirst,andusetheincreasedintellectualeffectivenessthusderivedtohelp
pursuesuccessivegains.Weseethequickestgainsemergingfrom(1)givingthehumanthe
minutebyminuteservicesofadigitalcomputerequippedwithcomputerdrivencathoderay
tubedisplay,and(2)developingthenewmethodsofthinkingandworkingthatallowthe
humantocapitalizeuponthecomputer'shelp.Bythissamestrategy,werecommendthatan
initialresearcheffortdevelopaprototypesystemofthissortaimedatincreasinghuman 1a9
effectivenessinthetaskofcomputerprogramming.

Togivethereaderaninitialorientationaboutwhatsortofthingthiscomputeraidedworking
systemmightbe,weincludebelowashortdescriptionofapossiblesystemofthissort.This
illustrativeexampleisnottobeconsideredadescriptionoftheactualsystemthatwillemerge
fromtheprogram.Itisgivenonlytoshowthegeneraldirectionofthework,andisclothedin
1a10

fictiononlytomakeiteasiertovisualize.

Letusconsideranaugmentedarchitectatwork.Hesitsataworkingstationthathasavisual
displayscreensomethreefeetonasidethisishisworkingsurface,andiscontrolledbya
computer(his"clerk")withwhichhecancommunicatebymeansofasmallkeyboardand1a11
variousotherdevices.

Heisdesigningabuilding.Hehasalreadydreamedupseveralbasiclayoutsandstructural
forms,andistryingthemoutonthescreen.Thesurveyingdataforthelayoutheisworking
onnowhavealreadybeenentered,andhehasjustcoaxedtheclerktoshowhima
perspectiveviewofthesteephillsidebuildingsitewiththeroadwayabove,symbolic
representationsofthevarioustreesthataretoremainonthelot,andtheservicetiepoints
forthedifferentutilities.Theviewoccupiesthelefttwothirdsofthescreen.Witha"pointer,"
heindicatestwopointsofinterest,moveshislefthandrapidlyoverthekeyboard,andthe
distanceandelevationbetweenthepointsindicatedappearontherighthandthirdofthe1a12
screen.

Nowheentersareferencelinewithhispointer,andthekeyboard.Graduallythescreen
beginstoshowtheworkheisdoinganeatexcavationappearsinthehillside)revisesitself
slightly,andrevisesitselfagain.Afteramoment,thearchitectchangesthesceneonthe
screentoanoverheadplanviewofthesite,stillshowingtheexcavation.Afewminutesof
study,andheentersonthekeyboardalistofitems,checkingeachoneasitappearsonthe1a13

screen,tobestudiedlater.

Ignoringtherepresentationonthedisplay,thearchitectnextbeginstoenteraseriesof
specificationsanddataasixinchslabfloor,twelveinchconcretewallseightfeethighwithin
theexcavation,andsoon.Whenhehasfinished,therevisedsceneappearsonthescreen.A
structureistakingshape.Heexaminesit,adjustsit,pauseslongenoughtoaskforhandbook
orcataloginformationfromtheclerkatvariouspoints,andreacijustsaccordingly.Heoften
recallsfromthe"clerk"hisworkinglistsofspecificationsandconsiderationstorefertothem,
 modifythem,oraddtothem.Theselistsgrowintoanevermoredetailed,interlinked 1a14
structure,whichrepresentsthematuringthoughtbehindtheactualdesign.

Prescribingdifferentplaneshereandthere,curvedsurfacesoccasionally,andmovingthe
wholestructureaboutfivefeet,hefinallyhastheroughexternalformofthebuilding
balancednicelywiththesettingandheisassuredthatthisformisbasicallycompatiblewith
1a15
thematerialstobeusedaswellaswiththefunctionofthebuilding.

Nowhebeginstoenterdetailedinformationabouttheinterior.Herethecapabilityoftheclerk
toshowhimanyviewhewantstoexamine(asliceoftheinterior,orhowthestructurewould
lookfromtheroadwayabove)isimportant.Heentersparticularfixturedesigns,andexamines
theminaparticularroom.Hecheckstomakesurethatsunglarefromthewindowswillnot
blindadriverontheroadway,andthe"clerk"computestheinformationthatonewindowwill1a16

reflectstronglyontotheroadwaybetween6and6:30onmidsummermornings.

Nexthebeginsafunctionalanalysis.Hehasalistofthepeoplewhowilloccupythisbuilding,
andthedailysequencesoftheiractivtites.The"clerk"allowshimtofolloweachinturn,
examininghowdoorsswing,wherespeciallightingmightbeneeded.Finallyhehasthe
"clerk"combineallofthesesequencesofactivitytoindicatespotswheretrafficisheavyin
thebuilding,orwherecongestionmightoccur,andtodeterminewhattheseverestdrainon 1a17
theutilitiesislikelytobe.

Allofthisinformation(thebuildingdesignanditsassociated"thoughtstructure")canbe
storedonatapetorepresentthedesignmanualforthebuilding.Loadingthistapeintohis
ownclerk,anotherarchitect,abuilder,ortheclientcanmaneuverwithinthisdesignmanual
topursuewhateverdetailsorinsightsareofinteresttohimandcanappendspecialnotes1a18
thatareintegratedintothedesignmanualforhisownorsomeoneelse'slaterbenefit.

Insuchafutureworkingrelationshipbetweenhumanproblemsolverandcomputer'clerk,'
thecapabilityofthecomputerforexecutingmathematicalprocesseswouldbeusedwhenever
itwasneeded.However,thecomputerhasmanyothercapabilitiesformanipulatingand
displayinginformationthatcanbeofsignificantbenefittothehumaninnonmathematical
processesofplanning,organizing,studying,etc.Everypersonwhodoeshisthinkingwith
symbolizedconcepts(whetherintheformoftheEnglishlanguage,pictographs,formallogic,
1a19

ormathematics)shouldbeabletobenefitsignificantly.
1b
B.OBJECTIVEOFTHESTUDY
Theobjectiveofthisstudyistodevelopaconceptualframeworkwithinwhichcouldgrowa
coordinatedresearchanddevelopmentprogramwhosegoalswouldbethefollowing:(1)to
findthefactorsthatlimittheeffectivenessoftheindividual'sbasicinformationhandling
capabilitiesinmeetingthevariousneedsofsocietyforproblemsolvinginitsmostgeneral
senseand(2)todevelopnewtechniques,procedures,andsystemsthatwillbettermatch
thesebasiccapabilitiestotheneeds'problems,andprogressofsociety.Wehaveplacedthe 1b1
followingspecificationsonthisframework:

1. Thatitprovideperspectiveforbothlongrangebasicresearchandresearchthatwill 1b1a
yieldpracticalresultssoon.

2. Thatitindicatewhatthisaugmentationwillactuallyinvolveinthewayofchangesin
1b1b

workingenvironment,inthinking,inskills,andinmethodsofworking.

3. Thatitbeabasisforevaluatingthepossiblerelevanceofworkandknowledgefrom 1b1c

existingfieldsandforassimilatingwhateverisrelevant.

4. Thatitrevealareaswhereresearchispossibleandwaystoassesstheresearch,bea
basisforchoosingstartingpoints,andindicatehowtodevelopappropriate 1b1d
methodologiesfortheneededresearch.

Twopointsneedemphasishere.First,althoughaconceptualframeworkhasbeen
constructed,itisstillrudimentary.Furthersearch,andactualresearch,areneededforthe
evolutionoftheframework.Second,evenifourconceptualframeworkdidprovidean
accurateandcompletebasicanalysisofthesystemfromwhichstemsahuman'sintellectual
effectiveness,theexplicitnatureoffutureimprovedsystemswouldbehighlyaffectedby 1b2
(expected)changesinourtechnologyorinourunderstandingofthehumanbeing.

2
II.CONCEPTUALFRAMEWORK
2a
A.GENERAL
Theconceptualframeworkweseekmustorientustowardtherealpossibilitiesandproblems
associatedwithusingmoderntechnologytogivedirectaidtoanindividualincomprehending
complexsituations,isolatingthesignificantfactors,andsolvingproblems.Togainthis
orientation,weexaminehowindividualsachievetheirpresentlevelofeffectiveness,and 2a1

expectthatthisexaminationwillrevealpossibilitiesforimprovement.

Theentireeffectofanindividualontheworldstemsessentiallyfromwhathecantransmitto
theworldthroughhislimitedmotorchannels.Thisinturnisbasedoninformationreceived
fromtheoutsideworldthroughlimitedsensorychannelsoninformation,drives,andneeds
generatedwithinhimandonhisprocessingofthatinformation.Hisprocessingisoftwo
kinds:thatwhichheisgenerallyconsciousof(recognizingpatterns,remembering,visualizing,
abstracting,deducing,inducing,etc.),andthatinvolvingtheunconsciousprocessingand
mediatingofreceivedandselfgeneratedinformation,andtheunconsciousmediatingof 2a2

consciousprocessingitself.

Theindividualdoesnotusethisinformationandthisprocessingtograppledirectlywiththe
sortofcomplexsituationinwhichweseektogivehimhelp.Heuseshisinnatecapabilitiesin
arathermoreindirectfashion,sincethesituationisgenerallytoocomplextoyielddirectlyto
hismotoractions,andalwaystoocomplextoyieldcomprehensionsandsolutionsfromdirect
sensoryinspectionanduseofbasiccognitivecapabilities.Forinstance,anaboriginewho
possessesallofourbasicsensorymentalmotorcapabilities,butdoesnotpossessour
backgroundofindirectknowledgeandprocedure,cannotorganizetheproperdirectactions
necessarytodriveacarthroughtraffic,requestabookfromthelibrary,callacommittee
meetingtodiscussatentativeplan,callsomeoneonthetelephone,orcomposealetteron 2a3
thetypewriter.

Ourculturehasevolvedmeansforustoorganizethelittlethingswecandowithourbasic
capabilitiessothatwecanderivecomprehensionfromtrulycomplexsituations,and
accomplishtheprocessesofderivingandimplementingproblemsolutions.Thewaysinwhich
humancapabilitiesarethusextendedareherecalledaugmentationmeans,andwedefine 2a4
fourbasicclassesofthem:

1. Artifactsphysicalobjectsdesignedtoprovideforhumancomfort,forthemanipulation
2a4a

ofthingsormaterials,andforthemanipulationofsymbols.

2. Languagethewayinwhichtheindividualparcelsoutthepictureofhisworldintothe
conceptsthathismindusestomodelthatworld,andthesymbolsthatheattachesto 2a4b

thoseconceptsandusesinconsciouslymanipulatingtheconcepts("thinking").

3. Methodologythemethods,procedures,strategies,etc.,withwhichanindividual 2a4c

organizeshisgoalcentered(problemsolving)activity.

4. TrainingtheconditioningneededbythehumanbeingtobringhisskillsinusingMeans
2a4d
1,2,and3tothepointwheretheyareoperationallyeffective.

Thesystemwewanttoimprovecanthusbevisualizedasatrainedhumanbeingtogether
withhisartifacts,language,andmethodology.Theexplicitnewsystemwecontemplatewill
involveasartifactscomputers,andcomputercontrolledinformationstorage,information
handling,andinformationdisplaydevices.Theaspectsoftheconceptualframeworkthatare
discussedhereareprimarilythoserelatingtothehumanbeing'sabilitytomakesignificant 2a5
useofsuchequipmentinanintegratedsystem.

Pervadingalloftheaugmentationmeansisaparticularstructureororganization.Whilean
untrainedaboriginecannotdriveacarthroughtraffic,becausehecannotleapthegap
betweenhisculturalbackgroundandthekindofworldthatcontainscarsandtraffic,itis
possibletomovestepbystepthroughanorganizedtrainingprogramthatwillenablehimto
driveeffectivelyandsafely.Inotherwords,thehumanmindneitherlearnsnoractsbylarge
2a6

leaps,butbystepsorganizedorstructuredsothateachonedependsuponprevioussteps.

Althoughthesizeofthestepahumanbeingcantakeincomprehension,innovation,or
executionissmallincomparisontotheoverallsizeofthestepneededtosolveacomplex
problem,humanbeingsneverthelessdosolvecomplexproblems.Itistheaugmentation
meansthatservetobreakdownalargeprobleminsuchawaythatthehumanbeingcan
walkthroughitwithhislittlesteps,anditisthestructureororganizationoftheselittlesteps
2a7

oractionsthatwediscussasprocesshierarchies.

Everyprocessofthoughtoractionismadeupofsubprocesses.Letusconsidersuch
examplesasmakingapencilstroke,writingaletterofthealphabet,ormakingaplan.Quitea
fewdiscretemusclemovementsareorganizedintothemakingofapencilstrokesimilarly,
makingparticularpencilstrokesandmakingaplanforaletterarecomplexprocessesin 2a8

themselvesthatbecomesubprocessestotheoverallwritingofanalphabeticcharacter.

Althougheverysubprocessisaprocessinitsownright,inthatitconsistsoffurthersub
processes,thereseemstobenopointhereinlookingfortheultimatebottomoftheprocess
hierarchicalstructure.Thereseemstobenowayoftellingwhetherornottheapparent
bottoms(processesthatcannotbefurthersubdivided)existinthephysicalworldorinthe 2a9

limitationsofhumanunderstanding.

Inanycase,itisnotnecessarytobeginfromthebottomindiscussingparticularprocess
hierarchies.Nopersonusesaprocessthatiscompletelyuniqueeverytimehetackles
somethingnew.Instead,hebeginsfromagroupofbasicsensorymentalmotorprocess
capabilities,andaddstothesecertainoftheprocesscapabilitiesofhisartifacts.Thereareonly
afinitenumberofsuchbasichumanandartifactcapabilitiesfromwhichtodraw.
Furthermore,evenquitedifferenthigherorderprocessesmayhaveincommonrelatively 2a10
highordersubprocesses".

Whenamanwritesprosetext(areasonablyhighorderprocess),hemakesuseofmany
processesassubprocessesthatarecommontootherhighorderprocesses.Forexample,he
makesuseofplanning,composing,dictating.Theprocessofwritingisutilizedasasub
processwithinmanydifferentprocessesofastillhigherorder,suchasorganizinga 2a11

committee,changingapolicy,andsoon.

Whathappens,then,isthateachindividualdevelopsacertainrepertoireofprocess
capabilitiesfromwhichheselectsandadaptsthosethatwillcomposetheprocessesthathe
executes.Thisrepertoireislikeatoolkit,andjustasthemechanicmustknowwhathistools
candoandhowtousethem,sotheintellectualworkermustknowthecapabilitiesofhistools
andhavegoodmethods,strategies,andrulesofthumbformakinguseofthem.Allofthe
processcapabilitiesintheindividual'srepertoirerestultimatelyuponbasiccapabilitieswithin
himorhisartifacts,andtheentirerepertoirerepresentsaninterknit,hierarchicalstructure2a12

(whichweoftencalltherepertoirehierarchy).

Wefindthreegeneralcategoriesofprocesscapabilitieswithinatypicalindividual'srepertoire.
Therearethosethatareexecutedcompletelywithinthehumanintegument,whichwecall
explicithumanprocesscapabilitiestherearethosepossessedbyartifactsforexecuting
processeswithouthumanintervention,whichwecallexplicitartifactprocesscapabilitiesand
therearewhatwecallthecompositeprocesscapabilities,whicharederivedfromhierarchies 2a13
containingbothoftheotherkinds.

WeassumethatitisourHLAM/Tsystem(HumanusingLauguage,Artifacts,Methodology,in
whichheisTrained)thathasthecapabilityandthatperformstheprocessinanyinstanceof
useofthisrepertoire.LetuslookwithintheprocessstructurefortheLAM/Tingredients,to
getabetter"feel"forourmodels.Considertheprocessofwritinganimportantmemo.There
isaparticularconceptassociatedwiththisprocessthatofputtinginformationintoaformal
packageanddistributingittoasetofpeopleforacertainkindofconsiderationandthetype
ofinformationpackageassociatedwiththisconcepthasbeengiventhespecialnameof
memorandum.Alreadythesystemlanguageshowstheeffectofthisprocessi.e.,aconcept 2a14

anditsname.

Thememowritingprocessmaybeexecutedbyusingasetofprocesscapabilities(in
intermixedorrepetitiveform)suchasthefollowingplanning,developingsubjectmatter,
composingtext,producinghardcopy,anddistributing.Thereisadefinitewayinwhichthese
subprocesseswillbeorganizedthatrepresentspartofthesystemmethodology.Eachof
thesesubprocessesrepresentsafunctionalconceptthatmustbeapartofthesystem
languageifitistobeorganizedeffectivelyintothehuman'swayofdoingthings,andthe
symbolicportrayalofeachconceptmustbesuchthatthehumancanworkwithitand 2a15

rememberit.

Ifthememoissimple,aparagraphorsoinlength,thenthefirstthreeprocessesmaywellbe
oftheexplicithumantype(i.e.,itmaybeplanned,developed)andcomposedwithinthe
mind)andthelasttwoofthecompositetype.Ifitisacomplexmemo,involvingagooddeal
ofcarefulplanninganddevelopment,thenallofthesubprocessesmightwellbeofthe
compositetype(e.g.,atleastincludingtheuseofpencilandpaperartifacts)'andtheremight
bemanydifferentapplicationsofsomeoftheprocesscapabilitieswithinthetotalprocess(i.e.,
2a16

successivedrafts,revisedplans).

Thesetofsubprocesscapabilitiesdiscussedsofar,ifcalleduponinproperoccasionand
sequence,wouldindeedenabletheexecutionofthememowritingprocess.However,thevery
processoforganizingandsupervisingtheutilizationofthesesubprocesscapabilitiesisitselfa
mostimportantsubprocessofthememowritingprocess.Hence,thesubprocesscapabilities
aslistedwouldnotbecompletewithouttheadditionofaseventhcapabilitywhatwecallthe
executivecapability.Thisisthecapabilitystemmingfromhabit,strategy,rulesofthumb,
prejudice,learnedmethod,intuition,unconsciousdictates,orcombinationsthereof,tocall
upontheappropriatesubprocesscapabilitieswithaparticularsequenceandtiming.An
executiveprocess(i.e.,theexerciseofanexecutivecapability)involvessuchsubprocessesas
planning,selecting,andsupervising,anditisreallytheexecutiveprocessesthatembodyallof
2a17

themethodologyintheHLAM/Tsystem.
 Toillustratethecapabilityhierarchyfeaturesofourconceptualframework,letusconsideran
artifactinnovationappearingdirectlywithintherelativelylowordercapabilityforcomposing
andmodifyingwrittentext,andseehowthiscanaffecta(or,forinstance,your)hierarchyof
capabilities.Supposeyouhadanewwritingmachinethinkofitasahighspeedelectric
typewriterwithsomespecialfeatures.Youcouldoperateitskeyboardtocauseittowritetext
muchasyoucoulduseaconventionaltypewriter.Buttheprintingmechanismismore
complicatedbesidesprintingavisiblecharacterateverystroke,itaddsspecialencoding
featuresbymeansofinvisibleselectivecomponentsintheinkandspecialshapingofthe 2a18
character.

Asanauxiliarydevice,thereisagadgetthatisheldlikeapenciland,insteadofapoint,hasa
specialsensingmechanismthatyoucanpassoveralineofthespecialprintingfromyour
writingmachine(oronelikeit).Thesignalswhichthisreadingstylussendsthroughthe
flexibleconnectingwiretothewritingmachineareusedtodeterminewhichcharactersare
beingsensedandthustocausetheautomatictypingofaduplicatestringofcharacters.An
informationstoragemechanisminthewritingmachinepermitsyoutosweepthereading
stylusoverthecharactersmuchfasterthanthewritercantypethewriterwillcatchupwith
youwhenyoustoptothinkaboutwhatwordorstringofwordsshouldbeduplicatednext,or 2a19

whileyourepositionthestraightedgeguidealongwhichyourunthestylus.

Thiswritingmachinewouldpermityoutouseanewprocessofcomposingtext.Forinstance,
trialdraftscouldrapidlybecomposedfromrearrangedexcerptsofolddrafts,togetherwith
newwordsorpassageswhichyoustoptotypein.Yourfirstdraftcouldrepresentafree
outpouringofthoughtsinanyorder,withtheinspectionofforegoingthoughtscontinuously
stimulatingnewconsiderationsandideastobeentered.Ifthetangleofthoughtsrepresented
bythedraftbecametoocomplex,youwouldcompileareordereddraftquickly.Itwouldbe
practicalforyoutoaccommodatemorecomplexityinthetrailsofthoughtyoumightbuildin 2a20
searchofthepaththatsuitsyourneeds.

Youcanintegrateyournewideasmoreeasily,andthusharnessyourcreativitymore
continuously,ifyoucanquicklyandflexiblychangeyourworkingrecord.Ifitiseasierto
updateanypartofyourworkingrecordtoaccommodatenewdevelopmentsinthoughtor
circumstance,youwillfinditeasiertoincorporatemorecomplexproceduresinyourwayof
doingthings.Thiswillprobablyallowyoutoaccommodatetheextraburdenassociatedwith,
forinstance,keepingandusingspecialfileswhosecontentsarebothcontributedtoand
utilizedbyanycurrentworkinaflexiblemannerwhichinturnenablesyoutodeviseanduse
evenmorecomplexprocedurestobetterharnessyourtalentsinyourparticularworking 2a21
situation.

Theimportantthingtoappreciatehereisthatadirectnewinnovationinoneparticular
capabilitycanhavefarreachingeffectsthroughouttherestofyourcapabilityhierarchy.A
changecanpropagateupthroughthecapabilityhierarchyhigherordercapabilitiesthatcan
utilizetheinitiallychangedcapabilitycannowreorganizetotakespecialadvantageofthis
changeandoftheintermediatehighercapabilitychanges.Achangecanpropagatedown
throughthehierarchyasaresultofnewcapabilitiesatthehighlevelandmodification
possibilitieslatentinlowerlevels.Theselatentcapabilitiesmaypreviouslyhavebeenunusable
2a22

inthehierarchyandbecomeusablebecauseofthenewcapabilityatthehigherlevel.

Thewritingmachineanditsflexiblecopyingcapabilitywouldoccupyyouforalongtimeifyou
triedtoexhaustthereverberatingchainofassociatedpossibilitiesformakinguseful
innovationswithinyourcapabilityhierarchy.Thisoneinnovationcouldtriggerarather
extensiveredesignofthishierarchyyourwayofaccomplishingmanyofyourtaskswould
changeconsiderably.Indeedthisprocesscharacterizesthesortofevolutionthatourintellect
2a23

augmentationmeanshavebeenundergoingsincethefirsthumanbrainappeared.

Toourobjectiveofderivingorientationaboutpossibilitiesforactivelypursuinganincreasein
humanintellectualeffectiveness,itisimportanttorealizethatwemustbepreparedto
pursuesuchnewpossibilitychainsthroughouttheentirecapabilityhierarchy(callingfora
systemapproach).Itisalsoimportanttorealizethatwemustbeorientedtothesynthesisof
newcapabilitiesfromreorganizationofothercapabilities,botholdandnew,thatexist 2a24

throughoutthehierarchy(callingfora"systemengineering"approach).
2b
B.THEBASICPERSPECTIVE
Individualswhooperateeffectivelyinourculturehavealreadybeenconsiderably
"augmented."Basichumancapabilitiesforsensingstimuli,performingnumerousmental
operations,andforcommunicatingwiththeoutsideworld,areputtoworkinoursociety
withinasystemanHLAM/Tsystemtheindividualaugmentedbythelanguage,artifacts,
andmethodologyinwhichheistrained.Furthermore,wesuspectthatimprovingthe
effectivenessoftheindividualasheoperatesinoursocietyshouldbeapproachedasa
systemengineeringproblemthatis,theHLAM/Tsystemshouldbestudiedasaninteracting
2b1

wholefromasynthesisorientedapproach.
 Thisviewofthesystemasaninteractingwholeisstronglybolsteredbyconsideringthe
repertoirehierarchyofprocesscapabilitiesthatisstructuredfromthebasicingredientswithin
theHLAM/Tsystem.Therealizationthatanypotentialchangeinlanguage,artifact,or
methodologyhasimportanceonlyrelativetoitsusewithinaprocess'andthatanewprocess
capabilityappearinganywherewithinthathierarchycanmakepracticalanewconsiderationof
latentchangepossibilitiesinmanyotherpartsofthehierarchypossibilitiesineither
language,artifacts,ormethodologybringsoutthestronginterrelationshipofthesethree 2b2
augmentationmeans.

Increasingtheeffectivenessoftheindividual'suseofhisbasiccapabilitiesisaproblemin
redesigningthechangeablepartsofasystem.Thesystemisactivelyengagedinthe
continuousprocesses(amongothers)ofdevelopingcomprehensionwithintheindividualand
ofsolvingproblemsbothprocessesaresubjecttohumanmotivation,purpose,andwill.To
redesignthesystem'scapabilityforperformingtheseprocessesmeansredesigningallorpart
oftherepertoirehierarchy.Toredesignastructure,wemustlearnasmuchaswecanofwhat
isknownaboutthebasicmaterialsandcomponentsastheyareutilizedwithinthestructure
beyondthat,wemustlearnhowtoview,tomeasure,toanalyze,andtoevaluateintermsof
thefunctionalwholeanditspurpose.Inthisparticularcase,noexistinganalytictheoryisby
itselfadequateforthepurposeofanalyzingandevaluatingoverallsystemperformance 2b3
pursuitofanimprovedsystemthusdemandstheuseofexperimentalmethods.

Itneednotbewjusttheverysophisticatedorformalprocesscapabilitiesthatareaddedor
modifiedinthisredesign.Essentiallyanyoftheprocessesutilizedbyarepresentativehuman
todaytheprocessesthathethinksofwhenhelooksaheadtohisday'sworkarecomposite
processesofthesortthatinvolveexternalcomposingandmanipulatingofsymbols(text,
sketches,diagrams,lists,etc.).Manyoftheexternalcomposingandmanipulating(modifying,
rearranging)processesservesuchcharacteristically"human"activitiesasplayingwithforms
andrelationshipstoaskwhatdevelops,cutandtrymultiplepassdevelopmentofanidea,or2b4

listingitemstoreflectonandthenrearrangingandextendingthemasthoughtsdevelop.

Existing,ornearfuture,technologycouldcertainlyprovideourprofessionalproblemsolvers
withtheartifactstheyneedtohaveforduplicatingandrearrangingtextbeforetheireyes,
quicklyandwithaminimumofhumaneffort.Evenaoapparentlyminoranadvancecould
yieldtotalchangesinanindividual'srepertoirehierarchythatwouldrepresentagreat
increaseinoveralleffectivenesa.Normallythenecessaryequipmentwouldenterthemarket
slowlychangesfromtheexpectedwouldbesmall,peoplewouldchangetheirwaysofdoing
thingsalittleatatime,andonlygraduallywouldtheiraccumulatedchangescreatemarkets
formoreradicalversionsoftheequipment.Suchanevolutionaryprocesshasbeentypicalof 2b5

thewayourrepertoirehierarchieshavegrownandformed.

Butanactiveresearcheffort,aimedatexploringandevaluatingpoasibleintegratedchanges
throughouttherepertoirehierarchy,couldgreatlyacceleratethisevolutionaryprocess.The
reaearcheffortcouldguidetheproductdevelopmentofnewartifactstowardtakinglong
rangemeaningfulstepssimultaneouslycompetitivelymindedindividualswhowouldrespond
todemonstratedmethodsforachievinggreaterpersonaleffectivenesswouldcreateamarket
forthemoreradicalequipmentinnovations.Theguidedevolutionaryprocesscouldbe 2b6
expectedtobeconsiderablymorerapidthanthetraditionalone.

Thecategoryof"moreradicalinnovations"includesthedigitalcomputerasatoolforthe
personaluseofanindividual.Herethereisnotonlypromiseofgreatflexibilityinthe
composingandrearrangingoftextanddiagramsbeforetheindividual'seyesbutalsopromise
ofmanyotherprocesscapabilitiesthatcanbeintegratedintotheHLAM/Tsystem'srepertoire
2b7

hierarchy.
2c
C.DETAILEDDISCUSSIONOFTHEHLAM/TSYSTEM
1.TheSourceOfIntelligence
2c1

Whenonelooksatacomputersystemthatisdoingaverycomplexjob,heseesonthe
surfaceamachinethatcanexecutesomeextremelysophisticatedprocesses.Ifheisa
layman,hisconceptofwhatprovidesthissophisticatedcapabilitymayendowthemachine
withamysteriouspowertosweepinformationthroughperceptiveandintelligentsynthetic
thinkingdevices.Actually,thissophisticatedcapabilityresultsfromaveryclever
organizationalhierarchysothatpursuitofthesourceofintelligencewithinthissystemwould
takeonedownthroughlayersoffunctionalandphysicalorganizationthatbecome 2c1a
successivelymoreprimitive.

Tobemorespecific,wecanbeginatthetopandlistthemajorlevelsdownthroughwhichwe
wouldpassifwesuccessivelydecomposedthefunctionalelementsofeachlevelinsearchof
the"sourceofintelligence."Aprogrammercouldtakeusdownthroughperhapsthreelevels
(dependinguponthesophisticationofthetotalprocessbeingexecutedbythecomputer)
perhapsdepictingtheorganizationateachlevelwithaflowchart.Thefirstleveldownwould
organizefunctionscorrespondingtostatementsinaproblemorientedlanguage(e.g.,ALGOL
orCOBOL),toachievethedesiredoverallprocess.Thesecondleveldownwouldorganize
lesserfunctionsintotheprocessesrepresentedbyfirstlevelstatements.Thethirdlevelwould
perhapsshowhowthebasicmachinecommands(orrathertheprocesseswhichthey 2c1b

represent)wereorganizedtoachieveeachofthefunctionsofthesecondlevel.

Thenamachinedesignercouldtakeover,andwithablockdiagramofthecomputer's
organizationhecouldshowus(Level4)howthedifferenthardwareunits(e.g.,random
accessstorage,arithmeticregisters,adder,arithmeticcontrol)areorganizedtoprovidethe
capabilityofexecutingsequencesofthecommandsusedinLevel3.Thelogicdesignercould
thengiveusatourofLevel5,alsousingblockdiagrams,toshowushowsuchhardware
elementsaspulsegates,flipflops'andAND,OR,andNOTcircuitscanbeorganizedinto
networksgivingthefunctionsutilizedatLevel4.ForLevel6acircuitengineercouldshowus
diagramsrevealinghowcomponentssuchastransistors,resistors,capacitors,anddiodescan
beorganizedintomodularnetworksthatprovidethefunctionsneededfortheelementsof 2c1c
Level5.

Deviceengineersandphysicistsofdifferentkindscouldtakeusdownthroughmorelayers.
Butrathersoonwehavecrossedtheboundarybetweenwhatismanorganizedandwhatis
natureorganized,andareultimatelydiscussingthewayinwhichagivenphysical
phenomenonisderivedfromtheintrinsicorganizationofsubatomicparticles,withourability
toexplainsucceedinglayersblockedbytheexhaustionofourpresenthumancomprehension. 2c1d

Ifwethenaskourselveswherethatintelligenceisembodied,weareforcedtoconcede
thatitiselusivelydistributedthroughoutahierarchyoffunctionalprocessesahierarchy
whosefoundationextendsdownintonaturalprocessesbelowthedepthofour
comprehension.Ifthereisanyonethinguponwhichthis'intelligencedepends'itwouldseem
tobeorganization.Thebiologistsandphysiologistsuseaterm"synergism"todesignate(from
Webster'sUnabridgedDictionary,SecondEdition)the"...cooperativeactionofdiscrete
agenciessuchthatthetotaleffectisgreaterthanthesumofthetwoeffectstaken
independently..."Thistermseemsdirectlyapplicablehere,wherewecouldsaythatsynergism2c1e

isourmostlikelycandidateforrepresentingtheactualsourceofintelligence

Actually,eachofthesocial,life,orphysicalphenomenaweobserveaboutuswouldseemto
derivefromasupportinghierarchyoforganizedfunctions(orprocesses),inwhichthe
synergisticprinciplegivesincreasedphenomenologicalsophisticationtoeachsucceedingly
higherleveloforganization.Inparticular,theintelligenceofahumanbeing,derived
ultimatelyfromthecharacteristicsofindividualnervecells,undoubtedlyresultsfrom 2c1f

synergism.

2.IntelligenceAmplification
2c2

Ithasbeenjokinglysuggestedseveraltimesduringthecourseofthisstudythatwhatweare
seekingisan"intelligenceamplifier."(ThetermisattributedoriginallytoW.RossAshby(2,3).
Atfirstthistermwasrejectedonthegroundsthatinourviewone'sonlyhopewastomakea
bettermatchbetweenexistinghumanintelligenceandtheproblemstobetackled,rather
thaninmakingmanmoreintelligent.Butderivingtheconceptsbroughtoutinthepreceding 2c2a

sectionhasshownusthatindeedthistermdoesseemapplicabletoourobjective.

Acceptingtheterm"intelligenceamplification"doesnotimplyanyattempttoincreasenative
humanintelligence.Theterm"intelligenceamplification"seemsapplicabletoourgoalof
augmentingthehumanintellectinthattheentitytobeproducedwillexhibitmoreofwhat
canbecalledintelligencethananunaidedhumancouldwewillhaveamplifiedthe
intelligenceofthehumanbyorganizinghisintellectualcapabilitiesintohigherlevelsof
synergisticstructuring.WhatpossessestheamplifiedintelligenceistheresultingHLAM/T
system,inwhichtheLAM/Taugmentationmeansrepresenttheamplifierofthehuman's 2c2b
intelligence.

Inamplifyingourintelligence,weareapplyingtheprincipleofsynergisticstructuringthatwas
followedbynaturalevolutionindevelopingthebasichumancapabilities.Whatwehavedone
inthedevelopmentofouraugmentationmeansistoconstructasuperstructurethatisa
syntheticextensionofthenaturalstructureuponwhichitisbuilt.Inaveryrealsense,as
representedbythesteadyevolutionofouraugmentationmeans,thedevelopmentof 2c2c

"artificialintelligence"hasbeengoingonforcenturies.

3.TwoDomainSystem 2c3

ThehumanandtheartifactsaretheonlyphysicalcomponentsintheHLAM/Tsystem.Itis
upontheircapabilitiesthattheultimatecapabilityofthesystemwilldepend.Thiswasimplied
intheearlierstatementthateverycompositeprocessofthesystemdecomposesultimately
intoexplicithumanandexplicitartifactprocesses.Therearethustwoseparatedomainsof
activitywithintheHLAM/Tsystem:thatrepresentedbythehuman,inwhichallexplicit
humanprocessesoccurandthatrepresentedbytheartifacts,inwhichallexplicitartifact
processesoccur.Inanycompositeprocess,thereiscooperativeinteractionbetweenthetwo
domains,requiringinterchangeofenergy(muchofitforinformationexchangepurposes
only).Figure1depictsthistwodomainconceptandembodiesotherconceptsdiscussedbelow. 2c3a

Figure1.TheTwoSidesoftheHLAM/TSystem
2c3a1

Whereacomplexmachinerepresentstheprincipalartifactwithwhichahumanbeing
cooperates,theterm"manmachineinterface"hasbeenusedforsomeyearstorepresent
theboundaryacrosswhichenergyisexchangedbetweenthetwodomains.However,the
"manartifactinterface"hasexistedforcenturies,eversincehumansbeganusingartifacts2c3b
andexecutingcompositeprocesses.

Exchangeacrossthis"interface"occurswhenanexplicithumanprocessiscoupledtoan
explicitartifactprocess.Quiteoftenthesecoupledprocessesaredesignedforjustthis
exchangepurpose,toprovideafunctionalmatchbetweenotherexplicithumanandexplicit
artifactprocessesburiedwithintheirrespectivedomainsthatdothemoresignificantthings.
Forinstance,thefingerandhandmotions(explicithumanprocesses)activatekeylinkage
motionsinthetypewriter(coupletoexplicitartifactprocesses).Buttheseareonlypartofthe
matchingprocessesbetweenthedeeperhumanprocessesthatdirectagivenwordtobe 2c3c
typedandthedeeperartifactprocessesthatactuallyimprinttheinkmarksonthepaper.

TheoutsideworldinteractswithourHLAM/Tsystembytheexchangeofenergywitheither
theindividualorhisartifact.Again,specialprocessesareoftendesignedtoaccommodatethis
exchange.However,thedirectconcernofourpresentstudylieswithinthesystem,withthe
internalprocessesthatareandcanbesignificantlyinvolvedintheeffectivenessofthesystem
2c3d

indevelopingthehuman'scomprehensionandpursuingthehuman'sgoals.

4.Concepts,Symbols,AndAHypothesis 2c4

BeforewepursuefurtherdirectdiscussionoftheHLAM/Tsystem,letusexaminesome
backgroundmaterial.Considerthefollowinghistoricalprogressioninthedevelopmentofour
2c4a

intellectualcapabilities:
2c4b

(1)ConceptManipulationHumansroseabovethelowerformsoflifebyevolving
thebiologicalcapabilityfordevelopingabstractionsandconcepts.Theycould
manipulatetheseconceptswithintheirmindstoacertainextent,andthinkabout
situationsintheabstract.Theirmentalcapabilitiesallowedthemtodevelopgeneral
conceptsfromspecificinstances,predictspecificinstancesfromgeneralconcepts,
associateconcepts,rememberthem,etc.Wespeakhereofconceptsintheirraw,
unverbalizedform.Forexample,apersonlettingadoorswingshutbehindhim
suddenlyvisualizesthepersonwhofollowshimcarryingacupofhotcoffeeandsome
stickypastries.Ofalltheaspectsofthependingevent,thespillingofthecoffeeand
thesquashingofthepastrysomehowareabstractedimmediately,andassociated
withaconceptofpersonalresponsibilityandadislikefortheseconsequences.Buta
solutioncomestomindimmediatelyasanimageofaquickstopandanarmstab
backtowardthedoor,withmotionandtimingthatcouldpreventthecollision,and
thesolutionisacceptedandenacted.Withonlynonsymbolicconceptmanipulation,
wecouldprobablybuildprimitiveshelter,evolvestrategiesofwarandhunt,play
games,andmakepracticaljokes.Butfurtherpowersofintellectualeffectivenessare 2c4b1

implicitinthisstageofbiologicalevolution(thesamestageweareintoday).

(2)SymbolManipulationHumansmadeanothergreatstepforwardwhenthey
learnedtorepresentparticularconceptsintheirmindswithspecificsymbols.Herewe
temporarilydisregardcommunicativespeechandwriting,andconsideronlythedirect
 valuetotheindividualofbeingabletodohisheavythinkingbymentally
manipulatingsymbolsinsteadofthemoreunwieldlyconceptswhichtheyrepresent.
Consider,forinstance,thementaldifficultyinvolvedinherdingtwentysevensheep
if,insteadofrememberingonecardinalnumberandoccasionallycounting,wehadto
rememberwhateachsheeplookedlike,sothatiftheflockseemedtoosmallwe 2c4b2
couldvisualizeeachoneandcheckwhetherornotitwasthere.

(3)Manual,External,SymbolManipulationAnothersignificantsteptoward
harnessingthebiologicallyevolvedmentalcapabilitiesinpursuitofcomprehension
andproblemsolutionscamewiththedevelopmentofthemeansforexternalizing
someofthesymbolmanipulationactivity,particularlyingraphicalrepresentation.
Thissupplementedtheindividual'smemoryandabilitytovisualize.(Wearenot
concernedherewiththevaluederivedfromhumancooperationmadepossibleby
speechandwriting,bothformsofexternalsymbolmanipulation.Wespeakofthe
manualmeansofmakinggraphicalrepresentationsofsymbolsastickandsand,
pencilandpaperanderaser,straightedgeorcompass,andsoon.)Itisprincipallythis
kindofmeansforexternalsymbolmanipulationthathasbeenassociatedwiththe
evolutionoftheindividual'spresentwayofdoinghisconceptmanipulation(thinking).
2c4b3

Itisundoubtedlytruethatconceptswhichpeoplefoundusefulendedupbeing
symbolizedintheirlanguage,andhencethattheevolutionoflanguagewasaffectedbythe
conceptsthepeopledevelopedandused.However,Korzybski4andWhorf5(amongothers)
havearguedthatthelanguageweuseaffectsourthinkingtoaconsiderableextent.Theysay
thatalackofwordsforsometypesofconceptsmakesithardtoexpressthoseconcepts,and
thusdecreasesthelikelihoodthatwewilllearnmuchaboutthem.Ifthisisso,thenoncea
languagehasbeguntogrowandbeused,itwouldseemreasonabletosuspectthatthe 2c4c
languagealsoaffectstheevolutionofthenewconceptstobeexpressedinthatlanguage.

Apparentlytherearecounterargumentstothise.g.,ifaconceptneedstobeusedoftenbut
itsexpressionisdifficult,thenthelanguagewillevolvetoeasethesituation.However,the
studiesofthepastdecadeintowhatarecalled"selforganizing"systemsseemtoberevealing
thatsubtlerelationshipsamongitsinteractingelementscansignificantlyinfluencethecourse
ofevolutionofsuchasystem.Ifthisistrue,andiflanguageis(asitseemstobe)apartofa
selforganizingsystem,thenitseemsprobablethatthestateofalanguageatagiventime 2c4d
stronglyaffectsitsownevolutiontoasucceedingstate.

Forourconceptualframework,wetendtofavortheviewthatalanguagedoesexertaforce
initsownevolution.Weobservethattheshiftoverthelastfewcenturiesinmattersthatare
ofdailyconcerntotheindividualhasnecessarilybeenforcedintotheframeworkofthe
languageexistingatthetime,withalterationsgenerallylimitedtonewusesforoldwords,or
thecoiningofnewwords.TheEnglishlanguagesinceShakespearehasundergoneno
alterationcomparabletothealterationintheculturalenvironmentifithad,Shakespeare
wouldnolongerbeaccessibletous.Undersuchevolutionaryconditions,itwouldseem
unlikelythatthelanguagewenowuseprovidesthebestpossibleservicetoourmindsin
pursuingcomprehensionandsolvingproblems.Itseemsverylikelythatamoreuseful 2c4e

languageformcanbedevised.

TheWhorfianhypothesisstatesthattheworldviewofacultureislimitedbythestructureof
thelanguagewhichthatcultureuses.Butthereseemstobeanotherfactortoconsiderinthe
evolutionoflanguageandhumanreasoningability.Weofferthefollowinghypothesis,whichis
relatedtotheWhorfianhypothesis:Boththelanguageusedbyaculture,andthecapability
foreffectiveintellectualactivityaredirectlyaffectedduringtheirevolutionbythemeansby
whichindividualscontroltheexternalmanipulationofsymbols.(Foridentification,wewill 2c4f
refertothisastheNeoWhorfianhypothesis.)

IftheNeoWhorfianhypothesiscouldbeprovedreadily,andifwecouldseehowourmeansof
externallymanipulatingsymbolsinfluencebothourlanguageandourwayofthinking,then
wewouldhaveavaluableinstrumentforstudyinghumanaugmentationpossibilities.Forthe
sakeofdiscussion,letusassumetheNeoWhorfianhypothesistobetrue,andseewhat 2c4g
relevantdeductionscanbemade.

Ifthemeansevolvedforanindividual'sexternalmanipulationofhisthinkingaidsymbols
indeeddirectlyaffectthewayinwhichhethinks,thentheoriginalWhorfianhypothesiswould
offeranaddedeffect.Thedirecteffectoftheexternalsymbolmanipulationmeansupon
languagewouldproduceanindirecteffectuponthewayofthinkingviatheWhorfian
hypothesislinkage.Therewouldthenbetwowaysforthemannerinwhichourexternal 2c4h
symbolmanipulationwasdonetoaffectourthinking.

OnewayofviewingtheHLAM/Tsystemchangesthatwecontemplatespecifically,
integratingthecapabilitiesofadigitalcomputerintotheintellectualactivityofindividual
humansisthatweareintroducingnewandextremelyadvancedmeansforexternally
manipulatingsymbols.Wethenwanttodeterminetheusefulmodificationsinthelanguage
andinthewayofthinkingthatcouldresult.Thissuggestsafourthstagetotheevolutionof
2c4i

ourindividualhumanintellectualcapability:
2c4j

(4)AutomatedexternalsymbolmanipulationInthisstage,symbolswithwhich
thehumanrepresentstheconceptsheismanipulatingcanbearrangedbeforehis
eyes,moved,stored,recalled,operateduponaccordingtoextremelycomplexrules
allinveryrapidresponsetoaminimumamountofinformationsuppliedbythe
human,bymeansofspecialcooperativetechnologicaldevices.Inthelimitofwhatwe
mightnowimagine,thiscouldbeacomputer,withwhichwecouldcommunicate
rapidlyandeasily,coupledtoathreedimensionalcolordisplaywithinwhichitcould
constructextremelysophisticatedimageswiththecomputerbeingabletoexecutea
widevarietyofprocessesuponpartsoralloftheseimagesinautomaticresponseto
humandirection.Thedisplaysandprocessescouldprovidehelpfulserviceswecould
imaginebothsimpleandexoticvarietiesandcouldinvolveconceptsthatwehave
neveryetimagined(asthepregraphicthinkerofStage2wouldbeunabletopredict 2c4j1

thebargraph,theprocessoflongdivision,oracardfilesystem).

Thesehypothesesimplygreatrichnessinthenewevolutionaryspacesopenedbyprogressing
fromStage3toStage4.Wewouldliketostudythehypothesesfurther,examiningtheir
possiblemanifestationsinourexperience,waysofdemonstratingtheirvalidity,andpossible
2c4k

deductionsrelativetogoingtoStage4.

InsearchofsomesimplewaystodeterminewhattheNeoWhorfianhypothesismightimply,
wecouldimaginesomerelativelystraightforwardmeansofincreasingourexternalsymbol
manipulationcapabilityandtrytopicturetheconsequentchangesthatcouldevolveinour
languageandmethodsofthinking.Actually,itturnedouttobesimplertoinverttheproblem
andconsiderachangethatwouldreduceourcapabilityforexternalsymbolmanipulation.This
allowedanempiricalapproachwhichprovedbothsimpleandeffective.Wethusperformedthe 2c4l

followingexperiment.

Brainsofpowerequaltoourscouldhaveevolvedinanenvironmentwherethecombination
ofartifactmaterialsandmusclestrengthsweresoscaledthattheneatestscribingtool
(equivalenttoapencil,possiblehadashapeandmassasmanageableasabrickwouldbeto
usassumingthatourmuscleswerenotspeciallyconditionedtodealwithit.Wefasteneda
penciltoabrickandexperimented.Figure2showstheresults,comparedwithtypewriting
andordinarypencilwriting.Withthebrickpencil,weareslowerandlessprecise.Ifwewant
tohurrythewriting,wehavetomakeitlarger.Also,writingthepassagetwicewiththebrick
2c4m

penciltirestheuntrainedhandandarm.

Howwouldourcivilizationhavematuredifthishadbeentheonlymanualmeansforusto
useingraphicalmanipulationofsymbols?Foronething,therecordkeepingthatenablesthe
organizationofcommerceandgovernmentwouldprobablyhavetakenaformsodifferent
fromwhatweknowthatoursocialstructurewouldundoubtedlyhaveevolveddifferently.
Also,theeffortindoingcalculationsandwritingdownextensiveandcarefullyreasoned
argumentwoulddampenindividualexperimentationwithsophisticatednewconcepts,tolower
therateoflearningandtherateofusefuloutput,andperhapstodiscourageagoodmany
peoplefromevenworkingatextendingunderstanding.Theconceptsthatwouldevolvewithin
ourculturewouldthusbedifferent,andverylikelythesymbologytorepresentthemwould
bedifferentmuchmoreeconomicalofmotionintheirwritingItthusseemsverylikelythat
ourthoughtsandourlanguagewouldberatherdirectlyaffectedbytheparticularmeansused
byourcultureforexternallymanipulatingsymbols,whichgiveslittleintuitivesubstantiation
2c4n

toourNeoWhorfianhypothesis.
 Figure2.ExperimentalResultsofTyingaBricktoa
Pencilto"DeAugment"theIndividual.
2c4n1

Toreflectfurtherupontheimplicationsofthishypothesis,thefollowinghypothetical
artifactdevelopmentcanbeconsidered,representingadiiferenttypeofexternalsymbol
manipulationthatcouldhavehadconsiderableeffect.Supposethatouryoungtechnologyofa
fewgenerationsagohaddevelopedanartifactthatwasessentiallyahighspeed,semi
automatictablelookupdevicecheapenoughforalmosteveryonetoaffordandsmalland
lightenoughtobecarriedontheperson.Assumethattheindividualcartridgessoldby
manufacturers(publishers)containedthelookupinformation,thatonecartridgecouldhold
theequivalentofanunabridgeddictionary,andthataoneparagraphdefinitioncouldalways
belocatedanddisplayedonthefaceofthedevicebytheaveragepractisedindividualinless
thanthreeseconds.Thefortunesoftechnologicalinvention,commercialinterest,andpublic 2c4o

acceptancejustmighthaveevolvedsomethinglikethis.

Ifitweresoveryeasytolookthingsup,howwouldourvocabularydevelop,howwouldour
habitsofexploringtheintellectualdomainsofothersshift,howmightthesophisticationof
practicalorganizationmature(ifeachpersoncansoquicklyandeasilylookupapplicable
rules),howwouldoureducationsystemchangetotakeadvantageofthisnewexternal 2c4p

symbolmanipulationcapabilityofstudentsandteachers(andadministrators)?

Thesignificancetoourstudyofthediscussioninthissectionliesintheperspectiveitgivesto
thewaysinwhichhumanintellectualeffectivenesscanbeaffectedbytheparticularmeans
usedbyindividualsfortheirexternalsymbolmanipulation.Itseemsreasonabletoconsider
thedevelopmentofautomatedexternalsymbolmanipulationmeansasanextstageinthe2c4q
evolutionofourintellectualpower.

5.CapabilityRepertoireHierarchy
2c5

TheconceptofourHLAM/Tsystempossessingarepertoireofcapabilitiesthatisstructuredin
theformofahierarchyismostusefulinourstudy.Weshalluseitinthefollowingtotie
togetheranumberofconsiderationsandconcepts.Therearetwopointsoffocusin
consideringthedesignofnewrepertoirehierarchies:thematerialswithwhichwehaveto 2c5a
work,andtheprinciplesbywhichnewcapabilityisconstructedfromthesebasicmaterials.
2c5b
a.BasicCapabilities

"Materials"inthiscontextarethosecapabilitiesinthehumanandintheartifact
domainsfromwhichallothercapabilitiesintherepertoirehierarchymustbe
constructed.Eachsuchbasiccapabilityrepresentsatypeoffunctionalcomponent
withwhichthesystemcanbebuilt,andathoroughjobofredesigningthesystem
callsformakinganinventoryofthebasiccapabilitiesavailable.Becauseweare
exploringforperspective,andnotyetrecommendingresearchactivities,wearefree
todiscussanddefineinmoredetailwhatwemeanby"basiccapability",without 2c5b1
regardtotheamountofresearchinvolvedinmakinganactualinventory.
 Thetwodomains,humanandartifact,canbeexploredseparatelyfortheirbasic
capabilities,Ineachwecanisolatetwoclassesofbasiccapabilitytheseclassesare
distinguishedaccordingtowhetherornotthecapabilityhasbeenputtousewithin
outaugmentationmeans.Thefirstclass(thoseinuse)canbefoundinamethodical
mannerbyanalyzingpresentcapabilityhierarchies.Forexample,selectagiven
capability,atanylevelinthehierarchy,andaskyourselfifitcanbeusefullychanged
byanymeansthatcanbegivenconsiderationintheaugmentationresearch
contemplated,Ifitcan,thenitisnotbasicbutitcanbedecomposedintoaneventual
setofbasiccapabilities.Asyouproceeddownthroughthehierarchy,youwillbeginto
encountercapabilitiesthatcannotbeusefullychanged,andthesewillmakeupyour
inventoryofbasiccapabilities.Ultimately,everysuchrecursivedecompositionofa
givencapabilityinthehierarchywillfindeveryoneofitsbranchingpathsterminated
bybasiccapabilities.Beginningsuchdecompositionsearchwithdifferentcapabilities
inthehierarchywilleventuallyuncoverallofthosebasiccapabilitiesusedwithinthat
hierarchyoraugmentationsystem.Manyofthebranchingpathsinthe
decompositionofagivenhigherordercapabilitywillterminateinthesamebasic
capability,sinceagivenbasiccapabilitywilloftenbeusedwithinmanydifferent 2c5b2
higherordercapabilities.

Determiningtheclassofbasiccapabilitiesnotalreadyutilizedwithinexisting
augmentationsystemsrequiresadifferentexplorationmethod.Examplesofthis
methodoccurintechnologicalresearch,whereanalyticallyorientedresearchers
searchfornewunderstandingsofphenomenathatcanaddtotheresearch 2c5b3

engineer'slistofthingstobeusedinthesynthesisofbetterartifacts.

Beforethisinventoryingtaskcanbepursuedinanyspecificinstance,somecriteria
mustbeestablishedastowhatpossiblechangeswithintheHLAM/Tsystemcanbe
givenseriousconsideration.Forinstance,someresearchsituationsmighthaveto
disallowchangeswhichrequireextensiveretraining,orwhichrequireundignified
behaviorbythehuman.Othersituationsmightadmitchangesrequiringyearsof 2c5b4
specialtraining,veryexpensiveequipment,ortheuseofspecialdrugs.

Thecapabilityforperformingacertainfingeraction,forexample,maynotbebasicin
oursenseoftheword.Beingabletoextendthefingeracertaindistancewouldbe
basicbutthestrengthandspeedofaparticularfingermotionanditscoordination
withhigheractionsgenerallyareusefullychangeableandthereforedonotrepresent
basiccapabilities.Whatwouldbebasicinthiscasewouldperhapsbetheprocesses
wherebystrengthcouldbeincreasedandcoordinatedmovementpatternslearned,as
wellasthebasicmovementrangeestablishedbythemechanicallimitlociofthe
muscletendonbonesystem.Similarcapabilitybreakdownswilloccurforsensoryand2c5b5

cognitivecapabilities.
2c5c
b.StructureTypes

1)General
2c5c1

Thefundamentalprincipleusedinbuildingsophisticatedcapabilitiesfromthe
basiccapabilitiesisstructuringthespecialtypeofstructuring(whichwehave
termedsynergetic)inwhichtheorganizationofagroupofelementsproducesan
effectgreaterthanthemereadditionoftheirindividualeffects.Perhaps
"purposeful"structuring(ororganization)wouldserveusaswell,butsincewe
aren'tsureyethowthestructuringconceptmustmatureforourneeds,weshall
tentativelystickwiththespecialmodifier,"synergetic."Wearedevelopinga
growingawarenessofthesignificantandpervasivenatureofsuchstructure
withineveryphysicalandconceptualthingweinspect,wherethehierarchical
formseemsalmostuniversallypresentasstemmingfromsuccessivelevelsof 2c5c1a

suchorganization.

Thefundamentalentitiesthatarebeingstructuredineachandeverycaseseems
tobewhatwecouldcallprocesses,wherethemostbasicofphysicalprocesses
(involvingfields,charges,andmomentaassociatedwiththedynamicsof
fundamentalparticles)appeartobethehierarchicalbase.Therearedynamic
electroopticalmechanicalprocessesassociatedwiththefunctionofourartifacts
(aswellasmetabolic,sensory,motor)andcognitiveprocessesofthehuman,
whichwefindtoberelativelyfundamentalcomponentswithinthestructureof
ourHLAM/Tsystemandeachoftheseseemstrulytobeultimatelybased(to
ourdegreeofunderstanding)upontheabovementionedbasicphysical
processes.Theelementsthatareorganizedtogivefixedstructuralformtoour
physicalobjectse.g.,the"element"oftensilestrengthofamaterialarealso
 derivedfromwhatwecouldcallsynergeticstructuringofthemostbasicphysical
2c5c1b

processes.

Butatthelevelofthecapabilityhierarchywherewewishtowork,itseems
usefultoustodistinguishseveraldifferenttypesofstructuringeventhough
eachtypeisfundamentallyastructuringofthebasicphysicalprocesses.
Tentativelywehaveisolatedfivesuchtypesalthoughwearenotsurehow
manyweshallultimatelywanttouseinconsideringtheproblemofaugmenting
thehumanintellect,norhowwemightdivideandsubdividethesedifferent
manifestationsofphysicalprocessstructuring.Weusetheterms"mental
structuring","conceptstructuring","symbolstructuring","processstructuring,"
2c5c1c

and"physicalstructuring."

2)MentalStructuring
2c5c2

Mentalstructuringiswhatwecalltheinternalorganizationofconsciousand
unconsciousmentalimages,associations,orconcepts(orwhateveritisthatis
organizedwithinthehumanmind)thatsomehowmanagestoprovidethe
humanwithunderstandingandthebasisforsuchasjudgment,intuition,
inference,andmeaningfulactionwithrespecttohisenvironment.Thereisa
termusedinpsychology,cognitivestructure,whichsofarseemstorepresent
justwhatwewantforourconceptofmentalstructure,butwewillnotadoptit
untilwebecomemoresureofwhattheacceptedpsychologicalmeaningisandof
2c5c2a

whatwewantforourconceptualframework.

Forourpresentpurpose,itisirrelevanttoworryoverwhatthefundamental
mental"things"beingstructuredare,orwhatmechanismsareaccomplishingthe
structuringormakinguseofwhathasbeenstructured.Wefeelreasonablysafe
inassumingthatlearninginvolvessomekindofmeaningfulorganizationwithin
thebrain,andthatwhateverissoorganizedorstructuredrepresentsthe
operatingmodeloftheindividual'suniversetothementalmechanismsthat
derivehisbehavior.Andfurther,ourassumptionisthatwhenthehumaninour
H/LAMsystemmakesthekeydecisionoractionthatleadstothesolutionofa
complexproblem,itwillstemfromthestateofhismentalstructureatthattime.
Inthisviewthen,thebasicpurposeofthesystem'sactivityonthatproblemup
tothatpointhasbeentodevelophismentalstructuretothestatefromwhich
2c5c2b
thementalmechanismscouldderivethekeyaction.

Ourschoolsystemsattestthattherearespecificexperiencesthatcanbegivento
ahumanthatwillresultindevelopmentofhismentalstructuretothepoint
wherethebehaviorderivedtherefrombyhismentalmechanismsshowsusthat
hehasgainednewcomprehensioninotherwords,wecandoacertainamount
fromoutsidethehumantowarddevelopinghismentalstructure.Independent
studentsandresearchersalsoattestthatinternallydirectedbehavioronthepart
2c5c2c

ofanindividualcandirectlyaidhisstructurebuildingprocess.

Wedon'tknowwhetheramentalstructureisdevelopedinamanneranalogous
to(a)developmentofagarden,whereoneprovidesagoodenvironment,plants
theseeds,keepscompetingweedsandinjuriouspestsout,butotherwisehasto
letnaturalprocessestaketheircourse,orto(b)developmentofabasketball
team,wheremuchexerciseofskills,patterns,andstrategiesmustbeprovidedso
thatnaturalprocessescanslowlyknittogetheranintegration,orto(c)
developmentofamachine,wherecarefullyformedelementsareassembledina
precise,plannedmannersothatnaturalphenomenacanimmediatelyyield
plannedfunction.Wedon'tknowtheprocesses,butwecanandhavedeveloped
empiricalrelationshipsbetweentheexperiencesgivenahumanandthe
associatedmanifestationsofdevelopingcomprehensionandcapability,andwe
seethenearfuturecourseoftheresearchtowardaugmentingthehuman's
intellectasdependingentirelyuponempiricalfindings(pastandfuture)forthe
developmentofbettermeanstoservethedevelopmentanduseofmental 2c5c2d
structuringinthehuman.

Wedon'tmeantoimplybythisthatwerenouncetheoriesofmentalprocesses.
Whatwemeantoemphasizeisthatpursuitofourobjectiveneednotwaitupon
theunderstandingofthementalprocessesthataccomplish(whatwecall)
mentalstructuringandthatderivebehaviortherefrom.Itwouldbetoignorethe
emphasesofourownconceptualframeworknottomakefullestuseofany
theorythatprovidedaworkingexplanationforagroupofempiricaldata.What's
more,ourentireconceptualframeworkrepresentsthefirstpassata"theoretical
2c5c2e

modelwithwhichtoorganizeourthinkingandaction."
3)ConceptStructuring
2c5c3

Withinourframeworkwehavedevelopedtheworkingassumptionthatthe
mannerinwhichweseemtobeabletoprovideexperiencesthatfavorthe
developmentofourmentalstructuresisbaseduponconceptsasa"mediumof
exchange."Weviewaconceptasatoolthatcanbegraspedandusedbythe
mentalmechanisms,thatcanbecomposed,interpreted,andusedbythenatural
mentalsubstancesandprocesses.Thegraspingandhandlingdonebythese
mechanismscanoftenbefacilitatediftheconceptisgivenanexplicit"handle"in
theformofarepresentativesymbol.Somehowthementalmechanismscan
learntomanipulateimages(orsomething)ofsymbolsinameaningfulwayand
remaincalmlyconfidentthattheassociatedconceptualmanipulationsarewithin
2c5c3a

call.

Conceptsseemtobestructurable,inthatanewconceptcanbecomposedofan
organizationofestablishedconcepts.Forpresentpurposes,wecanviewa
conceptstructureassomethingwhichwemighttrytodeveloponpaperfor
ourselvesorworkwithbyconsciousthoughtprocesses,orassomethingwhich
wetrytocommunicatetooneanotherinseriousdiscussion.Weassumethat,for
agivenunitofcomprehensiontobeimparted,thereisaconceptstructure
(whichcanbeconsciouslydevelopedanddisplayed)thatcanbepresentedtoan
individualinsuchawaythatitismappedintoacorrespondingmentalstructure
whichprovidesthebasisforthatindividual's"comprehending"behavior.Our
workingassumptionalsoconsidersthatsomeconceptstructureswouldbebetter
forthispurposethanothers,inthattheywouldbemoreeasilymappedbythe
individualintoworkablementalstructures,orinthattheresultingmental
structuresenableahigherdegreeofcomprehensionandbettersolutionsto 2c5c3b
problems,orboth.

Aconceptstructureoftengrowsaspartofaculturalevolutioneitheronalarge
scalewithinalargesegmentofsociety,oronasmallscalewithintheactivity
domainofanindividual.Butitisalsosomethingthatcanbedirectlydesignedor
modified,andabasichypothesisofourstudyisthatbetterconceptstructures
canbedevelopedstructuresthatwhenmappedintoahuman'smental
structurewillsignificantlyimprovehiscapabilitytocomprehendandtofind 2c5c3c
solutionswithinhiscomplexproblemsituations.

Anaturallanguageprovidesitsuserwithareadymadestructureofconceptsthat
establishesabasicmentalstructure,andthatallowsrelativelyflexible,general
purposeconceptstructuring.Ourconceptoflanguageasoneofthebasicmeans
foraugmentingthehumanintellectembracesalloftheconceptstructuring 2c5c3d
whichthehumanmaymakeuseof.

4)SymbolStructuring
2c5c4

Theotherimportantpartofour"language"isthewayinwhichconceptsare
representedthesymbolsandsymbolstructures.Wordsstructuredintophrases,
sentences,paragraphs,monographscharts,lists,diagrams,tables,etc.Agiven
structureofconceptscanberepresentedbyanyofaninfinitenumberofdifferent
symbolstructures,someofwhichwouldbemuchbetterthanothersforenabling
thehumanperceptualandcognitiveapparatustosearchoutandcomprehend
theconceptualmatterofsignificanceand/orinteresttothehuman.Forinstance,
aconceptstructureinvolvingmanynumericaldatawouldgenerallybemuch
betterrepresentedwithArabicratherthanRomannumeralsandquitelikelya 2c5c4a

graphicstructurewouldbebetterthanatabularstructure.

Butitisnotonlytheformofasymbolstructurethatisimportant.Aproblem
solverisinvolvedinastreamofconceptualactivitywhosecourseserveshis
mentalneedsofthemoment.Thesequenceandnatureoftheseneedsarequite
variable,andyetforeachneedhemaybenefitsignificantlyfromaformof 2c5c4b
symbolstructuringthatisuniquelyefficientforthatneed.

Therefore,besidestheformsofsymbolstructuresthatcanbeconstructedand
portrayed,weareverymuchconcernedwiththespeedandflexibilitywithwhich
oneformcanbetransfcrmedintoanother,andwithwhichnewmaterialcanbe
2c5c4c
locatedandportrayed.

Wearegenerallyusedtothinkingofoursymbolstructuresasapatternofmarks
onasheetofpaper.Whenwewantadifferentsymbolstructureview,wethink
ofshiftingourpointofattentiononthesheet,ormovinganewsheetinto
 position.Butanotherkindofviewmightbeobtainedbyextractingandordering
allstatementsinthelocaltextthatbearuponconsiderationAoftheargument
orbyreplacingalloccurrencesofspecifiedesotericwordsbyone'sown
definitions.Thissortof"viewgeneration"becomesquitefeasiblewitha
computercontrolleddisplaysystem,andrepresentsaverysignificantcapability
2c5c4d

tobuildupon.

Withacomputermanipulatingoursymbolsandgeneratingtheirportrayalstous
onadisplay,wenolongerneedthinkofourlookingatthesymbolstructure
whichisstoredaswethinkoflookingatthesymbolstructuresstoredin
notebooks,memos,andbooks.Whatthecomputeractuallystoresneedbenone
ofourconcern,assumingthatitcanportraysymbolstructurestousthatare2c5c4e

consistentwiththeforminwhichwethinkourinformationisstructured.

Agivenconceptstructurecanberepresentedwithasymbolstructurethatis
completelycompatiblewiththecomputer'sinternalwayofhandlingsymbols,
withallsortsofcharacteristicsandrelationshipsgivenexplicitidentificationsthat
theusermayneverdirectlysee.Infact,thisstructuringhasimmenselygreater
potentialforaccuratelymappingacomplexconceptstructurethandoesa 2c5c4f
structureanindividualwouldfinditpracticaltoconstructoruseonpaper.

Thecomputercantransformbackandforthbetweenthetwodimensional
portrayalonthescreen,ofsomelimitedviewofthetotalstructure,andthe
aspectofthendimensionalinternalimagethatrepresentsthis"view".Ifthe
humanaddstoormodifiessucha"view,"thecomputerintegratesthechange
intotheinternalimagesymbolstructure(intermsofthecomputer'sfavored
symbolsandstructuring)andtherebyautomaticallydetectsacertainproportion
2c5c4g

ofhispossibleconceptualinconsistencies.

Thus,insidethisinstrument(thecomputer)thereisaninternalimage,
computersymbolstructurewhoseconvolutionsandmultidimensionalitywecan
learntoshapetorepresenttohithertounattainableaccuracytheconcept
structurewemightbebuildingorworkingwith.Thisinterna1structuremay
haveaformthatisnearlyincomprehensibletothedirectinspectionofahuman
2c5c4h

(exceptinminutechunks).

Butletthehumanspecifytotheinstrumenthisparticularconceptualneedofthe
moment,relativetothisinternalimage.Withoutdisruptingitsowninternal
referencestructureintheslightest,thecomputerwilleffectivelystretch,bend,
fold,extract,andcutasitmayneedinordertoassembleaninternal
substructurethatisitsrespons,structuredinitsowninternalway.Withtheset
ofstandardtranslationrulesappropriatetothesituation,itportraystothe
humanviaitsdisplayasymbolstructuredesignedforhisquickandaccurate
perceptionandcomprehensionoftheconceptualmatterpertinenttothis 2c5c4i

internallycomposedsubstructure.

Nolongerdoesthehumanworkonstiffandlimitedsymbolstructures,where
muchoftheconceptualcontentcanonlybeimplicitlydesignatedinanindirect
anddistributedfashion.Thesenewwaysofworkingarebasicallyavailablewith
today'stechnologywehavebuttofreeourselvesfromsomeofourlimiting
viewsandbeginexperimentingwithcompatiblesetsofstructureformsand 2c5c4j
processesforhumanconcepts,humansymbols,andmachinesymbols.

5)ProcessStructuring
2c5c5

EssentiallyeverythingthatgoesonwithintheHLAM/Tsystemandthatisof
directinteresthereinvolvesthemanipulationofconceptandsymbolstructures
inservicetothementalstructure.Therefore,theprocesseswithintheHLAM/T
systemthatwearemostinterestedindevelopingarethosethatprovideforthe
manipulationofallthreetypesofstructure.Thisbringsustothefourthcategory
2c5c5a

ofstructuring,processstructuring.

Aswearecurrentlyusingit,thetermincludestheorganization,study,
modification,andexecutionofprocessesandprocessstructures.Whereas
conceptstructuringandsymbolstructuringtogetherrepresentthelanguage
componentofouraugmentationmeans,processstructuringrepresentsthe
methodologycomponent(plusalittlemore,actually).Therehasbeenenough
previousdiscussionofprocessstructuresthatweneednotdescribethenotion
here,beyondperhapsanexampleortwo.Theindividualprocesses(oractions)of
myhandsandfingershavetobecooperativelyorganizedifthetypewriteristodo
 mybidding.Mysuccessiveactionsthroughoutmyworkingdayaremeantto2c5c5b
cooperatetowardacertainoverallprofessionalgoal.

Manyoftheprocessstructuresareappliedtothetaskoforganizing,executing,
supervising,andevaluatingotherprocessstructures.Manyofthemareappliedto
theformationandmanipulationofsymbolstructures(thepurposeofwhichwill
2c5c5c
oftenbetosupporttheconceptuallaborinvolvedinprocessstructuring).

6)PhysicalStructuring
2c5c6

Physicalstructuring,thelastofthefivetypeswhichwecurrentlyuseinour
conceptualframework,isnearlyselfexplanatory.Itprettywellrepresentsthe
artifactcomponentofouraugmentationmeans,insofarastheiractualphysical 2c5c6a

constructionisconcerned.

7)InterdependenceandRegeneration
2c5c7

Averyimportantfeaturetobenotedfromthediscussioninthissectionbears
upontheinterdependenceamongthevarioustypesofstructuringwhichare
involvedintheHLAM/Tsystem,wherethecapabilityfordoingeachtypeof
structuringisdependentuponthecapabilityfordoingoneormoreoftheother
typesofstructuring.(Assumingthatthephysicalstructuringofthesystem
remainsbasicallyunchangedduringthesystem'soperation,weexcludeits 2c5c7a
dependenceuponotherfactorsinthisdiscussion.)

Thisinterdependenceactuallyhasacyclic,regenerativenaturetoitwhichisvery
significanttous.Wehaveseenhowthecapabilityformentalstructuringisfinally
dependent,downthechain,upontheprocessstructuring(human,artifact,
composite)thatenablessymbolstructuremanipulation.Butitalsoisevident
thattheprocessstructuringisdependentnotonlyuponbasichumanandartifact
processcapabilities,butupontheabilityofthehumantolearnhowtoexecute
processesandnolessimportant,upontheabilityofthehumantoselect,
organize,andmodifyprocessesfromhisrepertoiretostructureahigherorder
processthathecanexecute.Thus,acapabilityforstructuringandexecuting
processesispartiallydependentuponthehuman'smentalstructuring,whichin
turnispartiallydependentuponhisprocessstructuring(throughconceptand
symbolstructuring),whichispartiallydependentuponhismentalstructuring,2c5c7b

etc.

Allofthismeansthatasignificantimprovementinsymbolstructure
manipulationthroughbetterprocessstructuring(initiallyperhapsthroughmuch
betterartifacts)shouldenableustodevelopimprovementsinconceptand
mentalstructuremanipulationsthatcaninturnenableustoorganizeand
executesymbolmanipulationprocessesofincreasedpower.Tomostpeoplewho
initiallyconsiderthepossibilitiesforcomputerlikedevicesaugmentingthe
humanintellect,itisonlytheonepassimprovementthatcomestomind,which
presentsapicturethatisrelativelybarrencomparedtothatwhichemerges 2c5c7c
whenoneconsidersthisregenerativeinteraction.

Wecanconfidentlyexpectthedevelopmentofmuchmorepowerfulconcepts
pertainingtothemannerinwhichsymbolstructurescanbemanipulatedand
portrayed,andcorrespondinglymorecomplexmanipulationprocessesthatinthe
firstpasswouldhavebeenbeyondthehuman'spowertoorganizeandexecute
withoutthebettersymbol,concept,andmentalstructuringwhichhis
augmentedsystemprovidedhim.Thesenewconceptsandprocesses,beyondour
presentcapabilitiestouseandthusneverdeveloped,willprovideatremendous
increasedcapabilitypayoffinthefuturedevelopmentofouraugmentation 2c5c7d
means.
2c5d
c.RolesandLevels

IntherepertoirehierarchyofcapabilitiespossessedbytheHLAM/Tsystem,the
humancontributesmanytypesofcapabilitythatrepresentawidevarietyofroles.At
onetimeoranotherhewillbethepolicymaker,thegoalsetter,theperformance
supervisor,theworkscheduler,theprofessionalspecialist,theclerk,thejanitor,the
entrepreneur,andtheproprietor(oratleastamajorstockholder)ofthesystem.In
themidstofsomecomplexprocess,infact,hemaywellbeplayingseveralroles
concurrentlyoratleasthavetheresponsibilityoftheroles.Forinstance,usuallyhe
mustbeawareofhisprogresstowardagoal(supervisor),hemustbealerttothe
 possibilitiesforchangingthegoal(policymaker,planner),andhemustkeeprecords
2c5d1

fortheseandotherroles(clerk).

Consideragivencapability(Capability1)atsomelevelintherepertoirehierarchy.
Thereseemstobeasortofstandardgroupingoflowerordercapabilitiesfromwhich
thisiscomposed,andtheseexistintwoclasseswhatwemightcalltheexecutive
classandwhatwemightcallthedirectcontributiveclass.Intheexecutiveclassof
capabilitieswefindthoseusedforcomprehending,planning,andexecutingthe
processrepresentedbyCapability1.Inthedirectcontributiveclasswefindthe
capabilitiesorganizedbytheexecutiveclasstowardthedirectrealizationofCapability
1.Forexample,whenmytelephonerings,Iexecutethedirectcontributiveprocesses
ofpickingupthereceiverandsayinghello.Itwastheexecutiveprocessesthat
comprehendedthesituation,directedalowerorderexecutiveprocessthatthe
receiverbepickedupand,whenthereceiverwasinplace(firstprocess
accomplished),directedthenextprocess,thesayinghello.Thatrepresentsthe 2c5d2
compositionofmycapabilityforansweringthephone.

Foralowlevelcapability,suchasthatofwritingawordwithapencil,boththe
executiveandthedirectcontributivesubprocessesduringactualexecutionwouldbe
automatic.Thistypeofautomaticcapabilityneedonlybesummonedbyahigher 2c5d3
executiveprocessinorderfortrainedautomaticresponsestoexecuteit.

Atalittlehigherlevelofcapability,moreoftheconsciousconceptualandexecutive
capabilitiesbecomeinvolved.Tocallsomeoneonthetelephone,Imustconsciously
comprehendtheneedforthisprocessandhowIcanexecuteit,Imustconsciously
pickupthedirectoryandsearchforthenameandtelephonenumber,andImust2c5d4
consciouslydirectthedialingofthenumber.

Atastillhigherlevelofcapability,theexecutivecapabilitiesmusthaveadegreeof
powerthatunaidedmentalcapabilitiescannotprovide.Insuchacase,onemight
makealistofstepsandcheckeachitemoffasitisexecuted.Foranevenmore
complexprocess,comprehendingtheparticularsituationinwhichitistobeexecuted,
evenbeforebeginningtoplantheexecution,maytakemonthsoflaborandavery 2c5d5

complexorganizationofthesystem'scapabilities.

Imaginingaprocessascomplexasthelastexamplebringsustotherealizationthat
atanyparticularmomenttheHLAM/Tsystemmaybeinthemiddleofexecutinga
greatnumberofprocesses.Assumethatthehumanisinthemiddleoftheprocessof
makingatelephonecall.Thattelephonecallisasubprocessinthemiddleofthe
processofcallingacommitteemeeting.Butcallingacommitteemeetingisa
subprocessinthemiddleoftheprocessofdeterminingabudgetarypolicy,whichisin
turnbutasubprocessinthemiddleoftheprocessofestimatingmanpowerneeds, 2c5d6

andsoon.

Notonlydoesthehumanneedtoplayvariousroles(sometimesconcurrently)inthe
executionofanygivenprocess,butheisplayingtheserolesforthemanyconcurrent
processesthatarebeingexecutedatdifferentlevels.Thissituationistypicalforany
ofusengagedinreasonablydemandingtypesofprofessionalpursuits,andyetwe
haveneverreceivedexplicittraininginoptimumwaysofcarryingoutanybutavery
fewoftherolesataveryfewofthelevels.AwelldesignedHLAM/Tsystemwould
provideexplicitandeffectiveconcepts,terms,equipment,andmethodsforallthese 2c5d7

roles,andfortheirdynamiccoordination.
2c5e
d.ModelofExecutiveSuperstructure

Itistherepertoirehierarchyofprocesscapabilitiesuponwhichtheultimatecapability
oftheHLAM/Tsystemrests.Thisrepertoirehierarchyisratherlikeamountainof
whitecollartalentthatsitsatopandcontrolsthetalentsoftheworkers.Wecan
illustratethisexecutivesuperstructurebyconsideringitasthoughitwereanetwork
ofcontractorsandsubcontractorsinwhicheachcapabilityintherepertoirehierarchy
isrepresentedbyanindependentcontractorwhosemodeofoperationistodothe
planning,makeupspecifications,subcontracttheactualwork,andsupervisethe
performanceofhissubcontractors.Thismeansthateachsubcontractordoesthe
samethinginhisturn.Atthebottomofthishierarchyarethoseindependent 2c5e1
contractorswhodoactual"productionwork."

Ifbysomemagicalprocesstheproductionworkerscouldstillknowjustwhattodo
andwhentodoiteventhoughthesuperstructureofcontractorswasremovedfrom
abovethem,noonewouldknowthedifference.Theexecutivesuperstructureis
necessarybecausehumansdonotoperatebymagic,butevenanecessary
superstructureisaburden.Wecanreadilyrecognizethattherearemanywaysto
 organizeandmanagesuchasuperstructure,resultinginvastlydifferentdegreesof
2c5e2

efficiencyintheapplicationoftheworkers'talents.

Supposethattheactivityoftheproductionworkerswasofthesamenatureasthe
activityofthedifferentcontractors,andthatthisactivityconsistedofgaining
comprehensionandsolvingproblems.Andsupposethattherewasonlysomuch
applicabletalentavailabletothetotalsystem.Thequestionnowbecomeshowto
distributethattalentbetweensuperstructureandworkerstogetthemosttotal
production.Theefficiencyoforganizationwithinthesuperstructureisnowdoubly
importantsothataminimumoftalentinthesuperstructureproducesamaximumof 2c5e3

organizationalefficiencyindirectingtheproductivityoftheremainingtalent.

Inthesituationwheretalentislimited,wefindacloseparalleltoourHLAM/T
systeminitspursuitofcomprehensionandproblemsolutions.Weobtainaneven
closerparallelifwesaythatthethinking,planning,supervising,recordkeeping,etc.,
foreachcontractorisactuallydonebyasingleindividualforthewhole
superstructure,timesharinghisattentionandtalentsoverthesemanytasks.Today
thisindividualcannotbedependedupontohaveanyspecialtrainingformanyof
theserolesheislikelytohavelearnedthembycutandtryandbyindirectimitation.
2c5e4

AcomplexprocessisoftenexecutedbytheHLAM/Tsysteminamultipass
fashion(i.e.,cutandtry).Inreallycomplexsituations,comprehensionandproblem
solutionsdonotstandwaitingattheendofastraightforwardpathinstead,
possibilitiesopenupandplansshiftascomprehensiongrows.Inthemodelusinga
networkofcontractors,thistypeofprocedurewouldentailagreatdealofextrawork
withinthesuperstructureeachcontractorinvolvedintheprocesswouldhavethe
specificationsuponwhichhebidcontinuallychanged,andwouldcontinuallyhaveto
respondtothechangesbyrestudyingthesituation,changinghisplans,changingthe
specificationstohissubcontractors,andchanginghisrecords.Thisisaterrific
additionalburden,butitallowsafreedomofactionthathastremendousimportance2c5e5
totheeffectivenessthesystemexhibitstotheoutsideworld.

WecouldexpectsignificantgainsfromautomatingtheHLAM/Tsystemifa
computercoulddonothingmorethanincreasetheeffectivenessoftheexecutive
processes.Morehumantime,energy,andproductivethoughtcouldbeallocatedto
directcontributiveprocesses,whichwouldbecoordinatedinamoresophisticated,
flexibleandefficientmanner.Butthereiseveryreasontobelievethatthepossibilities
formuchimprovedsymbolandprocessstructuringthatwouldstemfromthis
automationwilldirectlyprovideimprovementsinboththeexecutiveanddirect 2c5e6
contributiveprocessesinthesystem.
2c5f
e.FlexibilityintheExecutiveRole

TheexecutivesuperstructureisanecessarycomponentintheHLAM/Tsystem,and
thereisfinitehumancapabilitywhichmustbedividedbetweenexecutiveanddirect
contributiveactivities.Animportantaspectofthemultiroleactivityofthehumanin
thesystemisthedevelopmentandmanipulationofthesymbolstructuresassociated 2c5f1
withbothhisdirectcontributiverolesandhisexecutiveroles.

Whenthesystemencountersacomplexsituationinwhichcomprehensionand
problemsolutionsarebeingpursued,thedirectcontributiverolesrequirethe
developmentofsymbolstructuresthatportraytheconceptsinvolvedwithinthe
situation.Butexecutiverolesinacomplexproblemsituationalsorequireconceptual
activitye.g.,comprehension,selection,supervisionthatcanbenefitfromwell
designedsymbolstructuresandfast,flexiblemeansformanipulatinganddisplaying
them.Forcomplexprocesses,theexecutiveproblemposedtothehuman(ofgaining
thenecessarycomprehensionandmakingagoodplan)maybetougherthanthe
problemhefacedintheroleofdirectcontributiveworker.Iftheflexibilitydesiredfor
theprocesshierarchies(tomakeroomforhumancutandtrymethods)isnottobe
degradedorabandoned,theexecutiveactivitywillhavetobeprovidedwithfastand 2c5f2
flexiblesymbolstructuringtechniques.

Themeansavailabletohumanstodayfordevelopingandmanipulatingthesesymbol
structuresarebothlaboriousandinflexible.Itishardenoughtodevelopaninitial
structureofdiagramsandtext,buttheamountofeffortrequiredtomakechangesis
oftenprohibitivelygreatonesettlesforinflexibility.Also,thekindofgenerous
flexibilitythatwouldbetrulyhelpfulcallsforaddedsymbolstructuringjusttokeep
trackofthetrials,branches,andreasoningtheretothatareinvolvedinthe
developmentofthesubjectstructureourpresentsymbolmanipulationmeanswould
verysoonbogdowncompletelyamongthecomplexitiesthatareinvolvedinbeing2c5f3
morethanjustalittlebitflexible.
 WefindthatthehumansinourHLAM/Tsystemsareessentialworkingcontinuously
withinasymbolstructureofsomesort,shiftingtheirattentionfromonestructureto
anotherastheyguideandexecutetheprocessesthatultimatelyprovidethemwith
thecomprehensionandtheproblemsolutionsthattheyseek.Thisviewincreasesour
respectfortheessentialimportanceofthebasiccapabilityofcomposingand
modifyingefficientsymbolstructures.Suchacapabilitydependsheavilyuponthe
particularconceptsthatareisolatedandmanipulatedasentities,uponthesymbology
usedtorepresentthem,upontheartifactsthathelptomanipulateanddisplaythe
symbols,anduponthemethodologyfordevelopingandusingsymbolstructures.In
otherwords,thiscapabilitydependsheavilyuponproperlanguage,artifacts,and 2c5f4
methodology,ourbasicaugmentationmeans.

Whenthecourseofactionmustrespondtonewcomprehension,newinsightsand
newintuitiveflashesofpossibleexplanationsorsolutions,itwillnotbeanorderly
process.Existingmeansofcomposingandworkingwithsymbolstructurespenalize
disorderlyprocessesveryheavily,anditispartoftherealpromiseintheautomated
HLAM/Tsystemsoftomorrowthatthehumancanhavethefreedomandpowerof 2c5f5

disorderlyprocesses.
2c5g
f.CompoundEffects

Sincemanyprocessesinmanylevelsofthehierarchyareinvolvedintheexecutionof
asinglehigherlevelprocessofthesystem,anyfactorthatinfluencesprocess
executioningeneralwillhaveahighlycompoundedtotaleffectuponthesystem's
2c5g1
performance.Thereareseveralsuchfactorswhichmeritspecialattention.

Basichumancognitivepowers,suchasmemoryintelligence,orpatternperception
canhavesuchacompoundedeffect.Theaugmentationmeansemployedtodayhave
generallyevolvedamonglargestatisticalpopulations,andnoattempthasbeenmade
tofitthemtoindividualneedsandabilities.Eachindividualtendstoevolvehisown
variations,butthereisnotenoughmutationandselectionactivity,norenough
selectionfeedback,topermitverysignificantchanges.Agood,automatedHLAM/T
systemshouldprovidetheopportunityforasignificantadaptationofthe
augmentationmeanstoindividualcharacteristics.Thecompoundingeffectof
fundamentalhumancognitivepowerssuggestsfurtherthatsystemsdesignedfor
maximumeffectivenesswouldrequirethatthesepowersbedevelopedasfullyas
possiblebytraining,specialmentaltricks,improvedlanguage,newmethodology.2c5g2

Intheautomatedsystemthatwecontemplate,thehumanshouldbeableto
drawonexplicitartifactprocesscapabilityatmanylevelsintherepertoirehierarchy
today,artifactsareinvolvedexplicitlyinonlythelowerordercapabilities.Inthe
futuresystems,forinstance,itshouldbepossibletohavecomputerprocesses
providedirectandsignificanthelpinhisprocessesatmanylevels.Wethusexpectthe
effectofthecomputerinthesystemtobeverymuchcompounded.Agreatdealof
richnessinthefuturepossibilitiesforautomatedHLAM/Tsystemsisimpliedhere
considerablymorethanmanypeoplerealizewhowouldpicturethecomputerasjust
helpingthemdothethingstheydonow.Thistypeofcompoundingisrelatedtothe 2c5g3
reverberatingwavesofchangediscussedinSectionIIA.

Anotherfactorcanexertthistypeofcompoundeffectuponoverallsystem
performance:thehuman'sunconsciousprocesses.Clinicalpsychologyseemsto
provideclearevidencethatalargeproportionofahuman'severydayactivityis
significantlymediatedorbasicallypromptedbyunconsciousmentalprocessesthat,
although"natura"inafunctionalsense,arenotrational.Theobservablemechanisms
oftheseprocesses(observablebyanother,trainedperson)includesmaskingofthe
irrationalityofthehuman'sactionswhicharesoaffected,sothatfewofuswilladmit
thatouractionsmightbeirrational,andmostofuscanconstructsatisfying 2c5g4
rationalesforanyactionthatmaybechallenged.

Anythingthatmighthavesogeneralaneffectuponourmentalactionsasisimplied
here,iscertainlyacandidateforultimateconsiderationinthecontinuing
developmentofourintellectualeffectiveness.Itmaybethatthefirststagesof
researchonaugmentingthehumanintellectwillhavetoproceedwithoutbeingable
todoanythingaboutthisproblemexceptaccommodatetoitaswellaspossible.This
maybeoneoftheverysignificantproblemswhosesolutionawaitsourdevelopment 2c5g5
ofincreasedintellectualeffectiveness.

3
III.EXAMPLESANDDISCUSSION
3a
A.BACKGROUND
Theconceptualstructurewhichwehaveevolvedtoorientandguidethepursuitofincreasing
man'sintellectualeffectivenesshasbeendescribedintheforegoingsectionsinarather
generalandabstractfashion.Inthissectionweshalltrytodevelopmoreconcreteimagesof
theseconcepts,ofsomeofthefuturepossibilitiesforaugmentation,andoftherelationship3a1
betweenthesedifferentconceptsandpossibilities.

Itmustbeborneinmindthatagreatdealofstudyandinventionisyettobedonein
developingtheimprovedaugmentationmeansthatareboundtocome,andthatthe
exampleswhichwepresentinthisreportareintendedonlytoshowwhatismeantbythe
generalizationswhichweuse,andtoprovideafeelingonthepartofthereaderforthe
richnessandpoweroftheimprovementswecanlikelydevelopinouraugmentationmeans.
Manyoftheexamplesarerealizabletoday(infact,somehavebeenrealized)andmostofthe
restarereasonablystraightforwardextrapolationsintothenearfuture.Wepredictthatwhat
actuallydevelopsinthenewaugmentationmeanswillbeconsistentwithourconceptual 3a2
framework,butthattheparticularswillbefullofsurprises.

Eachoftheexampleswillshowafacetofhowthelittlestepsthatthehumancantakewith
hissensorymentalmotorapparatuscanbeorganizedcooperativelywiththecapabilitiesof
artifactstoaccomplishsignificantthingsinthewayofachievingcomprehensionandsolving
problems.Thisorganization,aswehaveshowninSectionII,canbeviewedasthefive
differenttypesofstructuringwhichweoutlined,wheremuchofthestructuringthatgoeson
inthehuman'stotalproblemsolvingactivityisforthepurposeofbuildingamentalstructure
whichinaway"putsthehumanupwherehecanseewhatisgoingonandcanpointthe 3a3
directiontomovenext."

Anearlypaper,offeringsuggestionstowardaugmentingthehumanintellect,thatfitswell
andsignificantlywithintheframeworkwhichwehavedevelopedwaswrittenbyVannevar
Bush6in1945.Indeed,itfitssowell,andstatesitspointssonicely,thstitwasdeemed
appropriatetoourpurposeheretosummarizeitindetailandtoquotefromitatconsiderable
3a4

length.

1.WhatVannevarBushProposedIn1945
3a5

HewroteasWorldWarIIwascomingtoanend,andhisprincipalpurposeseemedtobeto
offernewprofessionalobjectivestothosescientistswhoweresoontobefreedfromwar
motivatedresearchanddevelopment.Itwouldseemthathealsowishedtoinduceageneral
recognitionofagrowingproblemstorage,retrieval,andmanipulationofinformationforand
byintellectualworkersandtoshowthepossibilitiesheforesawforscientificdevelopmentof
equipmentwhichcouldsignificantlyaidsuchworkersinfacingthisproblem.Hesummarized
thesituation:"...Thereisagrowingmountainofresearch...Theinvestigatorisstaggeredby
thefindingsandconclusionsofthousandsofotherworkers.Professionallyourmethodsof
transmittingandreviewingtheresultsofresearcharegenerationsold...trulysignificant
attainmentsbecomelostinthemassoftheinconsequential...Thesummationofhuman
experienceisbeingexpandedataprodigiousrate,andthemeansweuseforthreading
throughtheconsequentmazetothemomentarilyimportantitemisthesameaswasusedin 3a5a

thedaysofsquareriggedships."

Thenhebroughtoutsomegeneralconsiderationsforhope:"..Buttherearesignsofa
changeasnewandpowerfulinstrumentalitiescomeintouse...Photocells...advanced
photography...thermionictubes...cathoderaytubes...relaycombinations...thereareplentyof
mechanicalaidswithwhichtoeffectatransformationinscientificrecords."Andhepointsout
thatdeviceswhichwecommonlyusetodaye.g.,acalculatingmachineoranautomobile
wouldhavebeenimpossiblyexpensivetoproduceinearliererasofourtechnological
development."...Theworldhasarrivedatanageofcheapcomplexdevicesofgreatreliability
3a5b

andsomethingisboundtocomeofit."

Insixandahalfpagescrammedfullofwellbasedspeculations,Bushproceedstooutline
enoughplausibleartifactandmethodologydevelopmentstomakeaveryconvincingcasefor
theaugmentationoftheindividualintellectualworker.Extensionofexistingphotographic
techniquestogiveeachindividualacontinuouslyavailableminiaturecameraforrecording
anythinginviewandofinterest,andtorealizeahighquality100:1linearreductionratiofor
microrecordfilesforthesephotographsandpublishedmaterialvoicerecognitionequipment
(perhapsrequiringaspeciallanguage)toeasetheprocessofenteringnewselfgenerated
materialintothewrittenrecordthesearetoprovidetheindividualwithinformation 3a5c

generatingaid.

Forthedetailedmanipulationofmathematicalandlogicalexpressions,Bushprojects
computingaids(whichhavebeensurpassedbysubsequentdevelopment)thatallowthe
individualtoexerciseagreaterproportionofhistimeandtalentsinthetasksofselectingdata
andtheappropriatetransformationsandprocesseswhicharetobeexecuted,leavingtothe
machinerythesubsequentexecution.Hesuggeststhatnewnotationforourverbalsymbols
(perhapsbinary)couldallowcharacterrecognitiondevicestohelpevenfurtherinthe
informationmanipulationarea,andalsopointsoutthatpoorsymbolism("...theexceedingly
crudewayinwhichmathematiciansexpresstheirrelationships.Theyemployasymbolism
whichgrewlikeTopsyandhaslittleconsistencyastrangefactinthatmostlogicalfield.")
standsinthewayoffullrealizationofmachinehelpforthemanipulationsassociatedwiththe
human'srealtimeprocessofmathematicalwork.And"...Then,onbeyondthestrictlogicof
themathematician,liestheapplicationoflogicineverydayaffairs.Wemaysomedayclickoff
argumentsonamachinewiththesameassurancethatwenowentersalesonacash 3a5d

register."

Then"..Somuchforthemanipulationofideasandtheirinsertionintotherecord.Thusfar
weseemtobeworseoffthanbeforeforwecanenormouslyextendtherecordyetevenin
itspresentbulkwecanhardlyconsultit.Thisisamuchlargermatterthanmerelythe
extractionofdataforthepurposesofscientificresearchitinvolvestheentireprocessby
whichmanprofitsbyhisinheritanceofacquiredknowledgeTheprimeactionofuseis
selection,andherewearehaltingindeed.Theremaybemillionsoffinethoughts,andthe
accountoftheexperienceonwhichtheyarebased,allencasedwithinstonewallsof
acceptablearchitecturalformbutifthescholarcangetatonlyoneaweekbydiligentsearch,
hissynthesesarenotlikelytokeepupwiththecurrentscene."Hegoesontodiscusspossible
developmentsthatcouldallowveryrapid(inthehuman'stimeframe)selectionofunit
recordsfromaverylargefilewheretherecordscouldbedryprocessphotographicmicro 3a5e
imagesuponwhichtheusercouldaddlnformationatwill.

Bushgoesontosay,"Therealheartofthematterofselection,however,goesdeeperthana
lagintheadoptionofmechanisms...Ourineptitudeingettingattherecordislargelycaused
bytheartificialityofsystemsofindexing."Heobservesthepoweroftheassociativerecall
whichhumanmemoryexhibits,andproposesthatamechanizationofselectionbyassociation
couldberealizedtoconsiderableadvantage.Hespendsthelasttwopages(aquarterofhis
article)describingadeviceembodyingthiscapability,andpointsoutsomefeaturesofitsuse
andofitslikelyeffect.ThismaterialissorelevantandsowellputthatIquoteitinits 3a5f

entirety:
3a5g

"Considerafuturedeviceforindividualuse,whichisasortofmechanizedprivate
fileandlibrary.Itneedsaname,andtocoinoneatrandom,"memex"willdo.A
memexisadeviceinwhichanindividualstoresallhisbooks,records,and
communications,andwhichismechanizedsothatitmaybeconsultedwith
exceedingspeedandflexibility.Itisanenlargedintimatesupplementtohismemory.
3a5g1

"Itconsistsofadesk,andwhileitcanpresumablybeoperatedfromadistance,
itisprimarilythepieceoffurnitureatwhichheworks.Onthetopareslanting
translucentscreens,onwhichmaterialcanbeprojectedforconvenientreading.
Thereisakeyboard,andsetsofbuttonsandlevers.Otherwiseitlookslikean 3a5g2

ordinarydesk.

"Inoneendisthestoredmaterial.Thematterofbulkiswelltakencareofby
improvedmicrofilm.Onlyasmallpartoftheinteriorofthememexisdevotedto
storage,theresttomechanism.Yetiftheuserinserted5000pagesofmaterialaday
itwouldtakehimhundredsofyearstofilltherepository,sohecanbeprofligateand
3a5g3

entermaterialfreely.

"Mostofthememexcontentsarepurchasedonmicrofilmreadyforinsertion.Books
ofallsorts,pictures,currentperiodicals,newspapers,arethusobtainedanddropped
intoplace.Businesscorrespondencetakesthesamepath.Andthereisprovisionfor
directentry.Onthetopofthememexisatransparentplaten.Onthisareplaced
longhandnotes,photographs,memoranda,allsortofthings.Whenoneisinplace,
thedepressionofalevercausesittobephotographedontothenextblankspaceina
3a5g4

sectionofthememexfilm,dryphotographybeingemployed.

"Thereis,ofcourse,provisionforconsultationoftherecordbytheusualschemeof
indexing.Iftheuserwishestoconsultacertainbook,hetapsitscodeonthe
keyboard,andthetitlepageofthebookpromptlyappearsbeforehim,projectedonto
oneofhisviewingpositions.Frequentlyusedcodesaremnemonic,sothatheseldom
consultshiscodebookbutwhenhedoes,asingletapofakeyprojectsitforhisuse.
Moreover,hehassupplementallevers.Ondeflectingoneoftheseleverstotheright
herunsthroughthebookbeforehim,eachpageinturnbeingprojectedataspeed
whichjustallowsarecognizingglanceateach.Ifhedeflectsitfurthertotheright,he
stepsthroughthebook10pagesatatimestillfurtherat100pagesatatime. 3a5g5
Deflectiontotheleftgiveshimthesamecontrolbackwards.

"Aspecialbuttontransfershimimmediatelytothefirstpageoftheindex.Anygiven
bookofhislibrarycanthusbecalledupandconsultedwithfargreaterfacilitythanif
itweretakenfromashelf.Ashehasseveralprojectionpositions,hecanleaveone
iteminpositionwhilehecallsupanother.Hecanaddmarginalnotesandcomments,
takingadvantageofonepossibletypeofdryphotography,anditcouldevenbe
arrangedsothathecandothisbyastylusscheme,suchasisnowemployedinthe
telautographseeninrailroadwaitingrooms,justasthoughhehadthephysicalpage
3a5g6

beforehim.

"Allthisisconventional,exceptfortheprojectionforwardofpresentdaymechanisms
andgadgetry.Ifaffordsanimmediatestep,however,toassociativeindexing,the
basicideaofwhichisaprovisionwherebyanyitemmaybecausedatwilltoselect
immediatelyandautomaticallyanother.Thisistheessentialfeatureofthememex.3a5g7

Theprocessoftyingtwoitemstogetheristheimportantthing.

"Whentheuserisbuildingatrail,henamesit,insertsthenameinhiscodebook,
andtapsitoutonhiskeyboard.Beforehimarethetwoitemstobejoined,projected
ontoadjacentviewingpositions.Atthebottomofeachthereareanumberofblank
codespaces,andapointerissettoindicateoneoftheseoneachitem.Theusertaps
asinglekey,andtheitemsarepermanentlyjoined.Ineachcodespaceappearsthe
codeword.Outofview,butalsointhecodespace,isinsertedasetofdotsfor
photocellviewingandoneachitemthesedotsbytheirpositionsdesignatetheindex
3a5g8
numberoftheotheritem.

"Thereafter,atanytime,whenoneoftheseitemsisinview,theothercanbe
instantlyrecalledmerelybytappingabuttonbelowthecorrespondingcodespace.
Moreover,whennumerousitemshavebeenthusjoinedtogethertoformatrail,they
canbereviewedinturn,rapidlyorslowly,bydeflectingaleverlikethatusedfor
turningthepagesofabook.Itisexactlyasthoughthephysicalitemshadbeen
gatheredtogethertoformanewbook.Itismorethanthis,foranyitemcanbe 3a5g9
joinedintonumeroustrails.

"Theownerofthememex,letussay,isinterestedintheoriginandpropertiesofthe
bowandarrow.SpecificallyheisstudyingwhytheshortTurkishbowwasapparently
superiortotheEnglishlongbowintheskirmishesoftheCrusades.Hehasdozensof
possiblypertinentbooksandarticlesinhismemex.Firstherunsthroughan
encyclopedia,findsandinterestingbutsketchyarticle,leavesitprojected,Next,ina
history,hefindsanotherpertinentitem,andtiesthetwotogether.Thushegoes,
buildingatrailofmanyitems.Occasionallyheinsertsacommentofhisown,either
linkingitintothemaintrailorjoiningitbyasidetrailtoaparticularitem.Whenit
becomesevidentthattheelasticpropertiesofavailablematerialshadagreatdealto
dowiththebow,hebranchesoffonasidetrailwhichtakeshimthroughtextbooks
onelasticityandtablesofphysicalconstants.Heinsertsapageoflonghandanalysis
ofhisown.Thushebuildsatrailofhisinterestthroughthemazeofmaterials 3a5g10
availabletohim.

"Andhistrailsdonotfade.Severalyearslater,histalkwithafriendturnstothe
queerwaysinwhichapeopleresistinnovations,evenofvitalinterest.Hehasan
example,inthefactthattheoutrangedEuropeansstillfailedtoadopttheTurkish
bow.Infacthehasatrailonit.Atouchbringsupthecodebook.Tappingafewkeys
projectstheheadofthetrail.Aleverrunsthroughitatwill,stoppingatinteresting
items,goingoffonsideexcursions.Itisaninterestingtrail,pertinenttothe
discussion.Sohesetsareproducerinaction,photographsthewholetrailout,and
passesittohisfriendforinsertioninhisownmemex,theretobelinkedintothe3a5g11
moregeneraltrail.

"Whollynewformsofencyclopediaswillappear,readymadewithameshof
associativetrailsrunningthroughthem,readytobedroppedintothememexand
thereamplified.Thelawyerhasathistouchtheassociatedopinionsanddecisionsof
hiswholeexperience,andoftheexperienceoffriendsandauthorities.Thepatent
attorneyhasoncallthemillionsofissuedpatents,withfamiliartrailstoeverypoint
ofhisclient'sinterest.Thephysician,puzzledbyitspatient'sreactions,strikesthe
trailestablishedinstudyinganearliersimilarcase,andrunsrapidlythrough
analogouscasehistories,withsidereferencestotheclassicsforthepertinent
anatomyandhistology.Thechemist,strugglingwiththesynthesisofanorganic
compound,hasallthechemicalliteraturebeforehiminhislaboratory,withtrails
followingtheanalogiesofcompounds,andsidetrailstotheirphysicalandchemical 3a5g12

behavior.

"Thehistorian,withavastchronologicalaccountofapeople,parallelsitwithaskip
trailwhichstopsonlyatthesalientitems,andcanfollowatanytimecontemporary
trailswhichleadhimallovercivilizationataparticularepoch.Thereisanew
professionoftrailblazers,thosewhofinddelightinthetaskofestablishinguseful
trailsthroughtheenormousmassofthecommonrecord.Theinheritancefromthe
 masterbecomes,notonlyhisadditionstotheworld'srecord,butforhisdisciplesthe
3a5g13

entirescaffoldingbywhichtheywereerected.

"Thussciencemayimplementthewaysinwhichmanproduces,stores,andconsults
therecordoftherace.Itmightbestrikingtooutlinetheinstrumentalitiesofthe
futuremorespectacularly,ratherthantostickcloselytothemethodsandelements
nowknownandundergoingrapiddevelopment,ashasbeendonehere.Technical
difficultiesofallsortshavebeenignored,certainly,butalsoignoredaremeansasyet
unknownwhichmaycomeanydaytoacceleratetechnicalprogressasviolentlyasdid
theadventofthethermionictube.Inorderthatthepicturemaynotbetoo
commonplace,byreasonofstickingtopresentdaypatterns,itmaybewellto
mentiononesuchpossibility,nottoprophesybutmerelytosuggest,forprophecy
basedonextensionoftheknownhassubstance,whileprophecyfoundedonthe3a5g14
unknownisonlyadoublyinvolvedguess.

"Allourstepsincreatingorabsorbingmaterialoftherecordproceedthroughoneof
thesensesthetactilewhenwetouchkeys,theoralwhenwespeakorlisten,the
visualwhenweread.Isitnotpossiblethatsomedaythepathmaybeestablished3a5g15

moredirectly?

"Weknowthatwhentheeyesees,alltheconsequentinformationistransmittedto
thebrainbymeansofelectricalvibrationsinthechanneloftheopticnerve.Thisisan
exactanalogywiththeelectricalvibrationswhichoccurinthecableofatelevision
set:theyconveythepicturefromthephotocellswhichseeittotheradiotransmitter
fromwhichitisbroadcast.Weknowfurtherthatifwecanapproachthatcablewith
theproperinstruments,wedonotneedtotouchitwecanpickupthosevibrations
byelectricalinductionandthusdiscoverandreproducethescenewhichisbeing3a5g16
transmitted,justasatelephonewiremaybetappedforitsmessage.

"Theimpulsewhichflowinthearmnervesofatypistconveytoherfingersthe
translatedinformationwhichreacheshereyeorear,inorderthatthefingersmaybe
causedtostriketheproperkeys.Mightnotthesecurrentsbeintercepted,eitherin
theoriginalforminwhichinformationisconveyedtothebrain,orinthemarvelously
3a5g17

metamorphosedforminwhichtheythenproceedtothehand?

"Byboneconductionwealreadyintroducesoundsintothenervechannelsofthedeaf
inorderthattheymayhear.Isitnotpossiblethatwemaylearntointroducethem
withoutthepresentcumbersomenessoffirsttransformingelectricalvibrationsto
mechanicalones,whichthehumanmechanismpromptlytransformsbacktothe
electricalform?Withacoupleofelectrodesontheskulltheencephalographnow
producespenandinktraceswhichbearsomerelationtotheelectricalphenomena
goingoninthebrainitself.True,therecordisunintelligible,exceptasitpointsout
certaingrossmisfunctioningofthecerebralmechanismbutwhowouldnowplace 3a5g18

boundsonwheresuchathingmaylead?

"Intheoutsideworld,allformsofintelligence,whetherofsoundorsight,havebeen
reducedtotheformofvaryingcurrentsinanelectriccircuitinorderthattheymay
betransmitted.Insidethehumanframeexactlythesamesortofprocessoccurs.
Mustwealwaystransformtomechanicalmovementsinordertoproceedfromone
electricalphenomenontoanother?Itisasuggestivethought,butithardlywarrants
3a5g19

predictionwithoutlosingtouchwithrealityandimmediateness.

"Presumablyman'sspiritshouldbeelevatedifhecanbetterreviewhisshadypast
andanalyzemorecompletelyandobjectivelyhispresentproblems.Hehasbuilta
civilizationsocomplexthatheneedstomechanizehisrecordmorefullyifheisto
pushhisexperimenttoitslogicalconclusionandnotmerelybecomeboggeddown
partwaytherebyovertaxinghislimitedmemory.Hisexcursionmaybemore
enjoyableifhecanreacquiretheprivilegeofforgettingthemanifoldthingshedoes
notneedtohaveimmediatelyathand,withsomeassurancethathecanfindthem 3a5g20

againiftheyproveimportant.

"Theapplicationsofsciencehavebuiltmanawellsuppliedhouse,andareteaching
himtolivehealthilytherein.Theyhaveenabledhimtothrowmassesofpeople
againstanotherwithcruelweapons.Theymayyetallowhimtrulytoencompassthe
greatrecordandtogrowinthewisdomofraceexperience.Hemayperishinconflict
beforehelearnstowieldthatrecordforhistruegood.Yet,intheapplicationof
sciencetotheneedsanddesiresofman,itwouldseemtobeasingularlyunfortunate
3a5g21

stageatwhichtoterminatetheprocess,ortolosehopeastotheoutcome.

2.CommentsRelatedToBush'sArticle
3a6
Therearemanysignificantitemsinthearticle,butthemainonesuponwhichweshall
commentherewillbethoserelativetotheuseandimplicationsofhisMemex.Theassociative
trailswhoseestablishmentandusewithinthefileshedescribesatsomelengthprovidea
beautifulexampleofanewcapsbilityinsymbolstructuringthatderivesfromnewartifact
processcapability,andthatprovidesnewwaystodevelopandportrayconceptstructures.Any
fileisasymbolstructurewhosepurposeistorepresentavarietyofconceptsandconcept
structuresinawaythatmakesthemmaximallyavailableandusefultotheneedsofthe
human'smentalstructuredevelopmentwithinthelimitsimposedbythecapabilityofthe
artifactsandhumanforjointlyexecutingprocessesofsymbolstructuremanipulation.The
Memexallowsahumanusertodomoreconveniently(lessenergy,morequickly)whathe
couldhavedonewithrelativelyordinaryphotographicequipmentandfilingsystems,buthe
wouldhavehadtospendsomuchtimeinthelowerlevelprocessesofmanipulationthathis
mentaltimeconstantsofmemoryandpatiencewouldhaverenderedthesystemunusablein 3a6a

thedetailedandintimatesensewhichBushillustrates.

TheMemexaddsafactorofspeedandconveniencetoordinaryfilingsystem(symbol
structuring)processesthatwouldencouragenewmethodsofworkbytheuser,anditalso
addsspeedandconvenienceforprocessesnotgenerallyusedbefore.Makingiteasyto
establishandfollowtheassociativetrailsmakespracticalanewsymbolstructuringprocess
whoseusecanmakeasignificantdifferenceintheconceptstructuringandbssicmethodsof
work.Itisalsoprobablethatcleverusageofassociativetrailmanipulationcanaugmentthe
human'sprocessstructuringandexecutingcapacilitiessothathecouldsuccessfullymakeuse
ofevenmorepowerfulsymbolstructuremanlpulationprocessesutilizingtheMemex
capabilities.AnexampleofthisgeneralsortofthingwasgivenbyBushwherehepointsout
thatthefileindexcanbecalledtoviewatthepushofabutton,whichimplicitlyprovides 3a6b
greatercapabilitytoworkwithinmoresophisticatedandcomplexindexingsystems

Note,too,theimplicationsextendingfromBush'smentionofoneuserduplicatingatrail(a
portionofhisstructure)andgivingittoafriendwhocanputitintohisMemexandintegrate
itintohisowntrail(structure).Alsonotethe"whollynewformsofencyclopedia",the
professionof"trailblazers,"andtheinheritancefromamasterincluding"theentire
scaffolding"bywhichsuchadditionstotheworld'srecordwereerected.Theseillustratethe
typesofchangesinthewaysinwhichpeoplecancooperateintellectuallythatcanemerge
fromtheaugmentationoftheindividuals.Thistypeofchangerepresentsaverysignificant
partofthepotentialvalueinpursuingresearchdirectlyonthemeansformakingindividuals3a6c

intellectuallymoreeffective.

3.SomePossibilitiesWithCardsAndRelativelySimpleEquipment
3a7

Anumberofusefulnewstructuringprocessescanbemadeavailabletoanindividualthrough
developmentanduseofrelativelysimpleequipmentthatismostlyelectromechanicalin
natureandrelativelycheap.Wecanbegindevelopingexamplesofthisbydescribingthehand
3a7a
operated,edgenotchedcardsystemthatIdevelopedandusedoverthepasteightyears.
3a7b
a.AnExistingNoteandFileSystem

The"unitrecords"here,unlikethoseintheMemexexample,aregenerallyscrapsof
typedorhandwrittentextonIBMcardsizededgenotchablecards.Theserepresent
little"kernels"ofdata,thought,fact,considerationJconcepts,ideas,worries,etc.,
thatarerelevanttoagivenproblemareainmyprofessionallife.Eachsuchspecific
problemareahasitsnotecardskeptinaseparatedeck,andforeachsuchdeckthere
isamastercardwithdescriptorsassociatedwithindividualholesabouttheperiphery
ofthecard.Thereisafieldofholesreservedfornotchcodingtheserialnumberofa
referencefromwhichthenoteonacardmayhavebeentaken,ortheserialnumber
correspondingtoanindividualfromwhomtheinformationcamedirectly(includinga 3a7b1
codeformyself,forselfgeneratedthoughts).

Noneoftheprinciplesofindexingorsortingusedhereisnew:coordinateindexing
descriptorswithdirectcodingonedgenotchedcards,withneedlesortretrieval.
Mainlywhatisnewistheuseofthesmallerunitsofinformation,inrestrictedsubject
sets(notedecks)sothatIgainconsiderableflexibilityinthemanipulationsofmy
thoughtproductsatthelevelatwhichIactuallyworkinmyminutebyminute
strugglewithanalyticalandformulativethought.Notonlydomyownthoughts
produceresultsinthisfashion,butwhenIdigestthewritingsofanotherperson,I
findgenerallyanywaythatIhaveextractedfromhisstructureandintegratedinto
myownaspecificselectionoffacts,considerations,ideas,etc.Oftenthesedifferent
extracteditemsfitintodifferentplacesinmystructure,orbecomeencasedinspecial
substructuresasImodifyorexpandhisconcepts.Extractingsuchitemsorkernels
andputtingeachonitsownnotecardhelpsthisprocessconsiderablytheroleor
positionofeachsuchiteminthegrowthofthenotestructureisindependent,and
 yetifdesiredallcanquicklybeisolatedandextractedbysimpleneedlesortingonthe
3a7b2

referencenumbernotchingfield.

Thesenotecardsrepresentmuchmorethanjustaninformationfile.Theyprovidea
workspaceforme,inwhichIcanbrowse,makeadditionsorcorrections,orbuildnew
setsofthoughtkernelswithagooddealoffreedom.Icanleavenoteswith
suggestionsorquestionsformyselfthatwilldropoutatanappropriatelatertime.I
candodocumentreferencesearcheswithgoodefficiency,too,byneedlesortingfor
noteswithinrelevantdescriptorcategoriesAnynotecardwithrelevantnotesonit
pointstotheoriginalsource(bythesourceserialnumber,whichIalwayswrite,
togetherwiththepage,atthetopofthecard).WhenIamintheprocessof
developinganintegratedwriteupcoveringsomeorallofthenotedeck'gmaterial,I
canquicklyneedleoutasetofcardsrelevanttothetopicunderconsiderationatthe
momentwithallothercardsinonepiletothesideandIneeddoaveryminimum
ofhandsearchingorstackinginspeciallittlecategorypiles.IfIutilizespecific
informationfromanotherperson,Icanregistermyacknowledgmentinmydraft
writeupmerelybywritinginthesourceserialnumberthatisatthetopofthe
notecarditisastraightforwardclericaljobforasecretarylatertoarrangefootnote
3a7b3

entriesandnumbering.
3a7c
b.CommentsontheSystem

First,letmerelatewhathasbeendescribedtothespecialtermsbroughtoutin
previoussections.Thewritingcontainedoneachnotecardisasmallsizedsymbol
structure,representingorportrayingtomeasmallstructureofconcepts.The
notchesontheedgesofthecardsaresymbolsthatservetotiethesecardsized
symbolsubstructuresintoalargesymbolstructure(thenotedeck).Oneaspectof
thestructureisthephysicalgroupingofthecardsatagiventimewhichhappensto
betheonlyaspectoftheoverallstructuringthatmyhumancapabilitiescanmake
directuseofandinthisrespectIcanexecuteprocesseswhichproducerestructuring
(thatis,physicalregrouping)thathelpsmeconsiderablytoperceiveandassimilate
theconceptsofworthtome.Thisrestructuringiseffectedbycompositeprocesses
involvingme,amastercodecard,asortingneedle,andaworksurface.Icanaddto
thesymbolstructurebyexecutingothercompositeprocesseswhichinvolveme,
writinginstruments(pen,pencil,ortypewriter),amastercodecard,andacard 3a7c1
notcher.

Ifmymentalprocessesweremorepowerful,Icoulddispensewiththecards,and
holdallofthecardsizedconceptstructuresinmymemory,wherealsowouldbeheld
thecategorizationlinkagesthatevolvedasIworked(withmyfeetupontheartifacts
andmyeyesclosed).Asitis,andasitprobablyalwayswillbenomatterhowwe
developortrainourmentalcapabilities,Iwanttoworkinproblemareaswherethe
numberandinterrelationshipcomplexityoftheindividualfactorsinvolvedaretoo
muchformetoholdandmanipulatewithinmymind.So,myminddevelops
conscioussetsofconcepts,orrecognizesandselectsthemfromwhatitperceivesin
theworkofothers,anditdirectstheorganizationofanexternalsymbolstructurein
whichcanbeheldandportrayedtothemindthoseconceptsIcannot(reliably)
rememberorwhosemanipulationsIcannotvisualize.ThepriceIpayforthis
augmentationshowsupinthetimeandenergyinvolvedinmanipulatingartifactsto
manipulatesymbolstogivemethisartificialmemoryandvisualizationofconcepts3a7c2
andtheirmanipulation.
3a7d
c.AssociativeLinkingPossibilities

Butletusgofurtherwithdiscussingspecificexamplesofmeansforaugmentingour
intellects.Inusingtheedgenotchedcardsystemdescribed,Ifoundseveraltypesof
structuringwhichthatsystemcouldnotprovide,butwhichwouldbothbeveryuseful
andprobablyobtainablewithreasonablypracticalartifactmeans.Oneneedarose
quitecommonlyastrainsofthoughtwoulddeveloponagrowingseriesofnotecards.
Therewasnoconvenientwaytolinkthesecardstogethersothatthetrainof
thoughtcouldlaterberecalledbyextractingtheorderedseriesofnotecards.An
associativetrailschemesimilartothatoutlinedbyBushforhisMemexcould
conceivablybeimplementedwiththesecardstomeetthisneedandaddavaluable
newsymbolstructuringprocesstothesystem.Straightforwardengineering
developmentcouldprovideamechanismthatwouldbeabletoselectaspecificcard
fromarelativelylargedeckbyaparalleledgenotchsortonauniqueserialnumber
notchedintoeachcard,andthesearchmechanismcouldbesetupautomaticallyby
aholesensingmechanismfrominternalpunchesonanothercardthatwasplacedin
thesensingslot.Anauxiliarynotchingmechanismcouldautomaticallygive 3a7d1

succeedingserialnumberencodingtonewnotecardsastheyaremadeup.
 SupposethatonewantstolinkCardBtoCardA,tomakeatrailfromAtoB.Heputs
CardBintoaslotsothattheedgenotchedcodingofthecard'sserialnumbercan
automaticallybesensed,andslipsCardAunderaholepunchingheadwhich
duplicatestheserialnumbercodeofCardBinthecodingoftheholespunchedina
speciflczoneonCardA.Later,whenhemayhavediscoveredCardA,andwishesto
followthisparticularassociativetrailtothenextcard,healignsthatzoneonCardA
underaholesensingheadwhichreadstheserialnumberforCardBthereinand
automaticallysetsupthesortingmechanism.Averyquickandsimplehuman
processthusinitiatestheautomaticextractionofthenextitemontheassociative
trail.It'snotunreasonabletoassumethatestablishingalinkwouldtakeaboutthree
3a7d2

seconds,andtracingalinktothenextcardaboutthreetofiveseconds.

Therewouldstillbedescriptorcodenotchingandselectiontoprovideforgeneral
groupingclassificationsandwecanseethatthesystemcouldreallyprovideameans
3a7d3

forworkingwithinthestructureofthecontainedinformation.
3a7e
d.AnExperimentIllustratingUsageandFurtherSystemPossibilities

Ioncetriedtousemycards,withtheirseparatelittle"conceptpackets,"inthe
processofdevelopingafilememooutliningthestatusandplansofaresearchproject.
IfirstdevelopedasetofcardsuponeachofwhichIdescribedaseparate
consideration,possibility,orspecificationaboutthememointhedisorderlysequence
inwhichtheyoccurredtomeasmythoughtsaboutthebasicfeaturesofthememo
evolved.RightoffthebatInoticedthatthereweretwodistinctgroupssomeideas
wereaboutwhatthememooughttoaccomplish,whattimeperioditshouldcover,
whenitshouldbefinished,whatlevelandstyleofpresentationshouldbeused,etc.,
andsomeideaswereaboutthesubjectofthememo.Asmorethoughtsdeveloped,I
foundthatthelattergroupalsodividedintoideasrepresentingpossiblecontentand
3a7e1
thoserepresentingpossibleorganization.

Iseparatedthecardsintothreecorrespondinggroups(whichIshallcallSpecification,
Organization,andContent),andbegantoorganizeeachofthem.Istartedwiththe
Specificationgroup(itbeingthe"highest"innature),andimmediatelyfoundthat
therewereseveraltypesofnoteswithinthatgroupJustastherehadbeeninthe
totalgroup.Becomingimmediatelysuspicious,Isortedthrougheachoftheothertwo
maingroupsandfoundsimilarsituationsineach.Ineachgrouptherewasfinallyto
emergeadefinitesetofstatements(productstatements)thatrepresentedthat
group'spurposee.g.,thespecificationscurrentlyacceptedforthedesignofthe
memoandsomeofthecardscontainedcandidatematerialforthis.Buttherewere
alsoconsiderationsaboutwhatthesefinalstatementsmightincludeorexcludeor
takeintoaccount,orconditionsunderwhichinclusionormodificationmightbe
relevant,orstatementsthatweretoobulkyorbrieforimprecisetobeusedasfinal
3a7e2
statements.

Itbecameapparentthatthefinalissuancefrommywork,thememoitself,would
representbutonefacetofacomplexsymbolstructurethatwouldgrowasthework
progressedastructurecomprisingthreemainsubstructures,eachofwhichhad
definitesubstructuringofitsownthatwasapparent.IrealizedthatIwasbeing
ratherphilosophicallyintrospectivewithallofthisanalysis,butIwascuriousasto
thepotentialvalueoffutureaugmentationmeansinallowingmetodealexplicitly
withthesetypesofstructuring.SoIwentahead,keepingthegroupsandsubgroups 3a7e3
ofcardsseparated,andtryingtoorganizeanddevelopthem.

Ifoundratherquicklythatthejobofextracting,rearranging,editing,andcopying
newstatementsintothecardswhichweretorepresentthecurrentsetofproduct
statementsineachgroupingwasrathertedious.Thisbroughtmetoappreciatethe
valueofsomesortofcopyingdevicewithwhichIcouldtransferspecifiedstringsof
wordsfromonecardtoanother,thuscomposingnewstatementsfromfragmentsof
existingones.Thistypeofdeviceshouldnotbetoohardtodevelopandproducefora
pricethataprofessionalmancouldjustifypaying,anditwouldcertainlyfacilitate3a7e4
somevaluablesymbolstructuringpro

Ialsofoundthattherewouldhavebeengreatvalueinhavingavailablethe
associativetrailmarkingandfollowingprocesses.Statementsveryoftenhadimplicit
linkagestootherstatementsinthesamegroup,anditwouldhavebeenveryuseful
tokeeptrackoftheseassociations.Forinstance,whenseveralconsideration
statementsboreuponagivenproductstatement,andwhenthatproductstatement
cametobemodifiedthroughsomeotherconsideration,itwasnotalwayseasyto
rememberwhyithadbeenestablishehasithad.Beingabletofishouttheother3a7e5
considerationslinkedtothatstatementwouldhavehelpedconsiderably.
 Also,trialorganizationsofthestatementsinagroupcouldbelinkedintotrial
associativetrails,sothatanumberofsuchorganizationscouldbeconstructedand
consideredwithoutcopyingthatmanysetsofspeciallyorderedstatements.Anyof 3a7e6

thepreviouslyconsideredorganizationscouldbereconstructedatwill.

Intryingtodoflexiblestructuringandrestructuringwithinmyexperiment,Ifound
thatIjustdidn'thavethemeanstokeeptrackofallofthekernelstatements(cards)
andthevariousrelationshipsbetweenthemthatwereimportantatleastbymeans
thatwereeasyenoughtoleavetimeandthoughtcapacityenoughformetokeepin
mindtheessentialnatureofthememowritingprocess.Butitwasaveryprovocative
experience,consideringthepossibilitiesthatIsensedfortheflexibleandpowerful
waysinwhichIcouldapplymyselftosouniversaladesigntaskifIbuthadthe 3a7e7
necessarymeanswithwhichtomanipulatesymbolstructures.

Itwouldactuallyseemquitefeasibletodevelopaunitrecordsystemaroundcards
andmechanicalsorting,withautomatictrailestablishmentandtrailfollowingfacility,
andwithassociatedmeansforselectivecopyingordatatransfer,thatwouldenable
developmentofsomeverypowerfulmethodologyforeverydayintellectualwork.Itis
plainthateveniftheequipment(artifacts)appearedonthemarkettomorrow,agood
dealofempiricalresearchwouldbeneededtodevelopamethodologythatwould
capitalizeupontheartifactprocesscapabilities.Newconceptsneedtobeconcelved
andtestedrelativetothewaythe"thoughtkernels"couldbeknittedtogetherinto
workingstructures,andrelativetotheconceptualpresentationswhichbecome
availableandthesymbolmanipulationprocesseswhichprovidethesepresentations.3a7e8

Suchanapproachwouldpresentusefulandinterestingresearchproblems,and
couldverylikelyproducepracticalandsignificantresults(language,artifacts,
methodology)forimprovingtheeffectivenessofprofessionalproblemsolvers.
However,thetechnologicaltrendsoftodayforetelltheobsolescenceofsuch
electromechanicalinformationhandlingequipment.Verylikely,bythetimegood
augmentationsystemscouldbedeveloped,andthefirstgroupsofusersbeganto
provethemoutsothattheycouldgainmorewidespreadacceptance,electronicdata
processingequipmentwouldhaveevolvedmuchfurtherandbecomemuchmore
prevalentthroughoutthecriticalproblemdomainsofoursocietywheresuchideas
wouldfirstbeadopted.Therelativelimitationsofthemechanicalequipmentin
providingprocesseswhichcouldbeusefullyintegratedintothesystemwouldsoon3a7e9

leadtoitsreplacementbyelectroniccomputerequipment.

Thenextsetofdescriptiveexampleswillinvolvetheuseofelectroniccomputers,and
theirgreatlyincreasedflexibilityandprocessingpotentialwillbeevident.Research
baseduponsuchelectronicartifactswouldbeabletoexplorelanguageand
methodologyinnovationsofamuchwiderrangeofsophisticationthancouldresearch
baseduponlimitedandrelativelyinflexibleelectromechanicalartifacts.Inparticular,
theelectronicbasedexperimentalprogramcouldsimulatethetypesofprocesses
availablefromelectromechanicalartifacts,ifitseemedpossible(fromthevantageof
experiencewiththewiderangeofaugmentationprocesses)thatrelativelypowerful
augmentationsystemscouldbebasedupontheircapabilitiesbuttherelativepayoffs
forprovidingevenmoresophisticatedartifactcapabilitiescouldbeassessedtooso
thatconsiderationsofhowmuchtoinvestincapitalequipmentversushowmuch
increaseinhumaneffectivenesstoexpectcouldbebaseduponsomeexperimental 3a7e10

data.

4.AQuickSummaryOfRelevantComputerTechnology
3a8

Thissectionmaybeofvaluebothtoreaderswhoarealreadyfamiliarwithcomputers,andto
thosewhoarenot.Alittlefamiliaritywithcomputertechnology,enoughtohelpconsiderably
inunderstandingtheaugmentationpossibilitiesdiscussedinthlsreport,canbegainedbythe
uninitiated.Forthosealreadyfamiliarwiththetechnology,thefollowingdiscussioncan
perhapshelpthemgainmoreunderstandingofourconceptsofprocessandsymbol 3a8a

structuring.

Acomputerisdirectlycapableofperforminganyofabasicrepertoireofveryprimitivesymbol
manipulationprocesses(suchas"movethesymbolinlocationAtolocation12417,"or
"comparethesymbolinlocationAwiththatinlocationB,andiftheyarethesame,set
switchStoON").Theremaybefromtentooverahundreddifferentprimitiveprocesses
whichaparticularmachinecanexecute,andallofthecomputer'smoresophisticated
processesarestructuredfromtheseprimitiveprocesses.Ittakesarepertoireofsurprisingly
fewsuchprimitiveprocessestoenabletheconstructionofanysymbolmanipulationprocess 3a8b

thatcanbeexplicitlydescribedinanylanguage.

Somewhatthesamesituationexistsrelativetosymbolstructuresi.e.,thereareonlyavery
fewprimitivesymbolswithwhichthemachinecanactuallywork,andanynewanddifferent
symbolhastobedefinedtothemachineasaparticularstructure(ororganization)ofits
primitivesymbols.Actually,ineverycommercialdigitalcomputer,thereareonlytwoprimitive
symbols.Usuallythesearedealtwithinstandardsizedpackets(called"words")offrom
eighteentofortyeightprimitivesymbols,butarbitraryusecanbemadeofindividual 3a8c

primitivesorofsubgroupsoftheword.

Tohavethecomputerperformanontrivialtaskorprocess,astructureoftheprimitive
processesisorganized(acomputerprogram)andstoredwithinthecomputerasa
correspondingsymbolstructure.Thecomputersuccessivelyexaminesthesymbol
substructurerepresentingeachprimitiveprocessintheprogramandexecutesthatprocess
whichusuallyaltersthetotalinternalsymbolstructureofthemachineinsomeway.Lt
makesnodifferencetothecomputerwhetherthesymbolsinvolvedintherestructuring
representpartofthecomputerprogramorpartofthelnformationuponwhichtheprogramis
operating.Theabilitytohavethecomputermodifyitsownprocessstructure(program)hss
3a8d

beenaveryimportantfactorinthedevelopmentofitspower.

Thus,someverysophisticatedtechniquesforprocessandsymbolstructuringhaveevolvedin
thecomputerfield,asevidencedbytheverysophisticatedprocesses(e.g.,predictingelection
returns,calculatingorbits,translatingnaturallanguages)thatcanbestructuredto
manipulateverycomplexstructuresofsymbols.Amongthemoreinterestingcomputer
processstructuresthathaveevolvedarethosethatcanautomaticallydevelopastructureof
primitivecomputerprocessestoaccomplishsymbolmanipulationtasksthatarespecifiedona
relativelyhighlevelofabstraction.Speciallanguageshavebeenevolvedinseveralfields(e.g.,
ALGOLandFORTRANforscientificcalculations,COBOLforbusinessprocessing)thatenable
explicitprescriptionofcomplexmanipulationprocessesinarapidandconcisemannerbya
human,thinkingabouttheprocessesinarathernaturalmanner,sothatspecialcomputer
programsorprocessstructures(calledTranslators,Compilers,orsometimesinaslightly
differentsense,Interpreters)canconstructthenecessarystructuresofprimitiveprocesses
andsymbolsthatwouldenablethecomputertoexecutetheprescribedprocesses.This
developmenthasextendedimmenselyourcapabilityformakinguseofcomputersotherwise
thespecificationofacomplexprocesswouldoftenoccupyaformidablenumberofmanhours, 3a8e
andbesubjecttoagreatmanyerrorswhichwouldbeverycostlytofindandcorrect.

Computershavebeenusedtosimulatedynamicsystemsforwhichwehumanshadnonebut
descriptivemodels,fromwhichweotherwisecouldgainlittlefeelforthewaythesystem
behaves.Averynotableinstanceofthis,forourconsideration,hasbeenintheareaofthe
humanthoughtprocesses.Newell,Shaw,andSimoninitiatedthisapproach)fromwhich
therehasderivedanumberoffeaturesofinteresttous.Forone,theydiscoveredthatthe
symbolstructuresandtheprocessstructuresrequiredforsuchsimulationbecame
exceedinglycomplex,andtheburdenoforganizingthesewasaterrificimpedimenttotheir
simulationresearch.Theydevisedastructurlngtechniquefortheirsymbolsthatisbasically
simplebutfromwhichstemresultsthatareveryelegant.Theirbaslcsymbolstructureis
whattheycalla'list,"astringofsubstructuresthatarelinkedseriallyinexactlythemanner
proposedbyBushfortheassociativetrailsinhisMemexi.e.,eachsubstructurecontainsthe
necessaryinformationforlocatingthenextsubstructureonthelist.Here,though,each
substructurecouldalsobealistofsubstructures,andeachofthesecouldalso,etc.Their
standardmannerfororganizingthedatawhichthecomputerwastooperateuponisthus 3a8f
whattheyterm"liststructuring."

Theyalsodevelopedspeciallanguagestodescrlbedifferentbasicprocessesinvolvedinlist
structuremanipulation.Themostwidelyusedoftheirlanguages,IPLV(thefifthversionof
theirInformationProcessingLanguages),isdescribedinarecentbookeditedbyNewell.(7)In
theselanguages,boththedatatobeworkeduponandthesymbolswhichdesignatethe 3a8g
processestobeexecuteduponthatdataaredevelopedinliststructureform.

Otherlanguagesandtechniquesforthemanipulationofliststructureshavebeendescribed
byMcCarthy,(8)byGelernter,Hansen,andGerberich,(9)byYngve,(10,11)byPerlisand
Thornton,(12)byCarr,(13)andbyWeizenbaum.(14)Theapplicationofthesetechniqueshas
beenmainlyoftwotypesoneofmodellingcomplexprocessesandsystems(e.g.,thehuman
thoughtprocesses),wheretheemphasisisuponthemodelanditsbehavior,andtheotherof
tryingtogetcomputerbehaviorthatisintelligentwhetherornottheprocessesandbehavior
resemblethoseofahuman.Thelanguagesandtechniquesusedinbothtypesofapplication
promisetobeofconsiderablevaluetothedevelopmentofradicalnewaugmentationsystems3a8h

forhumanproblemsolvers,andweshalldeallaterwiththeminmoredetail.

Computershavevariousmeansforstoringsymbolssothattheyareaccessibletoitfor
manipulation.Assumingthatthehumanmightwanttohavearepertoireofsixtyfourbasic
symbols(letters,numbers,specialsymbols),wecandiscussvariousformsofstorageinterms
oftheircapacityforstoringthesekindsofsymbols(eachoiwhichwouldbestructured,inthe
computerandstoragedevices,asagroupofsixprimitivecomputersymbols).Fastaccessto
anarbitrarychoiceofafewneighboringsymbols(ofthehuman'srepertoire)canbehadto
perhaps100,000suchsymbolswithintheperiodinwhichthecomputercanexecuteoneof
itsprimitiveprocesses(fromtwototenmillionthsofasecond,dependinguponthecomputer
involved).Thisisthesocalledhighspeed,randomaccessworkingstore,wherespaceforthe
3a8i

human'ssymbolsmightcostbetweensixtycentsand$1.50persymbol.

Cheaper,largercapacitybackupstorageisusuallyprovidedbydevicestowhichaccesstakes
considerablylonger(inthecomputer'stimereference).Acontinuouslyrotatingmagnetic
drumcanholdperhapsamillionofthesesymbols,forwhichaccesstoarandomstorage
positionmayaverageathirtiethofasecond(waitingforthedrumtocomearoundtobring
thatstoragepositionunderthemagneticreadinghead).Thisisshortinthehuman'stime
scale,butareasonablyfastcomputercouldexecuteabout3,000ofitsprimitiveprocesses
duringthattime.Generally,informationtransferbetweenadrumandfastaccessworking
storagetakesplaceinblocksofdatawhicharestoredinsuccessivepositionsaroundthe
drum.Suchblocktransferisaccomplishedbyarelativelysmallstructureofprimitive
computerprocessesthatcyclicallyexecutesthetransferofonewordatatimeuntilthe
designatedblockhasbeentransferred.Drumstoragecostsabout5centspereachofthe 3a8j
basicsymbolsusedbythehumaninourexample.

Anothertypeofbackupstorageusesanumberoflarge,thindiscs(aboutthreefeetin
diameter),withmagneticcoatingonthesurfaces.Thediscsarestackedwithenoughspace
betweeneachsothatamoveablereadrecordheadcanbepositionedradiallytolineupovera
specificcirculartrackofsymbolstoragespace.Acommerciallyavailablediscstoragesystem
couldholdoverahundredmillionofthehuman'sbasicsymbols,towhichrandomaccess
wouldaverageaboutatenthofasecond,andwherethecostpersymbolspacewouldbe 3a8k
aboutoneseventhofacent.

Magnetictapesarecommonlyusedforbackupstorage,too.Forthese,therandomaccess
timeforstorageblocksareoftheorderofaminuteortwo.Here,however,theactualstorage
units(thetapereels)canbetakenoffandshelfstored,sothetotalstoragecapacitymaybe
verylargehowever,thetimetolocateareelandexchangereelsonthetapetransportadds
totheabovequotedaccesstimeandthislocatingandreelchangingarenotgenerally
automaticprocesses(i.e.,ahumanhastodothem).Atransportunit,connectedtothe
computer,mightcost$30,000,withtapereelsat$50eachholdingaboutfivemillionofthe
human'sbasicsymbols.Foronereel,storagespaceforeachsuchsymbolcostabouttwo
thirdsofacent,butfortwentyfullreelsina"library"thecostcomesdowntoaboutone 3a8l
thirtiethofacentpersymbolspace.

Othertypesofbufferstorageforcomputersymbolstructuresarebecomingavailable,and
thereisconsiderableeconomicdemandspurringcontinuingresearchtowardstoragemeans
thatgivehighcapacityatlowcost,andwithasshortanaccesstimeaspossible.Withinthe
nexttenyearstherewouldseemtobeaveryhighprobabilityofsignificantadvancestothis
3a8m

end.

Forpresentingcomputerstoredinformationtothehuman,techniqueshavebeendeveloped
bywhichacathoderaytube(ofwhichthetelevisionpicturetubeisafamiliarexample)can
bemadetopresentsymbolsontheirscreensofquitegoodbrightness,clarity,andwith
considerablefreedomastotheformofthesymbol.Undercomputercontrolanarbitrary
collectionofsymbolsmaybearrangedonthescreen,withconsiderablefreedomastorelative
location,size,andbrightness.Similarly,linedrawings,curves,andgraphsmaybepresented,
withanyoftheothersymbolsintermixed.Itispossibletodescribetothecomputer,and
thereafteruse,newsymbolsofarbitraryshapeandsize.Ondisplaysofthissort,alightpen(a
penshapedtoolwithaflexiblewiretotheelectronicconsole)canbepointedbythehumanat
anysymbolorlineonthedisplay,andthecomputercanautomaticallydeterminewhatthe3a8n
penispointingat.

Acathoderaytubedisplayofthissortiscurrentlylimitedinresolutiontoabout800lines
acrossthefaceofthetube(ineitherdirection).Thedetailwithwhichasymbolmaybe
formed,andtheprecisenesswithwhichtherecurrentimagesofitmaybelocated,areboth
affectedbythisfiguresothatnomatterhowlargethescreenofsuchatube,themaximum 3a8o

numberofsymbolsthatcanbeputonwithusableclearnessremainsthesame.

Theamountofusableinformationonsuchascreen,intheformofletters,numbers,and
diagrams,wouldbelimitedtoaboutwhatanormalhumaneyecouldmakeoutatthenormal
readingdistanceoffourteeninchesonasurface31/2inchessquare,ortowhatonecould
discernonanordinary81/2by11inchsheetofpaperataboutthreefeet.Thismeansthat
onecouldnothaveasingletubedisplaygivinghiman81/2by11inchframetoviewthat
wouldhaveasmuchonitashemightbeusedtoseeing,sayonthepageofajournalarticle.
3a8p

Thecostsofsuchdisplaysarenowquitehighrangingfrom$20,000to$60,000,
dependinguponthesymbolrepertoire,symbolstructuredisplaycapacity,andthequalityof
thesymbolforms.Onesbouldexpectthesepricestobeloweredquitedrasticallyasour 3a8q

technologyimprovesandthemarketforthesedisplaysincreases.
Muchcheaperdevicescan"draw"arbitrarysymbolshapesanddiagramsonpaper,ataspeed
forsymbolsthatisperhapsaquarteroftheratethatatypewritercanproducethem.Also,
specialtypewriters(at$3,000to$4,000apiece)cantypeoutinformationonasheetof
paper,aswellasallowthehumantosendinformationtothecomputerviathekeyboard.But
thesetwotypesofdevicesdonotallowfastandflexiblerearrangementofthesymbolsbeing
displayed,whichprovestobeanimportantdrawbackinourcurrentviewoffuturepossibilities
3a8r

foraugmentation.

Forcommunicatingtothecomputer,considerablefreedomexistsinarrangingpushbuttons,
switches,andkeysetsforusebythehuman.The"interpretation"orresponsetobemadeby
thecomputertotheactuationofanybutton,switch,orkey(ortoanycombinationthereof)
canbeestablishedinanymannerthatisdescribableasastructureofprimitivecomputer
processeswhichmeansessentiallyanymannerthatisexplicitlydescribable.Thelimitation
ontheflexibilityandpowerofanyexpllcit"shorthand"systemwithwhichthehumanmay3a8s
wishtoutilizetheseinputdevicesisthehuman'sabilitytolearnandtousethem.

Therearealsocomputerinputdevicesthatcansenseenoughdatafromhandwritingtoallow
acomputertorecognizealimitednumberofhandwrittensymbolsbothastheyarebeing
writtenandafterwards.Meansforrecognizingtypescriptareratherwelldevelopedandare
alreadybeingdesignedintosomelargedocumentationandlanguagetranslationsystems.
Also,alittleprogresshasbeenmadetowarddevelopingequipmentthatcanrecognizea
limitedspokenvocabulary.Thereisconsiderableeconomicpressuretowarddevelopinguseful
andcheapdevicesofthistype,andwecanexpectrelativelysophisticatedcapabilitiesto
becomeavailablewithinthenexttenyears.Suchequipmentmayplayanimportantrolein
theindividualaugmentationsystemsofthefuture(butourfeelingisthataverypowerful 3a8t
augmentationsystemcanbedevelopedwithoutthem).

Animportanttypeofdevelopmentforourconsiderationofprovidingindividualhumanswith
closecoupledcomputerservicesiswhatisknownastimesharing.Supposeanumberof
individualusersconnecttothesamecomputerThecomputercanbeprogrammedtoserve
themunderanyofawidevarietyofrules.Onesuchcouldbesimilartothewaythetelephone
systemgivesyouattentionandservicewhenyouaskforiti.e.,iftoomanyotherdemands
arenotbeingmadeforserviceatthattime,yougetinstantattentionotherwise,youwait3a8u
untilsomeservicecapacityisfreetoattendtoyou.

Ourviewoftheinteractionofhumanandcomputerinthefutureaugmentedsystemseesa
largenumberofrelatlvelysimpleprocesses(humanscaleoflargeandsimple)being
performedbythecomputerforthehumanprocesseswhichoftenwillrequireonlyafew
thousandthsofasecondofactualcomputermanipulation.Suchafastandagilehelperasa
computercanrunaroundbetweenanumberofmastersandseldomkeepanyofthem
waiting(atleast,notlongenoughthattheywouldnoticeitorbeinconveniencedappreciably).
Occasionally,ofcourse,muchlargerperiodsofcomputertimewillbeneededbyanindividual,
andthentheotherusersmightgettheirperiodicmillisecondsofserviceslippedinduring 3a8v
theselongerprocesses.

5.OtherRelatedThoughtAndWork
3a9

Whenwebeganoursearch,wefoundagreatdealofliteraturewhichputforththoughtand
workofgeneralsignificancetoourobjectivefrankly,toomuch.Withouthavingaconceptual
framework,wecouldnotefficientlyfilteroutthesignificantkernelsoffactandconceptfrom
thehugemasswhichweinitiallycollectedasa"naturalfirststep"inoursearch.Wefeel
ratherunscholarlynottobuttressourconceptualframeworkwithplentifulreferenceto
supportingwork,butintruthitwastoodifficulttodo.Developingtheconceptualstructure
representedasweepingsynthesisjobfullofpersonalconstructsfromsmatteringspickedupin
manyplaces.Undertheseconditions,givingreferencetoabackupsourcewouldusuallyentail
qualifyingfootnotesreflectinganunusualinterpretationorexoneratingtheotherauthorfrom
theimplicationswederivedfromhiswork.Welookforwardtoastronger,more 3a9a

comprehensive,andmorescholarlypresentationevolvingoutoffuturework.

However,wedowanttoacknowledgethoughtsandworkwehavecomeacrossthatbear
mostdirectlyuponthepossibilitiesofusingacomputerinrealtimeworkingassociationwitha
humantoimprovehisworkingeffectiveness.Thesefallintotwocategories.Thefirstcategory,
whichwouldincludethisreport,presentsspeculationsandpossibilitiesbutdoesnotinclude
reportingofsignificantexperimentalresults.Ofthese,Bush(6)istheearliestandoneofthe
mostdirectlystimulating.Licklider(15)providedthemostgeneralclearcaseforthemodern
computer,andcoinedtheexpression,"mancomputersymbiosis"torefertotheclose
interactionrelationshipbetweenthemanandcomputerinmutuallybeneficialcooperation.
Ulam(16)hasspecificallyrecommendedclosemancomputerinteractioninachapter
entitled,"synergesis,"wherehepointsoutinconsiderabledetailthetypesofmathematical
workwhichcouldbeaided.Good(17)includessomeconjectureaboutpossibilitiesof
intellectualaidtothehumanbyclosecooperationwithacomputerinarathergeneralway,
 andalsopresentsafewinterestingthoughtsaboutanetworkmodelforstructuringthe
conceptualkernelsofinformationtofacilitateasortofselforganizingretrievalsystem.Ramo
hasgivenanumberoftalksdealingwiththefuturepossibilitiesofcomputersfor"extending
man'sintellect,"andwroteseveralarticles(18,19)Hisprojectionsseemslantedmoretoward
largerbodiesofhumansinteractingwithcomputers,inlessofanintimatepersonalsense
thantheabovepapersorthanourinitialgoal.Fein(20)inmakingacomprehensive
projectionofthegrowthanddynamicinterrelatednessof"computerrelatedsciences,"
includesspecificmentionoftheenhancementofhumanintellectbycooperativeactivityof
men,mechanisms,andautomata.Hecoinedtheterm"synnoetics"asapplicablegenerallyto
thecooperativeinteractionofpeople,mechanisms,plantoranimalorganisms,andautomata
intoasystemwhosementalpowerisgreaterthanthatofitscomponents,andpresenteda
goodpictureoftheintegratedwayinwhichmanycurrentlyseparatedisciplinesshouldbe
developedandtaughtinthefuturetodojusticetotheirmutualrolesintheimportant 3a9b

metadisciplinedefinedas"synnoetics."

Inthesecondcategory,therehavebeenafewpaperspublishedrecentlydescribingactual
workthatbearsdirectlyuponourtopic.LickliderandClark,(21)andCullerandHuff,(22)in
the1962SpringJointComputerConference,gavewhatareessentiallyprogressreportsof
workgoingonnowinexactlythissortofthingahumanwithacomputerbackeddisplay
gettingminutebyminutehelpinsolvingproblems.Teager(23,24)reportsontheplansand
currentdevelopmentofalargetimesharingsystematMIT,whichisplannedtoprovidedirect
computeraccessforanumberofoutlyingstationslocatedinscientists'offices,givingeachof
3a9c

theseusersachanceforrealtimeutilizationofthecomputer.

Thereareseveraleffortsthatwehaveheardabout,butforwhichthereareeitherno
publicationsorforwhichnonehavebeendiscoveredbyus.Mr.DouglasRoss,oftheElectronic
SystemsLaboratoryatMIThas,welearnedbydirectconversation,beenthinkingandworking
onrealtimemanmachineinteractionproblemsforsomeyears.Wehaverecentlylearned
thatagraduatestudentatMIT,GlennRanda,(25)hasdevelopedthedesignofaremote
displayconsoleunderRossforhisgraduatethesisproject.Weunderstandthatanother
graduatestudentthere,IvanSutherland,iscurrentlyusingthedisplaycomputerfacilityon
theTX2computeratLincolnLabtodevelopcooperativetechniquesforengineeringdesign
problems.AndatRAND,wehavelearnedbypersonaldiscussionthatCliffShaw,TomEllis,and
KeithUncapherhavebeeninvolvedinimplementingamultistationtimesharingsystembuilt
aroundtheirJOHNNIACcomputer.TermedtheJOHNNIACOpenShopSystem(JOSSfor 3a9d

short),itapparentlyisnearcompletion,andwilluseremotetypewriterstations.

Undoubtedly,thereareeffortsofothersfallingintoeitherorbothcategoriesthathavebeen
overlooked.Suchoversighthasnotbeenintentional,anditishopedthattheseresearchers 3a9e

willmaketheirpertinentworkknowntous.

B.HYPOTHETICALDESCRIPTIONOFCOMPUTERBASEDAUGMENTATION3b
SYSTEM
Letusconsidersomespecificpossibilitiesforredesigningtheaugmentationmeansforan
intellectuallyoriented,problemsolvinghuman.Wechoosetopresentthosedevelopmentsof
languageandmethodologythatcancapitalizeuponthesymbolmanipulatingandportraying
capabilitiesofcomputerbasedequipment.Thepictureofthepossibilitiestopursuewillchange
andgrowrapidlyasresearchgetsunderway,butweneedtoprovidewhatpictureswecan
togivesubstancetothegeneralitiesdevelopedinSectionII,totrytoimpartourfeelingof 3b1
richpromise,andtointroduceapossibleresearchprogram(SectionIV).

Althoughourgeneralizations(aboutaugmentationmeans,capabilityhierarchies,and
mental,concept,symbol,process,andphysicalstructuring)mightretaintheirvalidityin
thefutureforinstance,ourgeneralizedpredictionthatnewdevelopmentsinconcept,
symbol,andprocessstructuringwillprovetobetremendouslyimportantthespecific
concepts,symbolstructures,andprocessesthatevolvewillmostlikelydifferfromwhatwe
knowandusenow.Infact,evenifweinsomewaycouldknownowwhatwouldemergeafter
say,tenyearsofresearch,itislikelythatanybutageneraldescriptionwouldbedifficultto 3b2
expressintoday'sterminology.

1.Background
3b3

Totrytogiveyou(thereader)aspecificsortoffeelforourthesisinspiteofthissituation,we
shallpresentthefollowingpictureofcomputerbasedaugmentationpossibilitiesbydescribing
whatmighthappenifyouwerebeinggivenapersonaldiscussiondemonstrationbyafriendly
fellow(namedJoe)whoisatrainedandexperienceduserofsuchanaugmentationsystem
withinanexperimentalresearchprogramwhichisseveralyearsbeyondourpresentstage.
Weassumethatyouapproachthisdemonstrationinterviewwithabackgroundsimilarto
whatthepreviousportionofthisreportprovidesthatis,youwillhaveheardorreadasetof
generalizationsandafewratherprimitiveexamples,butyouwillnotyethavebeengiven 3b3a
muchofafeelforhowacomputerbasedaugmentationsystemcanreallyhelpaperson.
Joeunderstandsthisandexplainsthathewilldohisbesttogiveyouthevalidconceptualfeel
thatyouwanttryingtotreadthenarrowlinebetweenbeingtoodetailedandlosingyour
overallviewancbeingtoogeneralandnotprovidingyouwithasolidfeelforwhatgoeson.
Hesuggeststhatyousitandwatchhimforawhileashepursuessometypicalwork,after
whichhewilldosomeexplaining.Youarenotparticularlyflatteredbythis,sinceyouknow
thatheisjustgoingtobeexercisingnewlanguageandmethodologydevelopmentsonhis
newartifactsandafterall,theartifactsdon'tlookabitdifferentfromwhatyouexpectedso
whyshouldhekeepyousittingthereasifyouwereacompletestrangertothisstuff?Itwill
justbeamatterof"havingthecomputerdosomeofhissymbolmanipulatingprocessesfor
himsothathecanusemorepowerfulconceptsandconceptmanipulationtechniques,"as3b3b
youhavesooftenbeentold.

Joehastwodisplayscreenssidebyside,butoneofthemhedoesn'tseemtouseasmuchas
theother.Andthescreensarealmosthorizontal,morelikethesurfaceofadraftingtable
thanthenearverticalpicturedisplaysyouhadsomehowimagined.Butyouseethereason
easily,forheisworkingonthedisplaysurfaceasintentlyasadraftsmanworksonhis
drawings,anditwouldbeawkwardtoreachouttoaverticalsurfaceforthiskindofwork.
SomeofthetimeJoeisusingbothhandsonthekeys,obviouslyfeedinginformationintothe3b3c

computeratagreatrate.

Anotherslightsurprise,thoughyouseethateachhandoperatesonasetofkeysonitsown
sideofthedisplayframes,sothatthehandsarealmosttwofeetapart.Butitisplainthatthis
arrangementallowshimtoremainpositionedovertheframesinarathernaturalposition,so
thatwhenhepicksthelightpenoutoftheair(whichisitsrestposition,thankstoasystem
ofjointedsupportingarmsandacontrolledtensionandrewindsystemfortheattachedcord)
hishandisstillonthewayfromthekeysettothedisplayframe.Whenheisthroughwiththe
penatthedisplayframe,heletsgoofit,thecordrewinds,andthepenisagaininposition.
Thereisthusaminimumofeffort,movement,andtimeinvolvedinturningtoworkonthe
frame.Thatis,hecouldeasilyshiftbackandforthfromusingkeysettousinglightpen,with
eitherhand(onepenispositionedforeachhand),withoutmovinghishead,turning,or 3b3d
leaning.

AgooddealofJoe'stime,though,seemstobespentwithonehandonakeysetandthe
otherusingalightpenonthedisplaysurface.Itisinthistypeofworkingmodethatthe
imagesonthedisplayframeschangedmostdynamically.Youreceiveanotherrealsurpriseas
yourealizehowmuchactivitythereisonthefaceofthesedisplaytubes.Youaskyourself
whyyouweren'tpreparedforthis,andyouareforcedtoadmitthatthegeneralizationsyou
hadheardhadn'treallysunkin"newmethodsformanipulatingsymbols"hadbeenanoft
repeatedterm,butitjusthadn'tincludedforyoutheimagesofthefreeandrapidwayin
whichJoecouldmakechangesinthedisplay,andofmeaningfulandflexible"shaping"of 3b3e
ideasandworkstatuswhichcouldtakeplacesorapidly.

Thenyourealizedthatyoucouldn'tmakeanysenseatalloutofthespecificthingshewas
doing,norofthemajorpartofwhatyousawonthedisplays.Youcouldrecognizemany
words,buttherewereagoodnumberthatwereobviouslyspecialabbreviationsofsomesort.
Duringthetimeswhenagivenimageorportionofanimageremainedunchangedlong
enoughforyoutostudyitabit,yourarelysawanythingthatlookedllkeasentenceasyou
wereusedtoseeingone.Youwerebeginningtogatherthattherewereothersymbolsmixed
withthewordsthatmightbepartofasentence,andthatthedifferentpartsofwhatmadea
fullthoughtstatement(yourfeelingaboutwhatasentenceis)werenotjustlaidoutendto
endasyouexpected.ButJoesuddenlyclearedthedisplaysandturnedtoyouwithagrinthat
signalledtheendofthepassiveobservationperiod,andalsothatsomehowtoldyouthathe
knewverywellthatyounowknewthatyouhadneededsuchaperiodtoshakeoutsomeof
yourlimitedimagesandtoreallyrealizethata"capabilityhierarchy"wasarichandvital 3b3f
thing.

"IguessyounoticedthatIwasusingunfamiliarnotions,symbols,andprocessestogoabout
doingthingsthatwereevenmoreunfamiliartoyou?"Youmadeanoncommittalnodyou
sawnoreasontoadmittohimthatyouhadn'tevenbeenabletotellwhichofthethingshe
hadbeendoingweretocooperatewithwhichotherthingsandhecontinued."Togiveyoua
feelforwhatgoeson,I'mgoingtostartdiscussinganddemonstratingsomeoftheverybasic
operationsandnotionsI'vebeenusing.You'vereadthestuffaboutprocessandprocess
capabilityhierarchies,I'msure.Iknowfrompastexperienceinexplainingradical
augmentationsystemstopeoplethatthenewandpowerfulhigherlevelcapabilitiesthatthey
areinterestedinbecausebasicallythosearewhatweareallanxioustoimprovecan'treally
beexplainedtothemwithoutfirstgivingthemsomeunderstandingofthenewandpowerful
capabilitiesuponwhichtheyarebuilt.Thisholdstruerightondownthelinetothetypeof
lowlevelcapabilitythatisnewanddifferenttothemallright,butthattheyjustwouldn't
ordinarilyseeasbeing'powerful.'Andyetoursystemswouldn'tbeanywherenearas
powerfulwithoutthem,andaperson'scomprehensionofthesystemwouldberathershallow
ifhedidn'thavesomeunderstandingofthesebasiccapabilitiesandofthehierarchical 3b3g

structurebuiltupfromthemtoprovidethehighestlevelcapabilities."

2.SingleFrameComposition
3b4

"Forexplanationpurposeshere,let'ssaythatthelowestlevelatwhichthecomputersystem
comesintodirectplayinmycapabilityhierarchyisinthetaskofwhatI'llcall'singleframe
composition.'We'llsticktoworkingwithprosetextinourexamplesmostpeoplecangrasp
easilyenoughwhatwearedoingtherewithouthavingtohavespecialbackgroundsin
mathematicsorscienceastheywouldtogainequalcomprehensionforsomeofthesimilar
sortsofthingswedowithdiagramsandmathematicalequations.Thislowlevelcomposition
taskisjustwhatyounormallydowithapenorpencilortypewriteronapieceofpaperthat
is,assembleabunchofsymbolsbeforeyoureyesinordertoportraysomethingwhichyou3b4a
haveinmind."

YoulistenedandwatchedasJoeshowedyousomeofthedifferentwaysinwhichthe
compositionofstraightforwardtextwasmadeeasierforhiminthissystem.Witheitherhand,
Joecould"type"(thekeysetsdidn'tlookatallliketypewriterkeyboards)individuallettersand
numbers,andifhehaddirectedittodoso,thecomputerwouldputeachsuccessivesymbol
nexttoitspredecessorjustasatypewriterdoesonlyheretherewascompletelyautomatic
"carriagereturn"service.Thisdidn'timpressyouverymuch,sinceanautomaticcarriage
returnfeaturewassortofatrivialreturnontheinvestmentbehindallofthisequipmentbut
thenyoureflectedthat,aslongasthecomputerwasthereanyway,tohelpdoalltheflashy
thingsyouhadwitnessedearlier,onemightaswelluseitinallofthelittlehelpfulwayshe3b4b
could.

Buttherewereotherwaysinwhichhelpwasderivedforthiscompositiontask.Heshowed
youhowhecouldcallupthedictionarydefinitiontoanywordhehadtypedin,withbutafew
quickflicksonthekeyset.Synonymsorantonymscouldjustaseasilybebroughtforth.This
alsoseemedsortoftriviallyobvious,andJoeseemedtoknowthatyouwouldfeelso."Itturns
outthatthissimplecapabilitymakesitfeasibletodosomeprettyroughtasksintheupper
levelsofthecapabilityhierarchywherepreciseuseofspecialtermsreallypaysoff,wherethe
humanjustcouldn'tbethatprecisebydependinguponhisunaidedmemoryfordefinitions
and'standards,'andwhereusingdictionaryandreferencebooklookupinthenormalfashion
wouldbesodistractingandtimeconsumingthatthetaskexecutionwouldbreakdown.We've
triedtakingthisfeatureawayinsomeoftheseprocessesupthere,andbelieveme,theresult3b4c

wasamess.

Youcouldgetsomedimfeelingforwhathemeant,havingwatchedhimworkingforawhile,
butyouwereneverthelessmuchrelievedtofindthenextthingheshowedyoutobemore
directlyimpressive.Heshowedyouhowhecouldsingleoutagroupofwords(calledthe
"objectsymbolstring,"orsimply"objectstring")anddefineanabbreviationterm,composed
ofanystringofsymbolshemightchoose,thatbecameassociatedwiththeobjectstringin
computerstorage.Atanylatertime(untilhechosetodiscardthatparticularabbreviation
fromhisworkingvocabulary)thetypingoftheabbreviationtermwouldcallforth
automaticallythe"printing"onthedisplayoftheentireobjectstring.Joeshowedyouanother
wayinwhichthisabbreviationfeaturemightwork.He"arranged"forthecomputertoprint
theabbreviationonthedisplay,justthewayhetypeditin.Atasubsequentreading,ifhehad
forgottenwhattheabbreviationstoodfor,hecouldcallforsubstitutionofthefullobject 3b4d
stringtorefreshhismemory.

Thenheshowedyouhowthissortoffacilityhadbeenextended,inarefinedway,toprovidea
ratherpowerfulsortofshorthand.Hecouldhitagreatmanycombinationsofkeysonhis
keyseti.e.,anyonestrokeofhishandcoulddepressanumberofkeys,whichgavehimover
athousanduniquesinglestrokesignalstothecomputerwitheitherhand.Someofthese
signalswereusedasabbreviationsforentirewords.Itseemsthat,forinstance,the150most
commonlyusedwordsinanaturallanguagemadeupabouthalfofanynormaltextinthat
language.Joesaidthatitwasthusquitefeasibletolearnandusethesinglestroke
abbreviationsforabouthalfofthewordsheused,butbeyondthateachaddedpercentbegan
torequirehimtohavetoomanyabbreviationsunderhiscommand.Buthesaidthatthere
werealotofwordendings,letterpairs(diagrams),andlettertriplets(trigrams)thatwereso
commonastomakeitpaytoabbreviatethemtoasinglestroke.Awholewordsoabbreviated
savedtypingallthelettersaswellasthespacesateithersideoftheword,andawordending
abbreviatedbyasinglestrokesavedtypingthelettersandtheendofwordspace.Heclaimed
thathecouldcomfortablyrattleoffabout180wordsaminutefasterthanhecould
comfortablytalk.Youbelievedhimafterhetranscribedyourtalkingforaminuteorso,andit
gaveyouaneeriefeelingtoseethenearinstantaneousappearanceofyourwordsand 3b4e

sentencesinneatprintedform.

Joesaidthattherewereothermiscellaneoussimplefeatures,andsomequitesophisticated
featurestohelpthecompositionprocess.Hemadesomebriefreferencestostatistical
predictionsthatthecomputercouldmakeregardingwhatyouweregolngtotypenext,and
thatifyougotreasonablyskillfulyoucould"steerthroughtheextrapolatedpredictionfield"as
youenteredyourinformationandoftensaveenergyandtime.Yougatheredthathethought
youwouldsaturateaboutthereonthisparticularsubject,becausehewentontothenext.3b4f

3.SingleFrameManipulation
3b5

"EvenifIcouldn'tactuallyspecifynewsymbolshereanyfasterthanwithatypewriter,the
extremeflexibilitythatthiscomputersystemprovidesformakingchangesinwhatis
presentedonthedisplayscreenwouldmakemeverymuchmoreeffectiveincreatingfinished
textthanIcouldeverbeonatypewriter."Withthisstatement,Joeproceededtoshowyou
whathemeant.Theframefullofyourtranscribedspeechwasstillshowing,andit
representedtheclumsyphrasingandillogicalprogressionofthoughtsotypicalof
extemporaneousspeech.Joetookthelightguninhisrighthand,andwithadeftflickofit,
coordinatedwithastrokeofhislefthandonitskeyset,causedthesilentandinstantaneous
deletionofasuperfluousword.Theworddisappearedfromtheframe,andtherestofthetext
3b5a

simultaneouslyreadjustedtopresenttheneat,nogap,fulllineappearanceithadhad.

Withbutslightlymoremotionofhislightpen,hecouldsimilarlydeleteanystringofwordsor
letters.HedemonstratedthisbycuttingoutwhatIthoughttobesomerelevantprose,and
thenheshowedhowthesystemallowedforsecondthoughtsaboutsuchhumandirected
processesthosewordswereautomaticallysavedforabriefperiodincasehewantedtocall
themback.Leavinghislightpenpointedatthespacewhereadeletedsymbolstringusedto 3b5b

be,Joecouldreinstateitinstantaneouslywithonestrokeofhislefthand.

Addingonemorelightpenpointingtowhatittooktodeleteanarbitrarystringofsymbols,
Joecoulddirectthecomputertomovethatstringfromwhereitwastoinsertitatanew
pointwhichhislightpendesignated.Againitwoulddisappearinstantaneouslyfromwhereit
hadbeen,butnowthemodifieddisplaywouldshowtheoldtexttohavebeenspreadapart
justenoughattheindicatedpointtoholdthisstring.Thetextwouldallstilllookasneatasif
freshlyretyped.Withsimilartypesofkeysetandlightpenoperations,Joecouldchange
paragraphbreakpoints,transposetwoarbitrarysymbolstrings(words,sentences,
paragraphs,etc.,orfragmentsthereof),readjustmarginsofarbitrarysectionsoftext
essentiallybeingabletoaffectimmediatelyanyofthechangesthataproofreadermightwant
todesignatewithhisspecialmarks,onlyheretheproofreaderisalwayslookingatcleantext 3b5c

asifithadbeeninstantaneouslyretypedaftereachdesignationhadbeenmade.

Joealsodemonstratedhowhecouldrequestthateachinstanceoftheuseofagiventermbe
changedtoanewlydesignatedterm,andthiswouldagainbeinstantaneouslyaccomplished.
Also,hecouldarbitrarilysetthemarginsbetweenwhichanysectionoftextmustappear,and
itslinelengthsandnumberoflineswouldautomaticallybeadjusted.Heshowedhowthiswas
usefulindisplayingparallelorcounterargumentsalthoughhesaidthatactualuseofthis
featurewasabitmoresophisticatedbysqueezingeachintohalfwidthandputtingthemside
byside(withaverticallinesuddenlyseparatingthem).Oneofthesectionsoftextwasabout
athirdlongerthantheotherbuttwoquickstrokeswithJoe'slefthandcausedthecomputer
toadjustthedisplayautomatically.Themiddleseparatorlinewasmovedtowardtheshorter
pieceoftext,andthelinelengthsofthetwosectionswereadjustedsothattheyoccupiedthe
samelengthalongthedlsplayframe.Yes,youwerebeginningtogetafeelforwhatthe
expression"flexiblenewmethodsformanipulatingsymbolstructures"mightreallyimply,at 3b5d

leastonthisbasiccapabilitylevel.

4.StructuringAnArgument
3b6

"Ifwewanttogoontoahigherlevelcapabilitytogiveyouafeelingforhowourrebuilt
capabilityhierarchyworks,itwillspeedusalongtolookathowwemightorganizethesemore
primitivecapabilitieswhichIhavedemonstratedintosomenewandbetterwaystosetup
whatwecancallan'argument.'Thisreferslooselytoanysetofstatements(we'llcallthem
'productstatements')thatrepresentstheproductofaperiodofworktowardagiven
objective.Confused?Well,takethesimplecasewhereanargumentleadstoasingleproduct
statement.Forinstance,youcometoaparticularpointinyourworkwhereyouhaveto
decidewhattodoforthenextstep.Yougothroughsomereasoningprocessusually
involvingstatementsandcomeupwithastatementspecifyingthatnextstep.Thatfinal
statementistheproductstatement,anditrepresentstheproductoftheargumentor 3b6a

reasoningprocesswhichledtoit.

"Youusuallythinkofanargumentasaserialsequenceofstepsofreason,beginningwith
knownfacts,assumptions,etc.,andprogressingtowardaconclusion.Well,wedohaveto
thinkthroughthesestepsserially,andweusuallydolistthestepsseriallywhenwewrite
themoutbecausethatisprettymuchthewayourpapersandbookshavetopresentthem
theyareprettylimitinginthesymbolstructuringtheyenableustouse.Haveyouevenseen
a'scrambledtext'programmedinstructionbook?Thatisaninterestingexampleofadeviation
3b6b
fromstraightserialpresentationofsteps.
"Conceptuallyspeaking,however,anargumentisnotaserialaffair.Itissequential,Igrant
you,becausesomestatementshavetofollowothers,butthisdoesn'timplythatitsnatureis
necessarilyserial.WeusuallystringStatementBafterStatementA,withStatementsC,D,E,
F,andsoonfollowinginthatorderthisisaserialstructuringofoursymbols.Perhapseach
statementlogicallyfollowedfromallthosewhichprecededitontheseriallist,andifso,then
theconceptualstructuringwouldalsobeserialinnature,anditwouldbenicelymatchedfor 3b6c

usbythesymbolstructuring.

"ButamoretypicalcasemightfindAtobeanindependentstatement,BdependentuponA,
CandDindependent,EdependinguponDandB,EdependentuponC,andFdependentupon
A,D,andE.See,sequentialbutnotserial?Aconceptualnetworkbutnotaconceptualchain.
Theoldpaperandpencilmethodsofmanipulatingsymbolsjustweren'tveryadaptableto
makingandusingsymbolstructurestomatchthewayswemakeanduseconceptual
structures.Withthenewsymbolmanipulatingmethodshere,wehaveterrificflexibilityfor3b6d
matchingthetwo,andboy,itreallypaysoffinthewayyoucantieintoyourwork.

Thismakesyourecalldimlythegeneralizationsyouhadheardpreviouslyaboutprocess
structuringlimitingsymbolstructuring,symbolstructuringlimitingconceptstructuring,and
conceptstructuringlimitingmentalstructuring.Younodcautiously,inhopesthathewill
proceedinsomewaythatwilltiethiskindoftalktosomethingfromwhichyoucangetthe3b6e
"feel"ofwhatitisallabout.Asitturnsout,thatisjustwhatheintendstodo.

"Let'sactuallyworksomeexamples.Youhelpme."Andyoubecomeinvolvedinatruly
fascinatinggame.Joetellsyouthatyouaretodevelopanargumentleadingtostatements
summarizingtheaugmentationmeanssofarrevealedtoyoufordoingthekindofstraight
textworkusuallydonewithapencilanderaseronasinglesheetofpaper.Youunconsciously
lookforascratchpadbeforeyourealizethatheistellingyouthatyouaregoingtodothisthe
"augmentedway"byusinghimandhissystemwithartfulcoachingfromhim.Underabitof
urgingfromhim,youbeginselfconsciouslytomumblesomeinanestatementsaboutwhat
youhaveseen,whattheyimply,whatyourdoubtsandreservationsare,etc.Hemercilessly
ignoresyourobviousdiscomfortandgivesyounocuetostop,untilhedropshishandstohis
lapafterhehasfilledfiveframeswiththesestatements(thesurplusfilledframesdisappeared
3b6f
tosomewhereyouassumeJoeknowswheretheywentandhowtogetthemback).

"Younoticehowyouwandereddowndifferentshortpaths,andcrisscrossedyourselfafew
times?"Younoddepressed,nodefense.Butheisn'tneedlingyou."Verynatural
development,justthewaywehumansalwaysseemtostartoutonataskforwhichwe
aren'tallprimedwithknowledge,method,experience,andconfidencewhichistoinclude
essentiallyeveryproblemofanyconsequencetous.Solet'sseehowwecanaccommodate3b6g
thehuman'swayofdevelopinghiscomprehensionandhisfinalproblemsolution.

"PerhapsIshouldhavestoppedsoonerIamsupposedtobecoachingyouinsteadofteasing
youbutIhadareason.Youhaven'tbeenmakinguseofthesimplesymbolmanipulation
meansthatIshowedyouotherthantheshorthandforgettingthestuffonthescreens.You
startedoutprettymuchthewayyoumightwithyourtypewriterorpencil.I'llshowyouhow
youcouldhavebeendoingotherwise,butIwantyoutonoticefirsthowharditisforaperson
torealizehowreallyunquestioningheisaboutthewayhedoesthings.Somehowwe
implicitlyviewmostallofourmethodsasjustsortof'thewaythingsaredone,that'sall.'You
knewthatsomeexotictechniquesweregoingtobeapplied,andyou'llhavetoadmitthatyou 3b6h

werepassivelywaitingforthemtobehandedtoyou."

Withanoncommittalnod,yousuggestgettingonwithit.Joebegins,"You'reprobably
waitingforsomethingimpressive.WhatI'mtryingtoprimeyoufor,though,istherealization
thattheimpressivenewtricksallarebaseduponlotsofchangesinthelittlethingsyoudo.
Thiscomputerizedsystemisusedoverandoverandoveragaintohelpmedolittlethings
wheremymethodsandwaysofhandlinglittlethingsarechangeduntil,lo,they'veaddedup 3b6i

andsuddenlyIcandoimpressivenewthings."

Youdon'tknow.He'saniceenoughguy,buthesuregetspreachy.Butthegoodsideofyour
charactershowsthrough,andyourealizethateverythingsofarhasbeenaboutlittlethings
thisisprobablyanimportantpoint.You'llstickwithhim.Okay,sowhatcouldyouhavebeen
doingtousethesimpletrickshehadshownyouinausefulway?Joepicksupthelightpen,
poiseshisotherhandoverthekeyset,andlooksatyou.Youdidn'tneedthehint,butthanks
anyway,andlet'sstartrearrangingandcleaninguptheworkspaceinsteadofjustdumping3b6j
morerawmaterialonit.

WithclosercoachingnowfromJoe,youstartthroughthelistofstatementsyou'vemadeand
begintoedit,reword,compile,anddelete.It'sfun"putthatsentencebackupherebetween
thesetwo"andblink,it'sdone."Groupthesefourstatements,indentedtwospaces,under
theheading"shorthand,"andblinko,it'sdone."InsertwhatIsaynextthere,afterthat
sentence."Youdictateasentencetoextendathoughtthatisdeveloping,andJoeeffortlessly
convertsitintoaninsertednewsentence.Yourideasbegintotakeshape,andyoucan
continuallyreworktheexistingsetofstatementstokeeprepresentingthestateofyour 3b6k

"conceptstructure."

Youarequiteelatedbythisfreedomtojuggletherecordofyourthoughts,andbytheway
thisfreedomallowsyoutoworkthemintoshape.Youreflectedthatthisflexiblecutandtry
processreallydidappeartomatchthewayyouseemedtodevelopyourthoughts.Golly,you
couldbewritingmathexpressions,adcopy,orapoem,withthesametypeofbenefit.You
werereadytotellJoethatnowyousawwhathehadbeentryingtotellyouaboutmatching
symbolstructuringtoconceptstructuringwhenhemovedontoshowyouasuccessionof
othertechniquesthatmadeyourealizeyouhadn'tyetgottenthefullsignificanceofhis 3b6l
pitch.

Sofarthestructurethatyouhavebuiltwithyoursymbolslooksjustlikewhatyoumight
buildwithpencilandpapertechniquesonlyherethebuildingissomucheasierwhenyou
cantrim,extend,insert,andrearrangesofreelyandrapidly.Butthesamecomputerhere
thatgivesusthesefreedomswithsotrivialanapplicationofitspower,canjustaseasilygive
usothersimplecapabilitieswhichwecanapplytothedevelopmentanduseofdifferenttypes
ofstructurefromwhatweusedtouse.Butletmeunfoldtheselittlecomputertricksaswe 3b6m

cometothem.

"Whenyoulookatagivenstatementinthemiddleofyourargumentstructure,therearea
numberofthingsyouwanttoknow.Let'ssimplifythesltuationbysayingthatyoumightask
threequestions,'What'sthis?','Howcome?',and'Sowhat?'Let'stakethesequestionsoneat
atimeandseehowsomechangesinstructuringmighthelpapersonanswerthembetter.3b6n

Youlookatastatementandyouwanttounderstanditsmeaning.Youareusedtoseeing
astatementportrayedinjustthemanneryoumighthearitasaserialsuccessionofwords.
But,justaswiththestatementswithinanargument,theconceptualrelationshipamongthe
wordsofasentenceisnotgenerallyserial,andwecanbenefitinmatchingbettertothe
conceptualstructureifwecanconvenientlyworkwithcertainnonserialsymbolstructuring
3b6o

formswithinsentences.

"MostofthestructuringformsI'llshowyoustemfromthesimplecapabilityofbeingableto
establisharbitrarylinkagesbetweendifferentsubstructures,andofdirectingthecomputer
subsequentlytodisplayasetoflinkedsubstructureswithanyrelativepositioningwemight
designateamongthedifferentsubstructures.Youcandesignateasmanydifferentkindsof
linksasyouwish,sothatyoucanspecifydifferentdisplayormanipulativetreatmentforthe
3b6p

differenttypes."

Joepickedoutoneofyoursentences,andpushedtherestofthetextafewlinesupand
downfromittoisolateit.Hethenshowedyouhowhecouldmakeafewstrokesonthe
keysettodesignatethetypeoflinkhewantedestablished,andpickthetwosymbol
structuresthatweretobelinkedbymeansofthelightpen.Hesaidthatmostlinkspossessed
adirection,i.e.,theywerelikeanarrowpointingfromonesubstructuretoanother,sothatin
3b6q

settingupalinkhemustspecifythetwosubstructuresinagivenorder.

Hewenttoworkforamoment,rapidlysettinguplinkswithinyoursentence.Thenhe
showedyouhowyoucouldgetsomehelpinlookingatastatementandunderstandingit.
"Hereisonestandardportrayal,forwhichIhaveestablishedacomputerprocesstodothe
structuringautomaticallyonthebasisoftheinterwordlinks."Afewstrokesonthekeyset
andsuddenlythesentencefelltopiecesdifferentpartsofitbeingpositionedhereandthere,
withsomelinesconnectingthem."Rememberdiagrammingsentenceswhenyouwere
studyinggrammar?Somegoodmethods,plusabitofpractice,andyou'dbesurprisedhow
muchadiagrammaticbreakdowncanhelpyoutoscanacomplexstatementanduntangleit 3b6r

quickly.

"Wehavedevelopedquiteafewmorelittleschemestohelpatthestatementlevel.Idon't
wanttotangleyouupwithtoomuchdetail,though.Youcansee,probably,thatquick
dictionarylookuphelps."Heaimedatatermwiththelightpenandhitafewstrokesonthe
keyset,andtheoldtextjumpedfartheroutofthewayandthedefinitionappearedabovethe
diagram,withthedefinedtermbrighterthantherestofthediagram.Andheshowedyou
alsohowyoucouldlinksecondaryphrases(orsentences)topartsofthestatementformore
detaileddescription.Thesesecondarysubstructureswouldn'tappearwhenyounormally
viewedthestatement,butcouldbebroughtinbysimplerequestifyouwantedcloserstudy.3b6s

"Itprovestobeterrificallyusefultobeabletoworkeasilywithstatementsthatrepresent
moresophisticatedandcomplexconcepts.Sortoflikebeingabletousestructuralmembers
thatarelighterandstrongeritgivesyounewfreedominbuildingstructures.Butlet'smove3b6t

onwe'llcomebacktothisarealater,ifwehavetime.

"Whenyoulookatastatementandask,'Howcome?',youareusedtoscanningbackovera
serialarrayofpreviouslymadestatementsinsearchofanunderstandingofthebasisupon
whichthisstatementwasmade.Butsomeofthesepreviousstatementsaremuchmore
significantthanotherstothissearchforunderstanding.Letususewhatwecall'antecedent
links'topointtothese,andI'llgiveyouabasicideaofhowwestructureanargumentsothat
3b6u

wecanquicklytrackdowntheessentialbasisuponwhichagivenstatementrests."

Youhelpedhimpickouttheprimaryantecedentsofthestatementyouhadbeenstudying,
andheestablishedlinkstothem.Thesestatementswerescatteredbackthroughtheserial
listofstatementsthatyouhadassembled,andJoeshowedyouhowyoucouldeitherbrighten
orunderlinethemtomakethemstandouttoyoureyejustbyrequestingthecomputerto
dothisforalldirectantecedentsofthedesignatedstatement.Hetoldyou,though,thatyou
soongetsoyouaren'tverymuchinterestedinseeingtheseriallistingofallofthe
statements,andhemadeanotherrequestofthecomputer(viathekeyset)thateliminated
allthepriorstatements,exceptthedirectantecedents,fromthescreen.Thesubject
statementwenttothebottomoftheframe,andtheantecedentstatementswereneatly 3b6v
listedaboveit.

Joethenhadyoudesignateanorderof"importancetocomprehension"amongthese
statements,andherearrangedthemaccordinglyasfastasyoucouldchoosethem.(This
choosingwasremarkablyhelpedbyhavingonlytheremainderstatementstostudyforeach
newchoiceanotherlittlecontributiontoeffectiveness,youthought.)Hementionedthatyou
coulddesignateorderingsunderseveraldifferentcriteria,andlaterhavethedisplayshow
whicheverorderingyouwished.This,heimplied,couldbeusedveryeffectivelywhenyou
werebuildingorstudyinganargumentstructureinwhichfromtimetotimeyouwantedto 3b6w

strengthenyourcomprehensionrelativetodifferentaspectsofthesituation.

"Eachprimaryantecedentcansimilarlybelinkedtoitsprimaryantecedents,andsoon,until
youarriveatthestatementsrepresentingthepremises,theacceptedfacts,andthe
objectivesuponwhichthisargumenthadbeenestablished.Whenwehadestablishedthe
antecedentlinksforallthestatementsintheargument,thequestion'Sowhat?'thatyou
mightaskwhenlookingatagivenstatementwouldbeansweredbylookingforthe
statementsforwhichthegivenstatementwasanantecedent.Wealreadyhavelinkstothese
consequentsjustturnaroundthearrowsontheantecedentlinksandwehaveconsequent
links.Sowecaneasilycallforthanuncluttereddisplayofconsequentstatementstohelpus
3b6x

seewhyweneededthisgivenstatementintheargument.

"Tohelpusgetbettercomprehensionofthestructureofanargument,wecanalsocallforth
aschematicorgraphicaldisplay.Oncetheantecedentconsequentlinkshavebeen
established,thecomputercanautomaticallyconstructsuchadisplayforus."So,Joespenta
fewminutes(withyourhelp)establishingareasonablesetoflinksamongthestatementsyou
hadoriginallylisted.Thenanotherkeyedinrequesttothecomputer,andalmost
instantaneouslythereappearedanetworkoflinesanddotsthatlookedsomethinglikeatree
exceptthatsometimesbrancheswouldfusetogether."Eachnodeordotrepresentsoneof
thestatementsofyourargument,andthelinesareantecedentconsequentlinks.The
antecedentsofonestatementalwayslieabovethatstatementorrather,theirnodeslie
aboveitsnode.Whenyougetusedtousinganetworkrepresentationlikethis,itreally
becomesagreathelpingettingthefeelforthewayallthedifferentideasandreasoningfit3b6y
togetherthatis,fortheconceptualstructuring."

Joedemonstratedsomewaysinwhichyoucouldmakeuseofthediagramtostudythe
argumentstructure.Pointtoanynode,giveacoupleofstrokesonthekeyset,andthe
correspondingstatementwouldappearontheotherscreenandthatnodewouldbecome
brighter.Calltheantecedentsforthonthesecondscreen,andselectoneofspecialinterest
deletingtheothers.Followbackdowntheantecedenttrailalittlefurther,usingonescreento
lookatthedetailatanytime,andtheothertoshowyouthelargerview,withautomatic 3b6z
nodebrighteningindicationofwherethesedetaileditemsfitinthelargerview.

"Foralittleembellishmenthere,andtoshowoffanotherlittlecapabilityinmyrepertoire,let
melabelthenodessothatyoucandevelopmoreassociationbetweenthenodesandthe
statementsintheargument.Icandothisseveralways.Foronething,Icantellthe
computertonumberthestatementsintheorderinwhichyouoriginallyhadthemlisted,and
havethelabellingdoneautomatically."Thistookhimatotaloffivestrokesonthekeyset,and
suddenlyeachnodewasmadeintoacirclewithanumberinit.Thestatementsthatwereon
thesecondscreennoweachhaditsrespectiveserialnumbersittingnexttoitintheleft
margin."Thishelpsyourememberwhatthedifferentnodesonthenetworkdisplaycontain.
Wehavealsoevolvedsomehandytechniquesforconstructingabbreviationlabelsthathelp 3b6aa
yourmemoryquiteabit.

"Also,wecandisplayextrafinestructureandlabellingdetailwithinthenetworkinthespecific
localareawehappentobeconcentratingupon.Thisfinerdetailiswashedoutaswemoveto
anotherspotwithourcloseattention,andthecoarserremainingstructureiscompressed,so
thatthereisroomforournewspottobeblownup.Itisalotlikeusingzonesofvariable
magnificationasyouscanthestructurehighermagnificationwhereyouareinspecting
detail,lowermagnificationinthesurroundingfieldsothatyourfeelforthewholestructure
3b6ab

andwhereyouareinitcanstaywithyou."

5.GeneralSymbolStructuring
3b7

"Ifyouaretanglingwithaproblemofanysizewhetheritinvolvesyouforhalfanhouror
twoyearstheentirecollectionofstatements,sketches,computations,literaturesources,
andsourceextractsthatisassociatedwithyourworkwouldinourmindsconstituteasingle
symbolstructure.Theremaybemanylevelsofsubstructuringbetweenthelevelofindividual
symbolsandthatrepresentedbytheentirecollection.YouandIhavebeenworxingwith
someofthelowerorderedsubstructurestheindividualstatementsandthemultistatement
argumentsandhaveskimmedthroughsomeofthewaystobuildandmanipulatethem.
Theresultsofsmallargumentsareusuallyintegratedinahigherlevelnetworkofargument
orconceptdevelopment,andtheseintostillhigherlevelnetworks,andsoon.Butatany
suchlevel,themannerinwhichtheinterrelationshipbetweenthekernelsofargumentcan
betagged,portrayed,studiedandmanipulatedismuchthesameasthosewhichwehave 3b7a
justbeenthrough.

"Substructuresthatmightrepresentmathematicalorformallogicargumentsmaybelinked
rightinwithsubstructurescomposedofthemoreinformalstatements.Substructuresthat
representgraphs,curves,engineeringdrawings,andothergraphicalformscanlikewisebe
integrated.Onecanalsoappendspecialsubstructures,ofanysize,toparticularother
substructures.Afrequentuseofthisistoappenddescriptivematerialsomethinglike
footnotes,onlymuchmoreflexible.Or,specialmessagescanbehungonthatofferideassuch
assimplifyinganargumentorcircumventingablockedpathtobeuncoveredandconsidered
atsomelaterdate.Thesedifferentappendedsubstructurescanremaininvisibletotheworker
untilsuchtimeashewantstoflushthemintoview.Hecanaskforthecuesymbolsthat
indicatetheirpresence(identifyingwheretheyarelinkedandwhattheirrespectivetypesare)
tobeshownonthenetworkdisplayanytimehewishes,andthencallupwhicheverofthem
hewishesIfheisinterestedinonlyonetypeofappendedsubstructure,hecanrequestthat
3b7b

onlythecuesassociatedwiththattypebedisplayed.

"Youshouldalsorealizethatasubstructuredoesn'thavetobeahunkofdatasittingneatly
distinctwithinthenormalformofthelargerstructure.Onecanchoosefromasymbol
structure(orsubstructure,generally)anyarbitrarycollectionofitssubstructures,designate
anyarbitrarystructuringamongtheseandanynewsubstructureshewantstoadd,andthus
defineanewsubstructurewhichthecomputercanuntanglefromthelargerstructureand
presenttohimatanytime.TheassociativetrailsthatBushsuggestedrepresentaprimitive
exampleofthis.Agooddealofthistypeofactivityisinvolvedduringtheearly,shifting
developmentofsomephaseofwork,asyousawwhenyouwerecollectingtentative
argumentchains.Buthereagain,wefindevermoredelightfulwaystomakeuseofthe
straightforwardseemingcapabilitiesindevelopingnewhigherlevelcapabilitieswhich,of 3b7c
course,seemsortofstraightforwardbythen,too.

"Ifound,whenIlearnedtoworkwiththestructuresandmanipulationprocessessuchaswe
haveoutlined,thatIgotratherimpatientifIhadtogobacktodealingwiththeserial
statementstructuringinbooksandjournals,orotherordinarymeansofcommunicatingwith
otherworkers.Itisratherlikehavingtoprojectthreedimensionalimagesontotwo
dimensionalframesandtoworkwiththemthereinsteadofintheirnaturalform.Actually,it
ismuchclosertothetruthtosaythatitisliketryingtoprojectndimensionalforms(the
conceptstructures,whichwehaveseencanberelatedwithmanymanynonintersecting
links)ontoaonedimensionalform(theserialstringofsymbols),wherethehumanmemory
andvisualizationhastoholdandpicturethelinksandrelationships.Iguessthat'sanatural
feeling,though.Onegetsimpatlentanytlmeheisforcedintoarestrlctedorprimitivemode 3b7d

ofoperationexceptperhapsforrecreatlonalpurposes.

"I'msurethatyou'vehadtheexperienceofworkingoverajournalarticletoget
comprehensionandperhapssomespecialpurposeconclusionsthatyoucanintegrateinto
yourownwork.Well,whenyouevergethandyatroamingoverthetypeofsymbolstructure
whichwehavebeenshowinghere,andyouturnforthispurposetoanotherperson'swork
thatisstructuredinthisway,youwillfindaterrificdifferencethereintheeaseofgaining
comprehensionastowhathehasdoneandwhyhehasdoneit,andofisolatingwhatyou
wanttouseandmakingsureoftheconditionsunderwhichyoucanuseit.Thisistrueevenif
youfindhisstructureleftintheconditioninwhichhehasbeenworkingonitthatis,withno
specialprovisionsforhelpinganoutsiderfindhiswayaround.Butwehavelearnedquiteafew
simpletricksforleavingappendedroadsigns,supplementaryinformation,questions,and
auxiliarylinksonourworkingstructuresinsuchamannerthattheynevergetinourwayas
weworksothatthevisitortoourstructurecangainhiscomprehensionandisolatewhathe
wantsinmarvelouslyshortorder.Someofthesetechniquesarequitecloselyrelatedtothose
usedinautomatedinstructionprogrammingperhapsyouknowabout'teachingmachines?'
3b7e
"Whatwefoundourselvesdoing,whenhavingtodoanyextensivedigestingofjournal
articles,wastotypelargebatchesofthetextverbatimintocomputerstore.Itissonicetobe
abletotearitapart,establishourowndefinitionsandsubstitute,restructure,appendnotes,
andsoforth,inpursuitofcomprehension,thatitwasgenerallywellworththetrouble.The
keysetshorthandmadethisreasonablypractical.Buttheprojectnowhasanopticalcharacter
readerthatwillconvertourexternalreferencesintomachinecodeforus.Thereferencesare
availableforstudyinoriginalserialformonourscreens,butanystructuringandtaggingdone
3b7f
byapreviousreader,orourselves,canalsobeutilized.

"Anumberofushereareusingtheaugmentedsystemsforourprojectresearch,andwefind
thatafterafewpassesthroughareference,weveryrarelygobacktoitinitsoriginalform.It
sitsinthearchiveslikeanorangerind,withmostoftherealjuicesqueezedout.The
contributionsfromthesereferencesformsturdymembersofourstructure,andareduly
taggedastosourcesothatacknowledgmentisalwaysimplicitlynoted.Theanalysisand
digestionthatanyofusmakesonsuchareferenceisfullyavailabletotheothers.Itisrather
amazinghowmuchsuperfluousverbiageiscontainedinthosepapersmerelytotrytomake 3b7g

upforthepitifullysparsepossibilitiesavailableforsymbolstructuringinprintedtext."

6.ProcessStructuring
3b8

TherewasaslightpausewhileJoeapparentlywasreflectinguponsomething.Hestartedto
speak,thoughtdifferentlyofit,andturnedtoflashsomethingonascreen.Youlookedquickly,
anticipatingthatnowyouwouldcomprehend.Well,moreofthedisplaylookedmeaningfulto
youthanwhenyouhadfirstwatchedhimgoingabouthiswork,butyourealizedthatyou
werestillabituneducated.I'vedevelopedasequenceforpresentingthedifferentbasic
featuresofouraugmentationsystemthatseemstoworkprettywell,andIjustwantedtobe3b8a
sureIwasstillfollowingitreasonablyclosely."

Henoticedyouwrinkleyourfaceasyoulookedatthedisplay."It'stimetoshiftthetopica
bit,andsomeofthethingsonthescreenthatareprobablypuzzlingyoucanmakeastarting
pointforanewdiscussionphase.See,whenIoutlinedadeliveryforgivingafeelforthese
techniquestotheuninitiated,Icouldhavesketchedoutthesubjectmatterinaskeletal
argumentstructure.Fromwhatwe'vebeenthroughsofar,youmightexpectittobelike
that.WhatIdid,though,wastotreatthematterasaprocessthatIwasgoingtoexecute
theprocessofgivingyoualecturedemonstration.Itisarathertrivialexerciseofthe
techniqueswehavefordevelopingandmanipulatingprocesses,butanywaythat'stheformI 3b8b

choseformakingthenotes.

"Aprocessissomethingthatisdesigned,built,andusedasisanytool.Inthegeneralsense
inwhichweconsiderprocessestobeapartofouraugmentatlonsystem,itisabsolutely
necessarythattherebeeffectivecapabilityfordesigningandbuildingprocessesaswellasfor
usingthem.Foronething,thelayingoutofobjectivesandamethodofapproachfora
problemrepresentaformofprocessdesignandbuilding,toourwayoflookingatit.Andan
independentproblemsolvercertainlyhastohavethiscapability.Indeed,wefindthat
designingandcoordinatingone'ssequenceofsteps,inhighlevelsorinlowlevelsofsuch 3b8c
processstructuring,isanextremelyimportantpartofthetotalactivity.

"Oneofourresearchguysintheearlyphasesofouraugmentationdevelopmentwas
considered(then)tobeabugonthistopic.Hemaintainedthatabouttenpercentofthelittle
stepswetookalldayaccountedforninetypercentoftheprogresstowardthegoalswe
claimedtopursuethatis,thatninetypercentofouractionsandthoughtswerecoupledto
ournetprogressinonlyaveryfeebleway.Well,wecan'tanalyzetheoldwaysofdoingthings
veryaccuratelytocheckhisestimatedfigures,butwecertainlyhavecometobeingeneral
sympathywithhisstand.Wehavedevelopedquiteafewconceptsandmethodsforusingthe
computersystemtohelpusplanandsupervisesophisticatedcoursesofaction,tomonitor
andevaluatewhatwedo,andtousethisinformationasdirectfeedbackformodifyingour 3b8d
planningtechniquesinthefuture.

"Thereare,ofcourse,theexplicitcomputerprocesseswhichweuse,andwhichour
philosophyrequirestheaugmentedmantobeabletodesignandbuildforhimself.Anumber
ofpeople,outsideourresearchgrouphere,maintainstoutlythatapracticalaugmentation
systemshouldnotrequirethehumantohavetodoanycomputerprogrammingtheyfeel
thatthisistoospecializedacapabilitytoburdenpeoplewith.Well,whatthatmeansinour
eyes,iftranslatedtoahomeworkshop,wouldbelikesayingthatyoucan'trequirethe
operatinghumantoknowhowtoadjusthistools,orsetupjigs,orchangedrillsizes,andthe
like.Youcanseetherethatthesesklllsareeasytolearninthecontextofwhatthehuman
hastolearnanywayaboutusingthetools,andthattheyprovideformuchgreaterflexibility3b8e

infindingconvenientwaystousethetoolstohelpshapematerials.

"Itwon'ttaketoomuchtimetogiveyouafeelforthehelpfulmethodswehaveforworking
oncomputerprocessstructuresorprogramsbecausethereisquiteabitofsimilarityin
concepttowhatyouhaveseeninthesymbolstructuringtechniques.Nomatterwhat
languageyouusewhethermachinelanguage,listlanguage,orALGOL,forinstanceyou
builduptherequiredprocessstructurebyorganizingstatementsinthatlanguage.Each
statementspecifiesagivenprocesstoyourcomputer.Well,youhavealreadyseenhowyou
cangethelpindevelopingpreciseandpowerfulstatements,oringainingquick
comprehensionofstatements,bychartingordiagrammingthemandusingspeciallinks
betweenthedifferentparts."Lookhere.'"Andhewentafterwhathesaidwasatypical
processstructure,togiveyouanexampleofwhathewastalkingabout.Inseveralbrief,
successiveframedisplays,beforehegottotheonehewanted,yougotglimpsesofnetwork
schematicsthatremindedyouofthoseusedinsymbolstructuring.But,whathefinallyhad3b8f

onthedisplayframewasquitedifferentfromtheargumentstatementsyouhadseen.

"Inexplainingsymbolstructuringtoyou,Iusedthelikelyquestions,'What'sthis?''How
come?'and'Sowhat?'topointouttheusefulnessofsomeofourstructuringmethods.Here,
inprocessstructuring,correspondingquestionsaboutastatementmightbe:'Whatdoesit
saytodo?''Whateffectwillthathave?'and'Whydowewantthatdone?'Let'stakeaquick
3b8g
lookatsomeofthewaysyoucangethelpinansweringthem.

"Thelanguageusedtocomposetheseprocessdescriptionstatemeforthecomputeris
considerablymorecompactandprecisethanisanaturallanguage,suchasEnglish,andthere
iscorrespondinglylessadvantagetobegainedbyappendingspeciallinksandtagsforgiving
ushumansabettergraspoftheirmeaning.However,asyouseeinthislefthandsectionof
thestatementportrayal,geometricalgrouping,linking,andpositioningofthestatement
componentsareusedintheblownupstatementdisplay.Butthisportrayaldoesn'tstemfrom
specialappendedinformation,itcanbelaidoutlikethisautomaticallybythecomputer,just
fromthecuesitgetsfromthenecessarysymbolcomponentsofthestatement.Thedifferent
significantrelationshipsaremoreperceptibletoahumaninthiswayoflayingitout,andan
experiencedhumanthusgetsquiteabitofhelpinansweringthefirstquestion:'Whatdoesit
3b8h

saytodo?'

Forthesecondquestion,relativetowhateffectthespecifiedactionwillhave,someofthese
symbolstotherightgiveyouaquickstoryabouttheverydetailedandimmediateeffecton
thestateofthesymbolstructurewhichthisprocessstructureismanipulating.Othersymbols
hereprovidekeyswhichalightpenselectioncanactivatetobringtoyoudisplaysofthat
symbolstructure,usuallyachoiceofseveralrelevantviewsatdifferentlevelsofthe
structure.ThenIcanusethekeysettoaskfortheprecedingstatement,ifI'malittlepuzzled
aboutthedetailedmanipulationor,Icanrequestaspecifichigherlevelviewoftheprocess3b8i
structurebylightpenselectionononeoftheseremainingsymbolshere.

Sosaying,Joeselectedoneofthesesymbolswithhispen,andanewanddifferentdisplay
poppedintoview."Thisisthenextlevelupintheprocessstructure.Itconsistsoflistsof
compactlyabbreviatedstatements,andsomecondensednotesabouttheireffects.Ifwe
want,wecanblowuponeatatimeaswestudyoverthelist.Inthiscontext,onecanget
someanswertothelargerpictureofwhateffectwillagivenstatementhave,andalsosome
answertothequestionaboutwhywewantagiveneffectproduced.Butthisisasortofa
holdoverfromoldprogramminghabits,andmostofusnowadaysaremakingconsiderably
moreuseoftheschematictechniquesthatevolvedoutoftheprogramflowcharting 3b8j
techniquesandoutofoursymbolstructuringtechniques.

"Iknowthatyouhavelessprevlousfamiliaritywiththenatureofprogramsthanyoudowlth
thenatureofarguments,soI'lljustgiveyouafewquickviewsofwhattheseprocess
structureschematicportrayalslooklike,andnottrytoexplaintheminanydetail.Heflashed
afewonthescreen,andindicatedhowsomeofthedifferentfeaturescouldgivethehumana
quickappreclationofhowdifferentcomponentprocesseswerecooperatingtoproduceamore
sophisticatedprocess.Youcouldappreciatesomeofthetricksoflinkinginexplanatoryand
descriptivesubstructureandthegeneralmeansofusingallthedifferentsymbolstructuring
tricksforrepresentingtothehumantheconsiderations,criticalfeatures,and 3b8k

lnterdependenciesinvolvedintheprocessstructure.

"Mostofthisportrayaltechniqueactuallyrepresentsspecialstructuringofwhatwepreviously
definedinaloosewayasarguments.Thehumanwhowantstoapproachanestablished
processstructureinordertomodifyit,needstogaincomprehensionoftherelevantfeatures
bothofthefunctioningandofthedesignofthestructure.Yousawhowthiscouldbe
facilitatedbyoursymbolstructuringtechniques.Andifheisbuildinganewprocessstructure
orchanginganexistingone,heneedstostructuretheargumentorreasoningbehindthe
design.Wehavedevelopedanumberofspecialsymbolstructuringtechniquesthatallowus 3b8l
tomatchespeciallywelltotheconceptsinvolvedindesigningprocesses.

"Butthereisaverysignificantfeatureinvolvedinthisparticulartypeofprocessstructuring
thatIshouldtellyouabout.Itisbaseduponthefactthattheprocessdescriptionlanguage
forthecomputerisformalandprecise.Becauseofthisfact,wecanestablishexplicitrulesfor
treatingstatementsinthislanguage,andfortreatingsymbolstructurescomposedofthese
statements,suchthatcomputerprocessesbasedupontheserulescanbesaidtoextract
meaningfromthesestatementsandtodooperationsbaseduponthismeaning.Theresultis
thatthecomputerisabletofindanswerstoamuchwiderrangeofquestionsabouta
specifiedprocessstructurethanitcouldifonlythestructuralcharacteristicswerediscernible
3b8m
toit.

"Inourstudyinganddesigningprocessstructures,wehavefoundmanywaystocapitalize
uponthismoresophisticatedquestionansweringcapabilitynowpossessedbythecomputer.
Wearelearning,forinstance,howtogetthecomputertodecidewhetherornotsometypes
ofdesignspecificatlonsaremet,andifnot,wherethelimitationexists.Or,perhapswe
approachanalreadydesignedprocessstructurewhichwethinkwecanmodify,orfromwhich
wecanextractsomeusefulsubprocessthatwecontemplateincorporatingintoanother
processwearedesigning.Wearegettingterrifichelpinthistypeofinstance,sincewecan
nowaskthecomputerdirectquestionsabouttypesofcapabilityandlimitationinthis
structure.Thecomputercanevenleadusdirectlytotheparticulardesignfeaturesfrom
whichthesecapabilitiesorlimitationsstem,anditissimplethentoexaminethedescriptive
andexplanatoryargumentslinkedtheretoinordertoseewhythesefeaturesweredesigned 3b8n
intothestructure.

"ButIdon'twanttospendadisproportionateamountoftimeonthecomputerprocesses.The
augmentedmanisengagedmoreofteninstructuringwhatwecallcompositeprocessesthan
heisinstructuringcomputerprocesses.Forinstance,planningaresearchproject,oraday's
work,areexamplesofstructuringcompositeprocesses.Acompositeprocess,remember,is
organizedfrombothhumanprocessesandcomputerprocesseswhichincludes,ofcourse,
thepossibleinclusionoflowerordercompositeprocesses.Thestructuringherediffersfrom
thatofacomputerprocessmainlyinthesophisticationofthesubprocesseswhichcanbe
specifiedforthehumantodo.Someofthesespecificationshavetobegiveninalanguage
whichmatchesthehuman'srichworkingframeworkofconceptsandwehavebeen
demonstratingherewithEnglishforthatpurposebutquiteafewhumanexecutedprocesses
canbespecifiedinthehighlevelcomputerprocessinglanguageeventhoughwedon'tknow
howtodescribetheminthatlanguage.Thismeansthattherefewcompositeprocess 3b8o
structuresaboutwhichthecomputercananswerveryusefulquestionsforus.

"Buttobemorespecificwefindthatsettingupobjectives,deslgningamethodofapproach,
andthenimplementingthatmethodareofcourseourfundamentaloperatingsequence
doneoverandoveragaininthemanylevelsofouractivity.Wementionedabovewhatthe
characteristicstructuraldifferencewasbetweencomputerprocessesandcompositeprocesses.
Butperhapsmoreimportanttousisthedifferenceinthewayweworkwithcomposite
processstructures.Hereisacrudebutsuccinctwaytoputthis.Withthehumancontributing
toaprocess,wefindmoreandmoreastheprocessbecomescomplexthatthevalueofthe
human'scontributiondependsuponhowmuchfreedomheisgiventobedisorderlyinhis
courseofaction.Forinstance,weprovidehimasmuchhelpaspossibleinmakingaplanof
action.Thenwegivehimasmuchhelpaswecanincarryingitout.Butwealsohavetoallow
himtochangehismindatalmostanypoint,andtowanttomodifyhisplans.So,weprovide
augmentationhelptohimforkeepingtrackofhisplanswhereheisinthem,whathasbeen
happeningincarryingthemouttodateandforevaluatingpossibilitiesthatmightoccurto
himforchangingtheplans.Infact,weareevenlearninghowthecomputercanbemadeto
watchforsomekindsofplanchangepossibilities,andtopointthemouttothehumanwhen 3b8p
theyarise.

"Here'sasimpleexampleofthissortofhelpforthehuman.Lastwinter,wedesigneda
computerprocessthatcanautomaticallymonitortheoccurrenceofspecifiedtypesof
computerusageoveraspecifiedperiodoftime,andwhich,fromtheresultingdata,can
deduceasurprisingamountofinformationregardinghowthehumanmadeuseofthattime.
Thiswasquitehelpfultousforevaluatingourwaysofdoingthings.Thenweaddedmore
featurestotheprogram,inwhichthecomputeroccasionallyinterruptsthehuman'sactivity
anddisplayssomequestionstobeanswered.Fromtheseanswers,togetherwithitsnormal
monitoringdata,theprogramcanprovideevaluativedataregardingtherelativesuccessofhis
differentworkmethods.Ouraugmentationresearchersbecameintriguedbythisangleand
boredownalittleonit.Theycameupwithapackageprocesswhichgivesthehumanmany
differenttypesoffeedbackabouthisprogressandwayofdoingthings.Now,aspartofmy
regularpractice,Ispendaboutfiveminutesoutofeachhourexercisingwiththispackage.
Thisalmostalwaysrevealsthingstomethatchangeatleasttheslantofmyapproachduring
thenexthour,andoftenstimulatesarelatlvelysignificantchangeinmyshortrangeplans3b8q

"Youappreciate,ofcourse,thatIaccomplishmanymoremeaningfulstepsinanhour
nowthanIusedto,orthanwouldbeyournormnow.Thisonceanhourreviewformenow
mightcomparewithaonceadayreviewforyou,asfarasthedistancetravelledbetween 3b8r
reviewsisconcerned.
"Ourwayofstructuringthestatementofourobjectives,theargumentswhichleadtothe
designofourplans,andtheworkingstatementsofourplans,hasbeeninfluencedbythis
reviewprocess.Wefoundspecialtypesoftagsanddescriptivecodeswhichwecouldappend
totheserespectiveplanningstructuresaswedevelopedthemwhichlaterfacilitatedourman
computercooperativereviewofthem.Also,ourmethodsofdevelopingthesestructureshave
evolvedtofacilitatetheirlatermodification.Forinstance,everybasicconsiderationupon
whichagivenplanningstatementisbasedislinkedtothatstatementasamatterofstandard
argumentstructuring.Butwehavetakentolinkingspecialtaggingcodesintothese
argumentstructuresinvolvingourplanning,toidentifyforthecomputersomeofthedifferent
typesofdependencyrelationshipsintheantecedentlinkages.Later,ifweconsiderchanging
theplan,thesespecialtagsoftenenableustomakeuseofsomespecialcomputerprocesses
thatautomaticallyisolatetheconsiderationsrelevanttoaparticulartypeofchangewehave3b8s
inmind.

"Maybeanexamplewillhelphere.ThereisaplanIamcurrentlyusingforthewayIgoabout
enteringmiscellaneousscrapsofinfcrmationlntomytotalsymbolstructure.Itisdesignedso
thattherewillbeagoodchanceforthesescrapslatertobeusefullyintegrated.Itturnsout
thatthisplaniscloselycoupledinitsdesignargumenttothegeneralplanforreviewing
processstructuresandsymbolstructures,too,forthatmatter.Recently,Igotanideaasto
howImightaddalittlefeaturetothatprocessthatspeciallysuitedmyparticularwayof
wantingtodealwithmiscellaneousthoughtsthatIget.Byvariousmeans,Iveryquickly
learnedthatthiswouldbeeasytodoifIcouldbutreversetheorderlnwhlchIexecutethe
subprocessStepsAandB,whenIenterapieceoflnformation.IhadtofindoutifIcould 3b8t
safelyreversetheirorderwithoutgettingintotroublesomeplaceinmysystem.

"ThisIcoulddorelativelyrapidly,byyourstandards,bysnoopingdowntheantecedenttrails,
lookingforstatementsrelevanttothistimingquestion.Thereis,infact,asemiautomatic
processesavailabletomeforspeedingjustsuchsearches.Thecomputerkeepstrackofwhere
Ihavelooked,whereI'vemarkedthingsasyes,orno,orpossible,anddoesthebookkeeping
andcalculatingnecessarytoguidemethroughanoptimumsearchstrategy.Butthespecial
taggingwedowhenwemakeaprocessstructureletsthissearchbefullyautomaticwhen
certainkindsofrelationshipsareinvolvedandrelativetiminghappenstobeoneofthese 3b8u
relationships.

"SoIphrasedaquestionwhichessentiallyaskedforconsiderationsrelevanttotheorderin
whichthesetwostepswereexecuted,andturnedthecomputerloose.Ittookaboutthree
secondsfortheresultstobeforthcomingyouhaven'tyetseenmerequestataskthattook
anoticeableperiodofmachinetime,haveyou?Butanyway,thecomputerdiscovereda
relevancetrailthatendedupshowingthatreversingtheorderofStepsAandBduringthe
informationscrapentryprocesswouldcrippleacertainfeatureintheplanningreview
process,wheremiscellaneousthoughtsandpossibilitiesaregleanedfromthisstoretobe 3b8v
consideredrelativetotheplanning.

"Butlet'strytobackawayfromdetailsforabit,now,andseeifwecangetafeelingforthe
significanceofthethingswe'vebeentalkingabout.Comparisonwithotherworkingdomains
wouldbehelpful,perhaps.Ifyouwereaninventorofusefulmechanisms,youwouldliketo
haveawiderangeofmaterialsprocessingandshapingtechniquesavailabletoyou.This
wouldgiveyoumorefreedomandmoreinterestingpossibilitiesinthewayyouworkedand
designed.Butmanyofthesetechniquesareveryspecializedtheyrequirespecialequipment,
specialskillstoexecutetheprocessingandshaping,andspecialknowledgeaboutapplicability
3b8w

andpossibilltiesforthetechniques.

"Supposeyouweretoldthatyoucouldsubscribetoacommunityownedinstallationof
specialequipmentcontainingallsortsofwonderfulinstrumentstoolsandmachinesfor
measuringandprocessingwithsuchaschemical,optical,mechanical,electronic,pneumatic,
vacuum,metallurgy,andhumanfactors.Butthiswasn'tallthatwasincludedinthe
subscription.Therewouldbeaspecialistassignedtoyou,instantlyavailableforconsultation
andhelpwheneveryourequestedit.Hewouldn'thavehighleveltheoreticaltrainlng.His
specialtywouldbefamiliaritywiththespecialmanualscompiledfromwhatthetheoreticians,
equipmentbuilders,andtechniciansknow,andbeingabletopinpointrelevantdataandapply 3b8x
complexrulesandspecifications.

"Alotofquestionsyoumightaskhecouldn'tanswerdirectly,butinsuchacasehecould
oftenleadyouquicklytosomerelevantpagesinhisbooks.Youdiscoveredthatusuallya
successionofwellchosenquestionsofthesorthecouldanswer,interspersedwithyour
occasionalstudyofsuccinctandrelevantmaterialhe'ddigupforyou,couldveryrapidly
developanswerstoconceptuallysophisticatedquestions.Hishelpinyourminutebyminute
designingworkcouldbeextremelyvaluableavailingyouofquickandrealisticconsideration
3b8y

ofagreatmanynewdesignpossibilities.
"Similarly,whenitcametocarryingoutaplannedsetofoperations,itturnedoutthathe
couldn'tcarryoutalloftheprocessesforyouhecouldmanagecomplexrulesandprocedures
beautifully,buthewouldbreakdownwhenitcametostepsthatrequiredwhatyoumightcall
alargerviewofthesituation.Butthiswasn'tsobad.Thesetofroutineprocesseswhichhe
couldmanageallalonestillprovidedyouwithagreatdealofhelpinfact,yougotto
developingwaystobuildthingssoastocapitalizeuponhisefficiencyatthesetasks.Thenthe
processeswhichweretoomuchforhimwouldbedonebythetwoofyoutogether.Hefilledin
alltheroutinestuffandyoutookcareofthestepsthatwerebeyondhiscapabilityOftenthe
stepsyouhadtotakecareofwereburiedinthemiddleofacomplexroutinewhoseoverall
naturedidn'thavetobeunderstoodbyeitherofyouforproperexecution.Yourhelperwould
keeptrackofthecomplexprocedureandexecuteallthestepshecould.Whenhecametoa
stepthatwastoobigforhim,hewouldhandyouenoughinformationtoallowyoutotake 3b8z
thatstep,whereuponhewouldtakeoveragainuntilhemetanothersuchstep.

"Asaninventorandbuilderofdevicesthatsolveneeds,youcouldbecomeagreatdealmore
versatileandproductive,applyingyourimagination,intuition,judgment,andintelligencevery
effectivelyoveramuchwiderrangeofpossibilities.Youcouldtacklemuchmorecomplexand
sophisticatedprojects,youcouldcomeupwithverymuchbetterresultsneater,cheaper,
morereliable,moreversatile,higherqualityperformanceandyoucouldworkfaster.Your3b8aa
effectivenessinthisdomainofactivitywouldbeconsiderablyincreased.

"Solet'sturnbacktotheworkingdomainwhichweareconsideringhere.Itisanintellectual
one,wheretheprocessingandshapingdoneisofconceptualmaterialratherthanphysical
material.Butbetweenthesetwotypesofworkingdomainswenonethelessfindclosely
analogousconditionsrelativetothevarietyandsophisticationoftheprocessesand
techniquesapplicabletowhatnonroutineworkersdo.Considertheintellectualdomainofa
creativeproblemsolver,andlistentomerattleoffthenamesofsomespecializeddisciplines
thatcometomind.Theseesotericdisciplinescouldverypossiblycontributespecialized
processesandtechniquestoageneralworkerintheintellectualdomain:Formallogic
mathematicsofmanyvarieties,includingstatisticsdecisiontheorygametheorytimeand
motionanalysisoperationsresearchclassificationtheorydocumentationtheorycost
accounting,fortime,energy,ormoneydynamicprogrammingcomputerprogramming. 3b8ab
Theseareonlyafewofthetotal,I'msure.

"Thisimpliestherangeofpotentiallyapplicableprocesses.Realizethatthereisalsoa
correspondinglylargelistofspecializedmaterialspotentiallyusableinthefabricationsofthe
intellectualworker.Ispeak,ofcourse,abouttheconceptualmaterialinthemanydifferent
fleldsofhumaninterest.ThethingsthatIhavebeendemonstratingtoyouthisafternoon
weredesignedtoincreasesignificantlYtherangeofbothprocessesandmaterialsoverwhicha
humancanpracticallyoperatewithinthisintellectualdomain.Youmightsaythatwedothis
byprovidinghimwithaveryfast,agilevehicle,equippedwithallsortsofhighperformance
sensoryequipmentandnavigationalaids,andcarryingveryflexible,powerful,semiautomatic
devicesforoperatinguponthematerialsofthisdomain.Notonlythat,buttoprovidean
accurateanalogy,wehavetogivehimacomputertohelphimorganizeandmonitorhis
activityandassesshisresults.Wegetdirecthelponmanylevelsofactivityinoursystem,3b8ac
yousee.

"Butbacktothetopicoftools,andtheanalogyoftheinventorwhowasgiventheequipment
andthehelper.Ouraugmentedintellectualworkergetsessentiallythissamekindofservice,
onlymoresoacompoundingofthiskindofservice.Structuringourprocesseswithcareand
precisionenablesthecomputertoanswerlimitedquestions,toguideyoutorelevant
descriptionsandspecificationswithinitsstructure,toexecutecomplexbutlimitedgrasp
processesonitsown,andtotakecareofcomplexruleandprocedurefollowingbookkeepingin
guidingtheexecutionofsophisticatedcompositeprocesses.Thisactuallymakesitpracticalto
usemanyspecializedprocessesandtechniquesfromveryesotericfieldstoassesstheir
applicabilityandlimitationsquickly,toincorporatethemintelligentlyintothedesignand 3b8ad
analysisofpossiblecoursesofaction,andtoexecutethemefficiently.

"Ourspecializedprocessesrepresentabeautifulcollectionofspecialtools.Thesetoolsare
designedbyspecialists,andtheycomeequippedwithoperatinginstructions,troubleshooting
hints,andcompletedesigndata.Furthermore,weareprovidedwithothertoolsthathelpus
determinetheapplicabilityofthesetoolsbyautomaticallyoperatingupontheinstruction
manualforus.Further,ifsomethinggoeswrongwithoneofthesetools,ifwewanttodesign
anewtoolofourownandmakeuseofoneofitsmodularcomponents,orifwewantto
rearrangesomeofitsadjustablefeatures,wegetconsiderablehelpinlearningwhatwehave
toknowaboutitsdesign,andinmakingadjustmentsorcouplingapartofittoanothertool.
Ourshopcontainsanefficienttoolmakingsection,wherewecandesignandbuildourown 3b8ae

toolsfromscratch,orbyincorporatingpartsorallofanyothertoolswehave.

"LetmetellyouofaninterestingfeaturestemmingfrommyusingsuchimprovedProcess
structuringtechniques.Aneffectivejobofbreakingdownacomplexproblemintohumanly
manageablestepsandthisisessentiallywhatweseekinourprocessstructuringwill
providethehumanwithsomethingtodoateveryturn.Thismaybetoponderorgo
searching,trueenoughwearen'tsayingthatthestepsarenecessarilystraightforward.But
thepointIwanttomakeisthatnolongeramIeveratalossastowhattodonext.Iget
stuckattimes,tobesure,butwhenIdoIhavecleananddirectwaystosatisfymyselfthatI
3b8af

shouldjustbeatawayatthatroadblockforthetimebeing.

"Andthen,forbeatingawayattheroadblock,mybookkeepingregardingwhatI'vetried,what
possibilitiesI'vecollected,andwhatmyassumptionsandobjectivesare,isgoodenoughto
helptremendouslyinkeepingmefromgettingintoloopsandquandaries,incarefullyex
haustingpossibilities,andinreallyanalyzingmyassumptionsandobjectives.What'smore,
I'mnotgeneratingreamsofcyclicarguments,lists,calculations,orthelikeeitherI'm
checkingthevalidityofwhatI'vealreadystructured,orIamcorrectingorexpandingthe
structure.Inotherwords,itseemsthatthegrowthofmycomprehensionissureandsteady
uptothepointatwhichIsucceedorgiveup.IfIgiveup,Ileaveastructurewhichisvery
wellorganizedtoaccommodateasubsequentrevisitwithnewdata,possibilities,assumptions,
objectives,ortools.Also,Isetupasentinelprocessthatwilloperateinthefuturetohelp3b8ag
alertmetoconceptswhichmaycleartheblock.

"Thisfeature,ofalwayshavingsatisfyingactionstoperform,andhavingagoodfeelingthat
theyarewhatIshouldbedoingatthattime,givesasurprisinglycontented,eager,and
absorbingflavortomywork.Iguessit'sanadultinstanceofthesortofchangeobservedin
studentswhentheyweregiventeachingmachinesthatprovidedcontinuousparticipationand 3b8ah

reinforcement.

"Anyway,withthequickflexibilityavailabletomeforstructuringarguments,andsemi
automaticapplicationofspecialtaggingandlinkingrules,Ifinditreallyquiteeasyto
construct,use,ormodifysophisticatedprocessstructuring.AndIcanturnrightaroundand
applythistowardimprovingmyabllityforstructuringargumentgandprocesses.Theinitial,
straightforwardcapabilitiesformanipulatingsymbolstructures,thatweremoreorless
obviouslyavailedmebythecomputerhavegiventomeapowertoparticipateinmore
sophisticatedprocessesthatcapitalizemorefullyuponthecomputer'scapabilityprocesses
whichareverysignificanttomyneteffectiveness,andyetwhichweren'tparticularly
apparenttousaseitherpossibleorusefulinthedaysbeforewestartedharnessing 3b8ai
computerstothehuman'sworkadayactivitiesinthisdirectway.'

7.TeamCooperation
3b9

"Letmementionanotherbonusfeaturethatwasn'teasilyforeseen.Wehaveexperimented
withhavingseveralpeopleworktogetherfromworkingstationsthatcanprovideinter
communicationviatheircomputerorcomputers.Thatis,eachpersonisequippedasIam
here,withfreeaccesstothecommonworkingstructures.Thereprovestobeareally
phenomenalboostingroupeffectivenessoveranypreviousformofcooperationwehave
experienced.Theycanallworkonthesamesymbolstructure,wherevertheymightwish.If
anytwowanttoworksimultaneouslyonthesamematerial,theysimplyduplicateandeach
startsreshapinghisversionandlateritiseasytomergetheircontributions.Thewholeteam
canjoinforcesatamoment'snoticeto'pulltogether'onsomestubbornlittleproblem,orto
makeagroupdecision.Mostpointsofcontentionareresolvedquitenaturally,overaperiodof
time,asthedevelopingstructureofargumentbearsoutone,ortheother,orneitherstand. 3b9a

"Noonecandominatetheshow,sinceseldomdoyouhaveto'listen'totheperson
concurrenttothedevelopmentsheispursuingandyetatanytimeanotherpersoncan
tuneinonwhathehasdoneandisdoing.Onecaneithertakeimmediatepersonalissuewith
anotheraboutsomefeature,anywhereinthestructurewherehemightfindsomethingdone
bytheothertowhichhewantstotakeissue,orhecanappendhisobjectionandthe
associatedargumenttherewherethedisagreementlies,andtagthiswithaspecialcuethat
signalsapointofcontentionthatmustultimatelyberesolved.Anyideaofthemomentby
anymembercaneasilybelinkedtowhereitcandosomegood.Itgetstobelikearealwhing
dingfreeforalltremendouslystimulatingandsatisfying,andthingsreallygetdone.Youfind
3b9b

yourself'playingoveryourhead'almostallofthetime.

"Wehavebeenexperimentingwithmultidisciplinaryteamsandarebecomingespecially
excitedovertheresults.Forinstance,thereisagreatreductionofthebarrierthattheir
differentterminologiesusedtorepresent,whereonespecialistcouldn'treallyapplyhis
experience,intuition,orconceptualfeelverywellunlessthesituationcouldbestatedand
framedinhisaccustomedmanner,andyettheotherscouldn'tworkwithhisterminology.
Here,theymeetattheirconceptandterminologyinterfaceandworkoutlittleshiftsin
meaningandusewhicheachcanfinddigestibleinhissystem,andwhichpermitquiteprecise
definitionsineachsystemofthetermsandconceptsintheothers.Instudyingtheother's
structuringthen,eitherofthemcanhavehisowndefinitionsautomaticallysubstitutedfor
theother'sspecialterms.Reducethislanguagebarrier,andprovidethefeatureoftheirbeing
 abletoworkinparallelindependenceonthejointstructure,andwhatseemstoresultis 3b9c

amplificationoftheirdifferentcapabilities.

"Remembertheterm,synergesis,thathasbeenassociatedintheliteraturewithgeneral
structuringtheory?Well,hereissomethingofanexample.Threepeopleworkingtogetherin
thisaugmentedmodeseemtobemorethanthreetimesaseffectiveinsolvingacomplex
problemasisoneaugmentedpersonworkingaloneandperhapstentimesaseffectiveas
threesimilarmenworkingtogetherwithoutthiscomputerbasedaugmentation.Itisanew
andexhiliaratingexperiencetobeworkinginthisindependentparallelfashionwithsome
goodmen.Wefeelthattheeffectoftheseaugmentationdevelopmentsupongroupmethods
andgroupcapabilityisactuallygoingtobemorepronouncedthantheeffectuponindividuals
methodsandcapabilities,andweareveryeagertoincreaseourresearcheffortinthat 3b9d

direction."

8.MiscellaneousAdvancedConcepts
3b10

"Ihavedraggedyouthroughalotofdifferentconceptsandmethodssofar.Ihaven'tbeen
completebecausewewon'thavethetime.ButIhaveselectedthesamplefeaturesto
presenttoyouwithaneyetowardgivingyouamaximumchancetoidentifytheseasbeing
somethingsignificanttoyourowntypeofwork.Iavoideddiscussingtechniquesapplicableto
esotericproblemsolvingprocessesalthoughsomeofthemdisplayespeciallystimulating
possibilitiestothosewithappropriatebackgrounds.Theabilitytostructurearguments
organizedinEnglishlanguagestatements,andtomakeuseofthelinkingandtagging
capabilitiesatalllevelsofthestructure,canbeseentoleadtomanyinterestingand
promisingnewcapabilitiesfororganizingyourthoughtsandactions.Ithinkyoucouldpicture
3b10a
learningthesetricksandusingtheminyourownwork.

"WhatIhopedtoavoidbypresentingthesysteminthisway,waslosingyouridentification
withthesepossibilitiesbylettingyougetthemistakenimpressionthatanindividualcouldn't
harnessthesetechniquesusefullyunlesshefirstlearnedalotofverysophisticatednew
language,logicandmath.Itistruethatthemoreofthesophisticatedtricksyoulearn,the
morecomputerpoweryoucanharnessandthemorepowerfulyoubecomebutvery
significantandpersonallythrillingpracticalproblemsolvingcapabilitieshavebeendeveloped
byquiteafewsubjectswhoweregivenonlyfifteenhoursoftrainingatoneofthesestations.
Thetraining,incidentally,wasallprovidedbythecomputerwithoutthepresenceofahuman
instructor.Andthepeoplewereofsuchdiversefieldsassociology,biology,engineering
management,appliedmathematics,andlaw.Thesewereallrelativelyhighlevelpeople,and
theywerecompletelyandunreservedlyunanimousintheirfaiththattheirincreased
capabilitywouldeasilyjustifythecapitalandoperatingoutlaythatwepredictedforwork
stationsofthissortinfiveyears,ifthecomputerindustryreallyweretotakethistypeof 3b10b
potentialmarketseriously.

"Whatthesepeoplebecamecapableofwassomewhatlessthantherangeofcapabilitiesthat
wehavediscussedsofarbuttheywouldfinditverynaturaltodevelopfurthertechniqueson
theirown,andnewteachingprogramscouldbeprovidedthemsothattheycouldcontinue 3b10c

learningtheimprovedtechniquesturnedoutbyaresearchgroupsuchasourshere.

"Butletmegiveyouabriefviewofsomeofthemoreadvancedconceptsandtechniquesthat
haveevolvedhere,compatiblewith,butbeyond,whatIhavesofarshownyou.Andevolved
isagoodwordtousehere,becauseourappreciationforthepotentialworthofpossibilitiesto
bedevelopedhadtoevolvetoo,andonlycamewiththeexperienceandperspectivegainedin 3b10d
ourearlierwork.

<class="level4"p>"Forinstance,weinitiallyfeltthatdefiningcategoriesandrelationships,and
makingaplanforaction,werethingstobedoneasquicklyaspossiblesothatwecouldgetonwith
thework.But,asourmeansdevelopedfordealingwithdefinitionsandplansmoreprecisely,easily,
andflexibly,webegantorealizethattheyinrealitymightbethemostsignificantpartofthatwork.
Withourimmenseiyincreasedcapabilityforcomplexbookkeepingrelativetoourinterlaced
hierarchiesofobjectives,plans,andarguments,wefoundthatdefininganewcategory,searchingfor
membersorinstancesofit,orapplyingitsselectioncriteriawerebecomingeverconsciousand 3b10e
specifictasks.

"Forinstance,webegantofinditmoreandmoreusefultodistinguishdifferentcategoriesor
typesofprocess,differenttypesofarguments,differenttypesofrelationships,anddifferent
typesofdescriptions.Foraspecificexample,Ranganathan1oncecitedfivespecific
relationshipsthatcouldobtainbetweentwoterms,whereonemodifiestheother.Hecalled
thesephaserelations,andnamedhowonetermcouldrelatetotheotheraseitherbiasingit,
beingatoolusedtostudyit,beinganaspectofit,beingincomparisonwithit,orinfluencing
it.Vickerygavemoreexamples,sayingonecouldalsohaveaneffectontheother,beacause
ofit,beauseforit,beasubstituteforit,asourceforit,animplicationofit,bean
explanationofit,orbearepresentationofit.Thereareevenmorecategoriesmentionedin 3b10f
theliterature.
"Itwaseasytoformtagsandlinks,andweexperimentedwiththegainstobemadeby
consciouslyspecifyingandindicatingcategories.Itturnedouttobeaveryinvigorating
innovation,andwebegantotakemorepainswithourstructuring.Ittooklongertosetup
linksandnodesinourstructures,tobesure,butwefoundontheonehandthatthe
structuresbecamemuchcleanerandrequiredfewermembers,andontheotherhandthat
wecouldgetconsiderablymoresophisticatedhelpfromthecomputerindoingsignificant 3b10g
choresforus.

"Webegantoworkupprocessesthatwouldhelpusestablishcategories,givethemgood
definitions,checktheirrelationshipwithotherestablishedcategories,decidewhether
somethingfitagivencategoryornot,searchforallpossiblemembersofitwithinagiven
substructure,andsoforth.Theveryfactofusingthiscarefulclassificationwithinour
structuresallowedustogetmorepowerfulhelpfromthecomputerintheseclassification
processes.Ishouldmentionthattherelationshipsamongthetermsinasentencethe
syntaxifyouwishhadbeengivenfurtherspecificationtagsthanthoseIshowedyouearlier,
toremoveambiguitiesthathinderedthecomputerfromgoingbacktoastatementand
resolvingthesyntacticalstructure.Also,ambiguitiesinthemeaningofthetermsbeganto
limitus,andwedevelopedmethodsforremovingagooddealofthissemanticambiguity.This3b10h

slowedusdown,asI'vementioned,butnotasmuchasyou'dthink.

"Letmedemonstrateoneoftheadvancedprocesseswhichhasevolved.Itisheavily
dependentupontheverycareinbuildingstructuresthatitsonicelyfacilitates,andalsoupon
severalotherdevelopments.Oneoftheseotherdevelopmentsstemsfromtheconceptsand
techniquesofthesemanticdifferential,asfirstintroducedbyOsgood,Suci,andTannenbaum
2backin1957,andfromsomesubsequentworkbyMayerandBagley3onwhattheycalled
semanticmodels.Theseofferedusefulpossibilitiesforestablishingquitepreciselywhat
meaningaconcepthastoanindividual,relativetohisgeneralconceptualframework,andfor
representingthismeaninginaspecificwaythatwasamenabletocomputermanipulation.3b10i

"Theotherdevelopmentuponwhichthisprocesstobeexhibitedisbased,wasstimulated
byourrealizingthatflexiblecooperationwiththecomputerwascallingforlotsoflittle
interactions.Ourworkingrepertoireofsmalltaskrequestsforcomputerservicewasgetting
quitelarge,anditwasprovingtobeextremelyvaluabletousethemandtobeableto
rememberautomaticallytheirproceduresanddesignationcodes.Oneofourresearch
psychologistshadworkedonhumanmemoryphenomenabeforehecamewithus,andhad
interestedhimselfinmnemonicaidsofallsorts.Hehasdevelopedsomeusefultechniquesfor
ustouseinconnectionwiththis,andotherproblems.Nowletmedemonstratethisexample 3b10j
ofanadvancedprocessforhelpingworkwithcategories.

"SupposethatIwanttoestablishanewcategory.Let'ssaythatIhavedevelopedits
descriptioninwhatyouandIhavebeencallinganargumentstructure.Iwanttogiveita
nameashortandmeaningfuloneandIwantagooddefinition.Infact,Iwantadefinition
thatthecomputercanlaterworkwith.Look,I'lldigupadescriptionthatisawaitingsucha
definition,andyoucanwatchwhathappens."Sosaying,Joedrummedonhiskeysetsfora
moment,withoneinterruptionwhenthecomputerflashedsomethingonthescreenthat
wasapparentlyaquestionaboutwhathewasaskingthecomputertofindforhim.Hefinally
hadanetworkdisplayononescreenandasetof"exploded"statementsontheupperhalfof 3b10k

theother.

"I'minitiatingthenaminganddefiningprocessnow,anddesignatingtoittheargument
structurerepresentedbythisnetworkaswhatIwantnamedanddefined.Watchwhat
happens."Afewmorestrokesonthekeyset,andhepickeduphislightpeninanticipation
andwaitedafewmoments.Astatementappearedinthelowerhalfofthesecondframe.He
studieditamoment,thenlookedatthestatementsabove,pickedoutanodeonthenetwork
withthepen,andhitthekeysetafewstrokes.Anotherstatementflashedonalmost
immediately,withtwofamiliaradjectivesplacedbelowandagraduatedlinebetweenthem.
Joestudiedthis,referredtothestatementsabove,flippedthroughseverallevelsofnetwork
portrayals,throughafewstatementsrepresentingacoupleoflowlevelnodes,reflecteda
moment,andthenpointedhislightpenatapointonthegraduatedline,partwaybetween 3b10l
theadjectives,andpresseditsbutton.

"Actually,rightnowI'mdemonstratingacooperativeprocessexecutiontechnique.This
processisapplyingsomeverysophisticatedcriteriaandusingsomeverysophisticated
analyticaltechniques,anditissetupsothatitisactuallythecomputerthatisnowinthe
executiveseat.Icalledfortheprocess,butitsexecutionessentiallyinvolvesthecomputer's
askingmequestions,andfeedingmesuccessivequestionsaccordingtohowI'veanswered
thepreviousones.Italsoisdoingalotofworkonthesymbolstructurethatrepresentsmy
description.It,withsomesmallhelpfromme,isproceedingthroughaquitecomplexanalysis
ofthemeaningthatthisincipientconcepthastome,andofcertaintypesofmental
associationsthatImayhavewithit.Idon'thavetorememberthespecialrulesandformsof
analysisinvolvednevertheless,averysophisticatedlittlecapabilityisminetouseatwill,
3b10m

taxingneithermenorthecomputer."

Afteralittleoveraminuteofthesequestionanswerinteractions,theprocessapparently
terminated,withfourlinesofspecialtermsremainingonthescreen."Thisfirstlinegivesme
twosuggestednamesforthiscategoryorconcept.Thefirsttermisanewlycoinedformal
name,whiletheremainingthreetermsrepresentacompoundexpression,involving
establishedconcepts,thatcanbeusedalsoasadesignationofthenewcategory.Thesecond
linefurnishesmewithanassociationchaintouseforamnemonicaidinrememberingthe
newnamelinkingthenametoseveralcharacteristicsoftheconcept.Thenameitselfwas
selectedundermnemoniccriteria,aswellastohaveastructurethatgoeswithitssyntactic
andsemanticcategories.Thethirdlineliststhenamesofsomepreviouslydefinedcategories
orconceptsthataretheclosesttothisinmeanlngthesebeforethebreakwerefoundto3b10n
overlap,andtherestarejustclose.

"Thefourthlineyourecognizeasastatementform,perhaps.Thisisthedefinition,as
developedbythecomputer.It'sinaspeciallanguageandIwon'ttrytoexplain.I'lljust
mentionthatIcannowstudyit,takeitapart,checkitsreferences,sotospeak,andperhaps
evenseeifthecomputerandImightworkoutanychangesorimprovementSButthis
processhasbeenworkedonprettyhard,andwe'regettingdefinitionsthatarehardto 3b10o
improve.

"Thisspeciallanguage,inwhichIsaidthedefinitionwasstated,isarecentdevelopment.We
hadfoundthatthetypesofstructuringweweredevelopinghadalotofextratagsandlinks
thatweretraceabletothecomplexityoftherulesandcombinatorialpossibilitiesoftheEnglish
languagewithwhichthestatementswereconstructWefinallygotaclearenoughpictureof
therequirementsweplaceuponalanguageinouruseherethatwecouldconsiderdesigning
ourownspeciallanguage.Itturnedouttobeastraightforwardandrathersimplelanguage
comparedwithEnglish,butmuchmorepreciseandpowerful.Itprovesratherinflexibleand
awkwardtouseforspeaking,butitprovidesplentyofflexibilityandpowerforexpressing
thingsinthevisualsymbolformsthatweuse.Itsprecisionleavesnosyntacticambiguityina
wellformedstatement,andmakesitmucheasiertoreduCesemanticambiguitytothepoint
wherethecomputercandealwithourstatementsmuchasitcanwithmathematicalor 3b10p
formallogicexpressionc

"Itisworthmentioning,too,thatweareexperimentingwithstandardwaysofstructuring
argumentsatlevelshigherthanthestatementssortofasupergrammarorsyntax,with
rulesforassemblingargumentmodulesofdifferentfunctionlntowhatbecomesawellformed
higherlevelargumentmodule.Therearesomemixedfeelingsaroundhereaboutthis 3b10q
possibility,butImyselfhavebecomeverymuchexcitedbyit.

"Alsowehavebeenintroducingformalmethodsformanipulatingwhatyoumightcall
reasonablestatementsasopposedtoabsolutetruefalsestatementswhichthemorefamiliar
formallogiccanmanipulate.Thisfindsapprovalandfaithinallofushere,butitisgoingabit
3b10r

slowly.

"Let'srunoversomeoftheresultswe'veseentodate,stemmingfromthisnewlanguage
andthenewsemanticawarenessthusgiventhecomputer.Ifitcangetholdofand
manipulateimportantaspectsofthemeaningthatiscontainedinourstructures,itcan
developanswerstosomequestionsforwhichthereexistedonlyconceptuallyimplicitdata.
Withpracticeandgoodstrategy,askingquestionslikethisprovestobeatremendously
effectivewaytogaincomprehensionaboutastructure.Weevenhavespecialprocessesand
symbolstructuringmethodstohelporganizethequestioningandtheanswers.Someofthe
answersareabitcostly,howeverincomputertimeandchargesandwehavetowatchthe
wayweaskquestions.Someofourresearchersarestudyingthelanguageandstructuring
techniquesrelativetothisproblem,andtheythinktheyseewaystochangethemtomake
questionansweringgenerallymoreefficient.Butthissortofthingwilllikelyalwayshaveits
3b10s
costproblems,asfaraswecanseenow."

Hewentontosaythatthecomputernowrepresentssuchanintelligenthelperalthough
muchlesssothananyhumanhelpertheywouldhirethattheyrefertoitastheClerk.They
canmakeatentativenewstatementinthedevelopmentofastructure,andhavetheclerk
lookoverthestructuretodetectinconsistencyorredundancy.TheClerkcanalsopointout
someoftheweaknessesinthestatement,aswellassomeoftheeffectsofthestatement
upontherestofthestructure.Theyfindthattheyneedtogivelessandlesshumanconcern
forthedetailsofstructurebuildinginfact,theroleshavereversedalittle.Wherethehuman
usedtosetuptagsandlinkssothecomputercouldfinditswayaroundthestructureasitran
errandsforhim,theynowhavethecomputerstudiouslyinstallingsimilarthingsthatarefor 3b10t

thebenefitofthehumanwhenheisstudyingthestructure.

Healsomentionedarecentlydevelopedcomputerprocessthatcouldgobackoverarecordof
thehumanactionsinvolvedinestablishingagivenargumentstructureanddoacreditablejob
 ofpickingoutthestepswhichcontributedthemosttothefinalpictureandalsosomeof
thosethatcontributedleast.Thisprocess,andsomeofthepastdatacollectedbyitsuse,
werebecominganimportantadditiontotheplanningreviewsessions,aswellastothe
continuingdevelopmentofimprovedmethods.Andapparently,ithadasurprisinglypositive
psychologicaleffectuponmembersofacooperatingteam,whereanobjectivemeansof 3b10u
relativescoringwasthusavailable.

Letyourselfbedisengagednowfromyourroleintheabovediscussiondemonstration.Youhave
beenthroughanexperiencethatwasdesignedtogiveyouafeelforthesortoffuture
developmentsthat(tous)arepredictablefromourconceptualframework.Whatispresentedin
SectionIIisanattemptatgivinga"straight"presentationofthevariousconceptualsegmentsof
thisframework,andSectionIIIhopefullysupplementedtheformalpresentationtoprovideyou 3c
withamorecompletepictureofhowweareorientedandwhatsortsofpossibilitiesimpelus.

Assumingthatwehavecommunicatedourconceptualframeworkinsomereasonableform,we
proceedbelowtodiscussthequestionofwhattodoaboutit.Ourapproachtothisquestioniswith
theviewthatenergeticpursuitofthisresearchcouldbeofconsiderablesignificancetosociety,
andthatresearchshouldstemfromabigenoughpictureoftheoverallpossibilitiessothatthe
contributionofanyprogram,largeorsmall,couldhavemaximumlongrangesignificance.Our
recommendationsarefairlygeneral,andarecastinratherglobalterms,butweassertthatthey
canbereadilyrecastintothespecifictermsrequiredofresearchplanningtobedoneforagiven
project,withinagivensetofsubgoalsandresearchactivityconstraints.Infact,wearenow
engagedintheprocessofsorecastingthesegeneralrecommendationsintospecificplans(forthe3d
experimentalresearchtobepursuedhereatStanfordResearchInstitute).

4
IV.RESEARCHRECOMMENDATIONS
4a
A.OBJECTIVESFORARESEARCHPROGRAM
Thereporthasputforththehypothesisthattheintellectualeffectivenessofahumanbeingis
dependentuponfactorswhicharesubjecttodirectredesigninpursuitofanincreaseinthat
effectiveness.Aconceptualframeworkisofferedtohelpingivingconsiderationtothis
hypothesis,andanextensiveandpersonalizedprojectionintopossiblefuturedevelopmentsis
presentedtohelpdevelopafeelingforthepossibilitiesandpromiseimplicitinthehypothesis
4a1

andconceptualstructure.

Ifthishypothesisanditsglowingextrapolationswereborneoutinfuturedevelopments,the
consequenceswouldbemostexcitingandassumedlybeneficialtoaproblemladenworld.
Whatiscalledfornowisatestofthishypothesisandacalibrationonthegainsifanythat
mightberealizedbygivingtotalsystemdesignattentiontohumanintellectualeffectiveness.
Ifthetestandcalibrationprovedtobefavorable,thenwecansettoworkdevelopingbetter4a2
andbetteraugmentationsystemsforourproblemsolvers.

Inthislight,werecommendaresearchprogramapproachaimedat(Goal1)testingthe
hypothesis,(Goal2)developingthetoolsandtechniquesfordesigningbetteraugmentation
systems,and(Goal3)producingrealworldaugmentationsystemsthatbringmaximumgains
overthecomingyearstothesolversoftough,criticalproblems.Thesegoalsandtheresulting
designfortheirpursuitareidealized,tobesure,buttheresultsnonethelesshavevaluable 4a3
aspects.
4b
B.BASICRESEARCHCONDITIONS
Thisshouldbeanempiricalapproachonatotalsystembasisi.e.,doingcoordinatedstudy
andinnovation,amongallthefactorsadmittedtotheproblem,inconjunctionwith
experimentsthatproviderealisticactionandinterplayamongthesevariables.Thequestionof
limitingthesefactorsisconsideredlaterinthesection.Therecommendedenvironmentfor
thisempirical,totalsystemapproach,isalaboratoryprovidingacomputerbackeddisplayand
communicationsystemofthegeneralsortdescribedinSectionIIIB.Thereshouldbeno
stintingonthecapabilitiesprovideditisveryimportanttolearnwhatvalueanygivenartifact
featuremayofferthetotalsystem,andtheonlywaytolearnthevalueistoexperimentwith
thefeature.Atthispointnotimewillbetakentodevelopelaborateimprovementsintheart
oftimesharing,toproviderealtimeservicetomanyusers.Thiskindofdevelopmentshould
bedoneasseparate,backupwork.Theexperimentallabshouldtakethestepsthatare
immediatelyavailabletoprovidealltheservicetothehumanthatheneedsinthe 4b1

experimentalenvironment.

Whereeconomydemandsthatacomputernotbeidleduringthetimetheaugmentedsubject
isnotusingit(whichwouldbearatherlargenetfractionofthetime,probably),andwhere
sharingthecomputerwithotherrealtimeusersforwhichdemanddelaysareaproblem,
thentheonlysharingthatshouldbeconsideredisthatwithofflinecomputationsforwhich
 therearenorealtimeservicedemandstobemet.Thecomputercanturnawayfromoffline
4b2
userswhenevertheonlineworkerneedsattentionofanysort.
4c
C.WHOMTOAUGMENTFIRST
Theexperimentalworkofderiving,testing,andintegratinginnovationsintoagrowingsystem
ofaugmentationmeansmusthaveaspecifictypeofhumantasktotrytodevelopmore
effectivenessfor,togiveunifyingfocustotheresearch.Werecommendtheparticulartaskof
computerprogrammingforthispurposewithmanyreasonsbehindtheselectionthatshould 4c1

comeoutinthefollowingdiscussion.Someofthemoredirectreasonsarethese:

1. Theprogrammerworksonmanyproblems,includinglargeandrealisticones,which
canbesolvedwithoutinteractionwithotherhumans.Thiseasestheexperimental 4c1a
problem.

2. Typicalandrealisticproblemsfortheprogrammertosolvecanbeposedfor
experimentalpurposesthatdonotinvolvelargeamountsofworkingandreferencein
4c1b

formation.Thisalsoeasestheexperimentalproblem.

3. Muchoftheprogrammer'sworkingdataarecomputerprograms(healsohas,we
assume,hisownreasoningandplanningnotes),whichhaveunambiguoussyntactic
andsemanticformsothatgettingthecomputertodousefultasksforhimonhis
workingdatawillbemuchfacilitatedwhichhelpsverymuchtogetearlyexperience4c1c
onthevalueahumancanderlvefromthiskindofcomputerhelp.

4. Aprogrammer'seffectiveness,relativetootherprogrammers,canprobablybe
measuredmoreeasilythanwouldbethecaseformostothercomplexproblemsolvers.
Forexample,fewothercomplexsolutionsordesignsbesideaprogramcansoeasilybe
4c1d

giventherigoroustestof"Doesitactuallywork?"

5. Theprogrammer'snormalworkinvolvesinteractionswithacomputer(although
heretoforenotgenerallyonline),andthiswillhelpresearchersusethecomputerasa
4c1e
toolforlearningabouttheprogrammer'shabitsandneeds.

6. Therearesomeverychallengingtypesofintellectualeffortinvolvedinprogramming.
Attemptingtoincreasehumaneffectivenessthereinwillprovideanexcellentmeansfor
4c1f
testingourhypothesis.

7. Successfulachievementsinevolvingnewaugmentationmeanswhichsignificantly
improveaprogrammer'scapabilitywillnotonlyservetoprovethehypothesis,butwill
leaddirectlytopossiblepracticalapplicationofaugmentationsystemstoarealworld4c1g
problemdomainthatcanusehelp.

8. Computerprogrammersareanaturalgrouptobethefirstinthe"realworld"to
incorporatethetypeofaugmentationmeansweareconsidering.Theyalreadyknow
howtoworkinformalmethodologieswithcomputers,andmostofthemareassociated
withactivitiesthathavetohavecomputersanyway,sothatthenewtechniques,
concepts,methods,andequipmentwillnotseemsoradicaltothemandwillbe 4c1h
relativelyeasyforthemtolearnandacquire.

9. Successfulachievementscanbeutilizedwithintheaugmentationresearchprogram
itself,toimprovetheeffectivenessofthecomputerprogrammingactivityinvolvedin
studyinganddevelopingaugmentationsystems.Thecapabilityofdesigning,
implementing,andmodifyingcomputerprogramswillbeveryimportanttotherateof 4c1i
researchprogress.

Workersinanaugmentationresearchlaboratoryarethemostnaturalpeopleintheworldto
betheveryfirstusersoftheaugmentationmeanstheydevelop,andwethinkthatthey 4c2
representanextremelyimportantgroupofpeopletomakemoreeffectiveattheirwork.
4d
D.BASICREGENERATIVEFEATURE
ThefeaturebroughtforthinReason9aboveissomethingthatofferstremendousvalueto
theresearchobjectivesi.e.,thefeedingbackofpositiveresearchresultstoimprovethe
meansbywhichtheresearchersthemselvescanpursuetheirworkTheplanweare
describinghereisdesignedtocapitalizeuponthisfeatureasmuchaspossible,aswillbe
evidenttothereaderasheprogressesthroughthissection.Thispositivefeedback(or
regenerative)possibilityderivesfromthefactsthat:(1)ourresearchersaredevelopingmeans
toincreasetheeffectivenessofhumansdealingwithcomplexintellectualproblems,and(2)
ourresearchersaredealingwithcomplexintellectualproblems.Inotherwords,theyare
developingbettertoolsforaclasstowhichtheythemselvesbelong.Iftheirinitialworkneeds
theunifyingfocusofconcentratinguponaspecifictool,letthattoolbeoneimportanttothem
4d1

andwhoseimprovementwillreallyhelptheirownwork.
 4e
E.TOOLSDEVELOPEDANDTOOLSUSED
Thisclosesimilaritybetweentoolsbeingdevelopedandthetoolsbeingusedtodothe
developing,callsforsomecareinourterminologyifwewanttoavoidconfusioninour
reasoningabouttheirrelationship."Augmentationmeans"willbeusedtonamethetools
beingdevelopedbytheaugmentationresearch."SubjectInformation"willbeusedtoreferto
descriptionandreasoningconcernedwiththesubjectofthesetools(asopposedtothe
methodofresearch),and"subjectmatter"willrefertobothsubjectinformationandphysical
devicesbeingincorporatedasartifactsintheaugmentationmeansbeingdeveloped."Tools
andtechniques"willbeusedtonamethetoolsbeingusedtodothatresearch,andarelikely
heretoincludespecialadditionstolanguage,artifact,andmethodologythatparticularly 4e1

improvethespecialcapabilitiesexercisedindoingtheresearch.

Anintegratedsetoftoolsandtechniqueswillrepresentanartofdoingaugmentation
research.Althoughnosuchartexistsreadymadeforouruse,therearemanyapplicableor
adaptabletoolsandtechniquestobeborrowedfromotherdisciplines.Psychology,computer
programmingandphysicaltechnology,displaytechnology,artificialintelligence,industrial
engineering(e.g.,motionandtimestudy),managementscience,systemsanalysis,and
informationretrievalaresomeofthemorelikelysources.Thesedisciplinesalsoofferinitial
subjectmatterfortheresearch.Becausethiskindofdiagrammingcanhelpmorelateron,we
representinFigure3thesituationofthebeginningresearchdrawinguponexistingdisciplines 4e2

forsubjectmatterandtoolsandtechniques.

Theprogrambeginswithgeneraldependenceuponother,existingdisciplinesforitssubject
matter(solidarrow)anditstoolsandtechniques(dashedarrow).Goal1hasbeenstatedas
thatofverifyingthebasichypothesisthatconcertedaugmentationresearchcanincreasethe4e3

intellectualeffectivenessofhumanproblemsolvers.

Figure3.InitialAugmentationResearchProgram.
4e3a
4f
F.RESEARCHPLANFORACTIVITYAl
ThedominantgoalofActivityA1(Goal1,asinFig3)istotestourhypothesis.Itsgeneral
pursuitofaugmentingaprogrammerisdesignedtoservethisgoal,butalsotobesettingthe
stageforlaterdirectpursuitofGoals2and3(i.e.,developingtoolsandtechniquesfor 4f1

augmentationresearchandproducingrealworldaugmentationsystems).

Beforewediscussthepossiblesubjectmatterthroughwhichthisresearchmightwork,letus
treatthematterofitstoolsandtechniques.Nottoolongagowewouldhaverecommended
(anddid),inthespiritoftakingthelongrangeandglobalapproach,thatrightfromthe
beginningofaseriousprogramofthissortthereshouldbeestablishedacarefulandscientific
methodology.Controlledexperiments,withspecialresearchsubjectstrainedandtestedin
theuseofexperimentalnewaugmentationmeans,carefulmonitoring,recordkeeping,and
evaluativeprocedures,etc.Thiswastobeaccompaniedbyathoroughsearchthrough 4f2
disciplinesandcarefulincorporationofusefulfindings.

Stillinthespiritofthelongrangeandglobalsortofplanning,butwithadifferentoutlook
(based,amongotherthings,uponanincreasedappreciationforthepossibilitiesofcapitalizing
uponregeneration),wewouldnowrecommendthattheapproachbequitedifferent.We
basicallyrecommendA1researchadheringtowhateverformalmethodologyisrequiredfor
(a)knowingwhenanimprovementineffectivenesshasbeenachieved,and(b)knowinghow 4f3
toassignrelativevaluetothechangesderivedfromtwocompetinginnovations.

Beyondthis,andassumingdedicationtothegoal,reasonablematurity,andplentyofenergy,
intelligence,andimagination,wewouldrecommendturninglooseagroupoffourtosixpeople
(oranumberofsuchgroups)todevelopmeansthataugmenttheirownprogramming
capabilityWewouldrecommendthattheirworkbeginbydevelopingthecapabilityfor
composingandmodifyingsimplesymbolstructures,inthemannerpicturedinSectionIIIB2,
andworkupthroughahierarchyofintermediatecapabilitiestowardthesinglehighlevel
capabilitythatwouldencompasscomputerprogramming.Thiswouldallowtheirembryonic
andfreewheeling"artofdoingaugmentationresearch"togrowandworkoutitskinks
 throughasuccessionofincreasinglycomplexsystemproblemsandalso,redesigninga 4f4
hierarchyfromthebottomupsomehowseemsthebestapproach

Asforthetypeofprogrammingtotellthemtobecomegoodattellthem,"thekindthatyou
findyouhavetodoinyourresearch."Inotherwords,theirjobassignmentistodevelop
meansthatwillmakethemmoreeffectiveatdoingtheirjob.Figure4depictsthis
schematically,withtheadditiontowhatwasshowninFigure3ofaconnectionthatfeedsthe
subjectmatteroutputoftheirresearch(augmentationmeansfortheirtypeofprogramming
problems)rightbackintotheiractivityasimprovedtoolsandtechniquestouseintheir 4f5
research.

Figure4.Regeneration.
4f5a
Iftheyaremakingheadway,itwon'ttakeanycarefullywordedcriterionofeffectiveness
noranygreatsophisticationinmeasurementtechniquetotellthattheyaremoreeffective
withtheaugmentationmeansthanwithoutbeingquickerto"designandbuild"arunning
programtomeetgivenprocessingspecificationsorbeingquickertopickupacomplexexisting
program,gaincomprehensionasnecessary,andfinditsflawsorrebuildit.Ontheotherhand,
ifnogainsarereallyobviousafterayearorso,thenitistimetobeginincorporatingmore
scienceintheirapproach.Bythentherewillbeagooddealofbasicorientationastothe 4f6
natureoftheproblemtowhich"science"istobeapplied.

Whatwearerecommendinginawayisthattheaugmentedcapabilityhierarchybuiltbythis
grouprepresentmoreaquickandroughscaffoldingthanacarefullyengineeredstructure.
Thereisorientationtobederivedfromclimbingupquicklyforalookthatwillbeofgreat
value.Forinstance,keyconceptsheldinitially,thatwouldhavebeenlaboriouslyrivetedinto
thewellengineeredstructure,couldwellberenderedobsoletebythe"view"obtainedfrom
higherinthehierarchy.Andbesides,itseemsbesttogetthequickandroughimprovements
builtandworkingfirst,sothattheresearchwillbenefitnotonlyfromtheorientation
obtained,butfromthehelpthattheseimprovementswillprovidewhenusedastoolsand
techniquestotacklethetougherorslowerpossibilities.Asprogressbeginstobemadetoward
Goall,thediagramofFigure3willbecomemodifiedbyfeedingthesubjectmatteroutput
(augmentationmeansforcomputerprogrammers)backintotheinputasnewtoolsand 4f7
techniquestobeusedbytheresearchers.

WewouldsuggestestablishingasubactivitywithinA1,whosepurposeandresponsibilityis
tokeepaneyeonthetotalactivity,assessandevaluateitsprogressandtrytoprovide 4f8
orientationastowherethingsstandandwhereattentionmightbebeneficial.

AfewwordsaboutthesubjectmatterthroughwhichActivityA1mayprogress.The
researcherswillthinkofsimpleinnovationsandtrytheminshortorderandperhapsbe
stimulatedintheprocessbyrealizinghowhandysomenewfeaturewouldbethatwouldhelp
themwhlpuptrlalprocessesinahurry.Theywillknowofbasiccapabllitlestheywanttowork
towardforstructuringtheirargumentsJtheirplanning,theirfactualdata,etc.,50thatthey
canmoreeasilygetcomputerhelpindevelopingthemJinanalyzingandpursuing
comprehensionwithinthemJandinmodifyingorextendingthem.Theywllltrydifferenttypes
ofstructuringJandseehoweasyitlstodesigncomputerprocessestomanipulatethemor 4f9
compositeprocessestodototalusefulworkwiththem.

Theycanworkupprogramsthatcansearchthroughotherprogramsforanswerstoquestions
aboutthemquestionswhoseanswersservetheprocessesofdebugging,extending,or
modifying.Perhapstherewillbewaystheyadoptintheinitialstructuringofaprograme.g.,
appendingstylizeddescriptivecueshereandtherethathavenofunctionintheexecutionof
thatprogram,butwhichallowmoresophisticatedfactretrievalthereinbythecomputer.
Perhapssuchcuetaggingwouldallowdevelopmentofprogramswhichcouldautomatically
makefairlysophisticatedmodificationstoataggedprogram.Maybetherewouldevolvesemi
automatic"supercompilers,"withwhichtheprogrammerandthecomputerleapfrogover
theobstaclestoformulatingexactspecificationsforacomputer(orperhapscomposlte) 4f10

processandgettingitintowhateverprogramminglanguagetheyuse.
4g
G.ASECONDPHASEINTHERESEARCHPROGRAM
TheresearchofA1couldprobablyspiralupwardsindefinitely,butoncethehypothesis(see
SectionIVA)hasbeenreasonablyverifiedandthefirstofourstatedobjectivessatisfied,it
wouldbebesttoreorganizetheprogram.Todescribeourrecommendationhere,letussay
thattworesearchactivies,A2andA3,aresetupinplaceofA1.WhetherA1issplit,or
turnedintoA2andanewgroupformedforA3,doesnotreallymatterherewearespeaking
ofseparateactivities,correspondingtotheresponsiblepursuitofseparategoals,thatwill 4g1
benefitfromclosecooperation.

ToActivityA2assignthejobofdevelopingaugmentationmeanstobeusedspecificallyas
toolsandtechniquesbytheresearchersofbothA2andA3.Thisestablishesacontinuing
pursuitforObjective2ofSectionIYA.A2willnowsetupasubactivitythatstudiesthe
problemsofalltheworkersinA2andA3andisolatesasuccessionofcapabilitiesforwhich
theresearchofA2willdevelopmeanstoaugment.ActivityA2shouldbeequippedwiththe 4g2

bestartifactsavailabletoanexperimentallaboratory.

ToActivityA3assignthejobofdevelopingaugmentationsystemsthatcanbepractically
adoptedintorealworldproblemsituations.Thisprovidesadirectandcontinuingpursuitof
Goal3ofSectionIVA.ItistobeassumedthatthefirstrealworldsystemthatA3willdesign
willbeforcomputerprogrammers.Forthisitmightwellbeabletocleanupthe"laboratory
model"developedinA1,modifyittofitthepracticallimitationsrepresentedbyrealworld
economics,workingenvironments,etc.,andofferitasaprototypeforpracticaladoption.Or4g3
ActivityA3mightdoaredesign,benefittingfromtheexperiencewiththefirstmodel.

ActivityA3willneedasubactivitytostudyitspotentialusersandguidethesuccessionof
developmentsthatitpursues.ActivityA2initscontinuedpursuitofincreasedeffectiveness
amongworkersinidealizedenvironment,willbethesourceforbasicsubjectmatterinthe
developmentsofA3,aswellasforitstoolsandtechniques.Fromthecontinouslyexpanding
knowledgeanddevelopmentsofA2,A3canorganizesuccessivepracticalsystemssuitable4g4
forevermoregeneralutilization.

WehaveassumedthatwhatwasdevelopedinA1wasprimarilylanguageandmethodology,
withtheartifactsnotbeingsubjecttoappreciablemodificationduringtheresearch.Bythis
secondphase,enoughhasbeenlearnedaboutthetrendsandpossibilitiesforthistypeofon
linemancomputercooperationthatsomewellbasedguidancecanbederivedforthetypesof
modificationsandextensionstoartifactcapabilitythatwouldbemostvaluable.ActivityA2
couldcontinuetoderivelongrangeguidanceforequipmentdevelopment,perhapsdeveloping
laboratoryinnovationsincomputers,displaysystems,storagesystems,orcommunication
systems,butatleastexperimentingwiththeincorporationofthenewartifactinnovationsof 4g5

others.

Anexampleofthetypeofguidancederivedfromthisresearchmightbeextractedfromthe
conceptsdiscussedinSectionC5(StructureTypes).Wepointouttherethatwithinthe
computertheremightbebuiltandmanipulatedsymbolstructuresthatrepresentbetter
imagesoftheconceptstructuresofinteresttothehumanthanwouldanysymbolstructure
withwhichthehumancouldworkdirectly.Tothehuman,thecomputerrepresentsaspecial
instrumentwhichcandisplaytohimacomprehensibleimageofanycharacteristicofthis
structurethatmaybeofinterest.Fromourconceptualviewpoint,thiswouldbeasourceof
tremendouspowerforthehumantoharness,butitdependsuponthecomputerbeingableto
"read"allofthestoredinformation(whichwouldbeinaformessentiallyincomprehensibleto
ahuman).Now,ifthisconjectureisborneouttherewouldbeconsiderablylessvaluein
microimageinformationstoragesystemsthanisnowgenerallypresumed.Inotherwords,
wenowconjecturethatfuturereferenceinformationwillbemuchmorevaluableifstoredin
computersensibleform.Thevalidityofthisandotherconjecturesstemmingfromour
conceptualframeworkcouldrepresentcriticalquestionstomanufacturersofinformation 4g6
systems.

Itisobviousthatthisreportstemsfromgeneralized"largeview"thinking.Tocarrythisto
somethingofafinalview,relativetotheresearchrecommendations,wepresentFigure5,
whichshouldbelargelyselfexplanatorybythistime.ActivityA2isliftingitselfbythe
bootstrapsupthescaleofintellectualcapability,anditsproductsaresiphonedtotheworldvia
A3.Gettingacceptanceandapplicationofthenewtechniquestothemostcriticalproblemsof
oursocietymightinfactbethemostcriticalproblemofallbythen,andActivityA4wouldbe
4g7
onewhichshouldbegivenspecialhelpfromA3.

Thereisanothergeneralandlongrangepicturetopresent.Thisisinregardtoagoalfora
practicallyusablesystemthatA3wouldwanttodevelopassoonaspossible.Youmightcall4g8
thisthefirstgeneralComputerAugmentationSystemCAUGI(pronounced"cogone").
 Figure5.ATotalProgram.Suggestedrelationshipamongthe
majoractivitiesinachievingthestatedobjective(essentially,
ofsignificantlyboostinghumanpowerinA4andU1).Solid
linesrepresentsubjectinformationorartifactsusedor
generatedwithinanactivity,anddashedlinesrepresent
specialtoolsandtechniquesfordoingtheactivityintheboxto
whichtheyconnect.Subjectproductofanactivity(output
solid)canbeusedasworkingmaterial(inputsolid)orastools
andtechniques(inputdashed).Toolsandtechniquesasused
orneededinanactivity(outputdashed)canbeusedeitherto
workon(inputsolid)orastoolsandtechniquestoworkwith
(inputdashed).
4g8a
Itwouldbederivedfromwhatwasassessedtobethebasicsetofcapabilitiesneededby
bothageneralproblemsolvlnghumanandanaugmentationresearcher.GiveCAUGItoa
realworldproblemsolverinalmostanydiscipline,andhehasthebasiccapabilitiesfor
structuringhisargumentsandplans,organizingspecialfiles,etc.,thatalmostanyonecould
expecttoneed.Inadditiontothesedirectapplicationoncapabilities,however,areprovided
thosecapabilitiesnecessaryforanalyzingproblemtasks,developingandevaluatingnew
processcapabilities,etc.,aswouldberequiredforhimtoextendtheCAUGIsystemtomatch 4g9
tothespecialfeaturesofhisproblemareaandthewayhelikestowork.

Inotherwords,CAUGIrepresentsabasicproblemsolvingtoolkit,plusanauxiliarytool
makerstoolkitwithwhichtoextendthebasictoolkittomatchtheparticularjoband
particularworker.Insubsequentphases,ActivityA3couldbeturningoutsuccessive
generations(CAUGII,CAUGIII,etc.)eachincorporatingfeaturesthatmatchanevermore
powerfulcapabilityhierarchyinanevermoreefficientmannertothebasiccapabilitiesofthe
4g10
human.

5
V.SUMMARY

Thisreporthastreatedoneoverallviewoftheaugmentationofhumanintellect.Inthereport
thefollowingthingshavebeendone:(1)Anhypothesishasbeenpresented.(2)Aconceptual
frameworkhasbeenconstructed.(3)A"picture"ofaugmentedmanhasbeendescribed.(4)A 5a

researchapproachhasbeenoutlined.Theseaspectswillbereviewedherebriefly:

1. Anhypothesishasbeenstatedthattheintellectualeffectivenessofahumancanbe
significantlyimprovedbyanengineeringlikeapproachtowardredesigningchangeable5a1

componentsofasystem.

2. Aconceptualframeworkhasbeenconstructedthathelpsprovideawayoflookingat
theimplicationsandpossibilitiessurroundingandstemmingfromthishypothesis.
Briefly,thisframeworkprovidestherealizationthatourintellectsarealready 5a2

augmentedbymeanswhichappeartohavethefollowingcharacteristics:

a. Theprincipalelementsarethelanguageartifacts,andmethodologythata 5a2a

humanhaslearnedtouse. 5a2b
 b. Theelementsaredynamicallyinterdependentwithinanoperatingsystem.

c. Thestructureofthesystemseemstobehierarchical,andtobebestconsidered
asahierarchyofprocesscapabilitieswhoseprimitivecomponentsarethebasic
humancapabilitiesandthefunctionalcapabilitiesoftheartifactswhichare 5a2c
organizedsuccessivelyintoevermoresophisticatedcapabilities.

d. Thecapabilitiesofprimeinterestarethoseassociatedwithmanipulatingsymbols
andconceptsinsupportoforganizingandexecutingprocessesfromwhichare 5a2d
ultimatelyderivedhumancomprehensionandproblemsolutions.

e. Theautomationofthesymbolmanipulationassociatedwiththeminuteby
minutementalprocessesseemstoofferalogicalnextstepintheevolutionof5a2e
ourintellectualcapability.

3. Apictureoftheimplicationsandpromiseofthisframeworkhasbeendescribed,based
upondirecthumancommunicationwithacomputer.Herethemanywaysinwhichthe
computercouldbeofservice,atsuccessivelevelsofaugmentedcapability,havebeen
broughtout.Thispictureisfanciful,butwebelieveittobeconservativeand 5a3

representativeofthesortofrichandsignificantgainsthataretheretobepursued.

4. AnapproachhasbeenoutlinedfortestingthehypothesisofItem(1)andforpursuing
the"richandsignificantgains"whichwefeelarepromised.Thisapproachisdesigned
totreattheredesignofacapabilityhierarchybyreworkingfromthebottomup,and
yettomaketheresearchonaugmentationmeansprogressasfastaspossibleby
derivingpracticallyusableaugmentationsystemsforrealworldproblemsolversata
maximumrate.Thisgoalisfosteredbytherecommendationofincorporatingpositive
feedbackintotheresearchdevelopmenti.e.,concentratingagoodshareofthebasic
researchattentionuponaugmentingthosecapabilitiesinahumanthatareneededin
theaugmentationresearchworkers.Therealworldapplicationswouldbepursuedby
designingasuccessionofsystemsforspecialists,whoseprogressioncorrespondstothe
increasinggeneralityofthecapabilitiesforwhichcoordinatedaugmentationmeans
havebeenevolved.Considerationisgiveninthisratherglobalapproachtoproviding
potentialusersindifferentdomainsofintellectualactivitywiththebasicgeneral
purposeaugmentationsystemfromwhichtheythemselvescanconstructthespecial
featuresofasystemtomatchtheirjob,andtheirwaysofworkingoritcouldbeused
ontheotherhandbyresearcherswhowanttopursuethedevelopmentofsepcial 5a4
augmentationsystemsforspecialfields.

6
VI.CONCLUSIONS

Threeprincipalconclusionsmaybedrawnconcerningthesignificanceandimplicationsoftheideas
6a
thathavebeenpresented.

Firstanypossibilityforimprovingtheeffectiveutilizationoftheintellectualpowerofsociety's
problemsolverswarrantsthemostseriousconsideration.Thisisbecauseman'sproblemsolving
capabilityrepresentspossiblythemostimportantresourcepossessedbyasociety.Theother
contendersforfirstimportanceareallcriticallydependentfortheirdevelopmentanduseuponthis
resource.Anypossibilityforevolvinganartorsciencethatcancoupledirectlyandsignificantlyto6b
thecontinueddevelopmentofthatresourceshouldwarrantdoublyseriousconsideration.

Second,theideaspresentedaretobeconsideredinbothoftheabovesenses:thedirect
developmentsenseandthe'artofdevelopment'sense.Tobesure,thepossibilitieshavelong
termimplications,buttheirpursuitandinitialrewardsawaitusnow.Byourview,wedonothave
towaituntilwelearnhowthehumanmentalprocesseswork,wedonothavetowaituntilwe
learnhowtomakecomputersmoreintelligentorbiggerorfaster,wecanbegindeveloping
powerfulandeconomicallyfeasibleaugmentationsystemsonthebasisofwhatwenowknowand
have.Pursuitoffurtherbasicknowledgeandimprovedmachineswillcontinueintotheunlimited
future,andwillwanttobeintegratedintothe"art"anditsimprovedaugmentationsystemsbut
gettingstartednowwillprovidenotonlyorientationandstimulationforthesepursuits,butwill 6c
giveusimprovedproblemsolvingeffectivenesswithwhichtocarryoutthepursuits.

Third,itbecomesincreasinglyclearthatthereshouldbeactionnowthesoonerthebetteraction
inanumberofresearchcommunitiesandonanaggressivescale.Weofferaconceptual
frameworkandaplanforaction,andwerecommendthatthesebeconsideredcarefullyasabasis
foractionIftheybeconsideredbutfoundunacceptable,thenatleastseriousandcontinuedeffort
shouldbemadetowarddevelopingamoreacceptableconceptualframeworkwithinwhichtoview6d
theoverallapproach,towarddevelopingamoreacceptableplanofaction,orboth.

Thisisanopenpleatoresearchersandtothosewhoultimatelymotivate,finance,ordirectthem,
toturnseriousattentiontowardthepossibilityofevolvingadynamicdisciplinethatcantreatthe
problemofimprovingintellectualeffectivenessinatotalsense.Thisdisciplineshouldaimat
producingacontinuouscycleofimprovementsincreasedunderstandingoftheproblem,improved
meansfordevelopingnewaugmentationsystems,andimprovedaugmentationsystemsthatcan
servetheworld'sproblemsolversingeneralandthisdiscipline'sworkersinparticular.Afterall,we
spendgreatsumsfordisciplinesaimedatunderstandingandharnessingnuclearpower.Whynot
considerdevelopingadisciplineaimedatunderstandingandharnessing"neuralpower?"Inthe 6e
longrun,thepowerofthehumanintellectisreallymuchthemoreimportantofthetwo.

7
NOTES
7a
Chapter1

Notes11:KennedyandPutt(seeRef.1inthelistattheendofthereport)bringoutthe
importanceoftheconceptualframeworktotheprocessofresearch.Theypointoutthatnew,
multidisciplinaryresearchgenerallyfindsnosuchframeworktofitwithin,thataframework
ofsortswouldgroweventually,butthatanexplicitframeworksearchphaseprecedingthe 7a1
researchismuchtobepreferred.
7b
Chapter3

Notes31:Thereferenceistop.42ofB.C.Vickery'sClassificationandIndexinginScience7b1
whichisRef.26attheendofthereport.
7b2
Notes32:ThereferenceistoTheMeasureofMeaning,whichisRef.27
7b3
Notes33:Seep.104ofRef.28

8
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