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In Chapter 2, Turkel talks about the differences in the methods of programming. She distinguishes the difference between Structured Programming and Bricolage, also known as "hard" and "soft" style. Structured programming is rule driven and relies on top-down planning. Bricolage, on the other hand, relies on a bottom-top planning, and "tinkering" with the program. Tinkering means trying one thing, stepping back, reconsider, and then trying another (trial-and-error). Structured Programming was the dominant style in the 70's and 80's, while the bricolage style was actively discouraged, deemed incorrect, and improper. In today's society though, the computer culture has evolved into a culture of simulation. A perfect example can be a person's approach to video games today. Games such as Sim Series and MUDD allow the players to operate in a simulated world using real life strategies. The culture of simulation allows bricoluers to interact with their computer environment and tinker with programs.
Turkel also talked about the relationship between gender and computing. In the past, women were discouraged to enter the world of the computer technology because it was thought of as a man's world. The dominance of the structured programming made women feel neutral about using the computer because they felt that the computer was just a calculation tool. Women were insisted that what was the most important thing about being a woman was incompatible with a close relationship to the technology (women were trained when they were girl the components of the soft approach-negotiation, compromise, give and take as psychological virtues). In today's culture of simulation though, women are encourage to be associated with negotiational and non-hierarchical way of thinking, thus allowing the woman to create a "relationship" with her machine.
Here are some of the questions that were asked during my oral....
I've never read a manual of instructions before. Do you think that many people disregard these manuals because of all the HELP programs, tutorials, and etc.?
I think people have disregarded manuals because we have become hands on learners. We learn while we play, or as Turkel would say, we "tinker" with our machines. To me, it's more like a game when I try to figure a program out, and the HELP programs and tutorials are my last resort.
This chapter seems to touch on the feminist movement almost. Do you think programming would be a lot different if it was left open to different interpretation, including the "soft" method?
I think that when Turkel was talking about the difference between hard and soft method to programming, she was not intentionally trying to create a gender difference. I think that it was through piecing psychological and social gender differences that Turkel concluded that women tend to approach the computer with a bricolage style. I also think that in this chapter, she was attempting to show the different interpretations of programming styles, and also explaining the two predominant styles at the same time.
Do women relate differently to computer than men? How? Why?
I think that because our culture has always distinguished men and women not only physically, but mentally and emotionally, is does not exclude their relation with the computer culture. In my opinion, there was a big difference in the past when we viewed the computer as an instrument of calculation. Being a woman myself, I was always taught that machines were a man's "toy." It was hard to relate to a computer in the past because we were not interacting with it like we are today. Instead, we were just creating programs, and one must have a vast knowledge of programming in order to operate a computer. On the other hand, computers today are much more user friendly. They are multi-purpose and also we have some sort of interaction with it every time we use it. I think women find computers today more approachable because of they are allow to tinker with the machine and develop a human-computer relationship with it. Thus I think the differences today might be the approach women take when she learns to use a particular program. I think women are a little more contemplative and takes less risk compare to men when it comes to using a program. I think that women would try to use the HELP program more frequently than men. But I think the difference is not a major one.
Is the way of approaching a computer the same as we approach people? Is it just like meeting another friend?
I don't think we use the same method of approach. No matter what, we will never, in the immediate future, relate with computers like they're humans. At the same time, we don't approach them as pure machines either. I see computers as a hybrid between human and machine (more machine than human though). There is a connection between computers and humans no doubt, but at this moment I think it is based more on need and use. We need our computers as a source of communication, a word processor, to play video games, to balance our finance, etc. On the other hand, we relate with humans on a more emotional level. There is a need, but it is different. I see the relation with humans more on a emotional level and with computers a more based on need.
Turkel says immersion is how we learn, is she saying that is a good way to learn computing or should we be learning systematically from books/teachers?
I think the best way to answer this question is that to each its own. In my opinion, Turkel really has no bias on whether immersion or systematic learning is good. I think what astonished her was the difference in the styles of learning from her generation to the present generation. I think Turkel sees immersion as the "optimal" style of learning for the youth of today, for we do live in a culture of simulation, and in my opinion, it is just a natural evolution to learn through immersion.
Why is she talking about the "culture of simulation?" What does this phrase mean?
When I looked up a synonym for "simulate," I got words such as "fabricate," "pretend," and "fake." I think that when Turkel speaks of the present computer culture as the culture of simulation, she is referring to the fact that computer programs nowadays are design to be more closer to life, whether it is visually, or auditory. Video games such as SimSeries is basically a simulation of real life (a bit exaggerated, but still real enough). Programmers want their users to interact with and to immerse into the programs that they have created. I think that is what has made computers become more and more an essential element in our lives, the fact that we are able to project a part of ourselves into our computer, and be able to get a response.
I found this chapter to be very interesting. I've always found the social aspect of the computer technology to be an interesting topic, but I never really took the time to learn more about it. What was most prominent in this chapter was the gender differences in their approach to computers. It was surprising to me when Turkel mentioned some computer commands that could be pretty offensive to women (words such as "abort" and "execute"). It was a very though provoking chapter.
As for the oral presentation, I don't think I did a very good job. I read the chapter thoroughly, and I had a typed out outline, but what I've always had trouble when it comes to oral presentations is the presentation itself. I get very nervous and I start to stutter and ramble. It's not that I don't know my material, it's more like stage freight.
So far, everyone who has their orals posted looks like mine. Some of my classmate's pages look pretty good (I'm sure they are more literate in computer than I am at this moment!). I think everyone is going to deal with the details later and are just putting on what is more important, which of course is the content.
This was a fairly easy assignment. What was tedious was just answering the questions, and making up a summary. But I think compare to all the other assignments, this is EASY. Just take your time and make sure you don't procrastinate!
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