The article (Lidwell, Holden & Butler, 2003) is part of an established discourse of how
complicated tasks are more difficult to carry out successfully than are less complicated
tasks. However, Hall (1996, p. 292) says:
a discourse can be produced by many individuals in
different institutional settings (like families, prisons, hospitals
and asylums). Its integrity or `coherence´ does not depend
on whether or not it issues from one place or from a single
speaker or `subject´. Nevertheless, every discourse constructs
positions from which alone it makes sense.
While Lidwell, Holden and Butler (2003) explain how to “reduce cognitive load by… reduc[ing
and] “chunking information… automating… [and providing aids to assist] memory tasks”, and
so describe “performance load” there is no consideration for the artistic view of work
(personal experience and conversations, 1957-2015). The previously-established data, for
example, Miller (1956) “compare[s] results obtained in quite different
experimental situations”, and demonstrates the two types of performance load, cognitive
and kinematic, discusses a subject that is also of deep enrichment to artisans, artists and
others (personal experience and conversations, 1957-2015). So Lidwell, Holden and Butler (2003) may
have overlooked those defined by the Government of Canada (2015) as:
primarily engaged in creating visual art and craft works… artistic
and cultural objects… made in small quantities, of any material.
The typical labour force is an artist, artisan or craftsperson,
sometimes assisted by other artists, artisans, craftspersons or
apprentices… independent photographers and journalists included.
In addition, while Brockman (5 July, 2015) quotes Coveney, that: “people have to go around
measuring… [work] … there’s a deep relationship between the two” this is not the only
viewpoint. Oxford Dictionaries (2015) defines the noun “”cognitive as “the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge
and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses”, Artistic individuals may want to immerse themselves in deep thought about their
occupation (personal experience and conversations, 1957-2015).
This situation also applies to the second performance factor, “kinematic” (Lidwell, Holden & Butler, 2003). A “plural
noun” defined by Oxford Dictionaries (2015) as “the branch of mechanics concerned with
the motion of objects without reference to the forces which cause the motion”.
Lidwell, Holden & Butler, 2003 provide techniques for kinematic load reduction. This they say
lessens “steps… [of] overall motion… [and automates] tasks”. Artisans and others may enjoy
and gain benefit from the many tasks their industry involves. They may reject the
performance load concept of work (personal experience and conversations, 1957-2015)
as the performance load reduction concept is not a primary concern for “those who
understand that their very nature is that of an artist” (McManus, 2014).
Reference
Brockman, (7 May, 2015). Popper versus Bacon. A conversation with Peter Coveney
Edge. [On-line Magazine]. Retrieved from
http://edge.org/Hall, S. (1996). The West and the Rest. Formations of Modernity. Modernity: An introduction to modern societies. Hoboken, New Jersey, USA: John Wiley and Sons.
Lidwell, W., Holden, K., & Butler, J. (2003). Aesthetic-Usability Effect. Universal principles of design. Massachusetts: Rockport. Retrieved from Learning Portfolio Module 2, S1, 2015.
McManus, R. (2014). The Artisan Soul: Crafting your life into a work of art. New York, NY, USA: Harper One.
Miller, G. A. (Mar 1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information.
Psychological Review. 63(2) 81-97. Retrieved from
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0043158
susanneah 