How a Cockpit Remembers its Speeds (Hutchins)

Key Words and Definitions

• Classical Theory has given us very powerful models of the information processing properties of individual human agents.

  • Asking a set of questions to analyze the mental processes which organized the behavior of the individual

  • How representations are transformed, combined, and propagated through the system

• Hutchins says, you can apply this to a unit of analysis that is larger than an individual person.

I. Representations in the Memory System and Their Properties

1. Flaps and Stats

   1. Function: Change the shape and area of the wing, which affects the speed of the plane.

   2. Properties: Malleable

2. The Spoken Representation

   1. Function: Transmits the information from the ASI (airspeed indicator) to the pilots

   2. Properties: Endures only during its production, temporal.

3. The Speed Card

   1. Function: Contains the weight interval with the appropriate speeds permanently printed on the card.

   2. Properties: Semi permanent.

4. Speed Bugs

   1. Function: Indicates the desired speed on approach given an amount of fuel.

   2. Properties: Attributes meaning to visual areas of the speed dials, enables cognitive distribution

5. Salmon Bug

   1. Function: Provides the pilots an indication of how well the plane is tracking the speed target.

   2. Properties: Physical, dynamic.

6. Airspeed Indicator Instrument (ASI)

   1. Function: Displays the speed of the plane

   2. Properties: Dynamic, physical.

7. Fuel Quantity Panel

   1. Function: Displays the amount of fuel the plane contains

   2. Properties: Dynamic, physical.

II. Additional Key Concepts

1. Situated Seeing

2. Distribution of cognitive labor

3. Robustness through redundant processing

4. Control through propagation of representational state

5. Memory in a socio-technical system

6. Amortization of complexity

7. Three different descriptions of the memory process

   1. Procedural (the sort of description a pilot might provide)

   2. Second and third descriptions are cognitive in that they concern representations and processes that transform those representations.