From: "STARS::PSOTKA" Subject: Re PUB: Toward Human-Centered Design Date: 14 Jun 93 12:46:00 EST Ivan Bach, ib@sgi.com comments: Since no virtual world will contain any real human beings, the only reason to use a human-centered design will probably be to make virtual worlds more acceptable and attractive to human beings (more user-friendly when users are human beings). I see a trend towards less human-centered design in the area of virtual reality, not more. His arguments are fascinating and persuasive. His question deals among many other things with the constraints that our human bodies place on our thinking, particularly our values. I agree that there are many effects of oour human-centered body- oriented cognitive styles on our thinking and values; but there are undoubtedly many more important constraints from the structure and functioning of our minds. While we may (or may not) have bodies in VRs, we cannot get there without our minds and the imagination they bring along. The constraints of our minds (such as: we have to have a single point of view at a time; we can only encompass a few fleeting seconds as our "present"; we bleieve in the continuous existence of objects; we believe that whatever has happened often in our past, or has been conitnuing to happen in our recent past will continue to happen; builidng on into more complex schemata and scripts of actions or possibilities) these constraints are much more powerful and will have to have a place in VR designs no matter what else. These are truly human-centered designs, that would undoubtedly not fit an Arcturian or even possibly a CYBORG that we designed once we became aware or our own limitations and found ways to transcend them. joe