Human Centric Designs

#amomentwithmaghie #discussionzone

“The brain is wider than the sky,

For, put them side by side,

The one the other will include

With ease, and you beside.

The brain is deeper than the sea,

For, hold them, blue to blue,

The one the other will absorb,

As sponges, buckets do.

The brain is just the weight of God,

For, lift them, pound for pound,

And they will differ, if they do,

As syllable from sound. (Dickinson, 1890).”

To begin to understand to processes of reasoning and insight, language must be accepted as the communicative vehicle for practical research and investigation of the human mind as it shifts between the stages of neuroplastic movement balancing between priming and product. Goldstein (2018) defines reasoning as “the process of drawing conclusions” (p. 394), while insight is the “sudden realization,” ( p. 357) that leads to a solution or final selection of a conclusion to the problem. A problem must be defined as a situation in which goal-seeking becomes an immediate focus due to the lack of apparent solutions (Goldstein, 2018); however, the search for a solution is affected by many factors from misleading post-event information (MPI) (pp. 244-246) to the initial presentation of the problem itself. The processes of neuroplasticity as discussed by Boyd (2015) support that cognition is in a constant state of “restructuring” (Goldstein, p. 357, 2018) in order to reach stasis. The interesting note of stasis for human cognition lends to the idea of congruent systems simultaneously at play, much like opposing sports teams, where the state of priming leads to the process of problem-solving. Once the problem has been solved, the priming state then “volleys” for a moment to determine the next best solution for the interaction at hand. 

When considering the ideas of “problem-solving as a search is part of our language” (Goldstein, p. 362, 2018), perspective is a key component in the discovery of working solutions based on divergent thinking (p. 377) regardless to choice of approach. This basis of creativity allows a combination of originality and usefulness to pass through a process of trial and error to produce employable solutions. As a result, the cognitive processes of representation and restructuring discussed by the Goldstein text (2018) could be seen as a natural forced interaction. Human stasis is based on an infinite loop of balanced processes: studies such as those done on dyslexia as noted by Crawford (2019) show that cortical disorganization can disrupt the natural balance of neural migration and development. Although preconceptions can inhibit creativity (Goldstein, p. 379, 2018), during the process of neuroplasticity in the working memory’s functional relationship with episodic and semantic information, pre-inventive forms could link how information is manipulated and organized, regardless of biases in a mental set of those such as an expert. These forms could lead to new links in neuroplastic movement which create the “Aha!” moment adored by teachers.

The default mode network (DMN) process is still an area of needed research. Because the majority of research has focused on the information-processing aspect of cognition, the development of human-machine interactions (HMI) has followed suit. As a result, the insight versus non-insight problems faced when interacting with machine programs or artificial intelligence (AI) due to human or machine error and limitation, bring to question as to whether basing consolidated systems on the human cognitive structure is the best course at this juncture (Goldstein, pp. 358- 359, 2018; Guastello, p. 315-316, 2013). In spite of this lack of foresight in design, human innovation has revealed amazing feats in discovery and application with the advent of the Internet and development of human-machine interactions (HMI).

The issues facing artificial insight do not lie in the ability of humans to re-create the process once it is known. Research is currently limited in the fields of the default mode network (DMN) and the executive control network (ECN) which are inversely related as they work as a congruency system, rather than a consolidated system (Goldstein, 2018). Development should focus on the concepts of how mindfulness, solitude, and the play of internal versus external sustained attention affect the processes of neuroplasticity and creative insights (Goldstein, 2018; Boyd, 2015). 

“The status of your brain before you begin a problem can influence the approach you take to solving the problem” (Goldstein, p. 383, 2018).

The body is constantly priming and producing an evaluation more complex than the generation of the information lending to a busy Broca’s area. A hindrance to healthy creativity and divergent thinking, information overload should be a serious consideration in the development of human-machine interactions (HMI) (Goldstein, 2018). Research has shown that too much information is not healthy and sustainable as humans are a balance of solitude and share continuously seeking stasis. In order to lessen this stressor, human insight could be utilized to create systems based on other cognitive foundations in which humans have established interactions such as a dog, cat, etc. to tailor the needed response. While artificial intelligence (AI) may progress to have a form of insight, one cannot create an engine without having all of the pieces: one missing bolt could cause a fatality. Development should be made with more precautionary means in order to allow the natural process of trial-and-error to occur in a healthy timeframe.

References

Boyd, L. (2015). After watching this, your brain will not be the same. TEDx Vancouver. (14:24/YouTube). Retrieved November 27, 2022, from After watching this, your brain will not be the same.

Crawford, M. (2019). Cognitive Neuroscience (Part One) . Retrieved December 10, 2022, from https://youtu.be/TPBvb7Z0l7Y.

Dickinson, E. (1890). THE BRAIN. In Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson (p. 41). poem, Crown Publishers, Inc.

Goldstein, E. B. (2018). Cognitive psychology: connecting mind research and everyday experience (5th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Guastello, S. J. (2013). Human factors engineering and ergonomics: A systems approach, second edition. Taylor & Francis Group.