18.34, Sunday 1 Dec 2002

In Metaphors We Compute By, John Lawler lists a few [aforementioned metaphors] (falling into the three categories of Deus Ex Machina; Mathematical Machines; The Pathetic Fallacy):

  • The computer is a servant
  • The computer is a race
  • The computer is a tool
  • The computer is a machine
  • The computer is a workplace
  • The computer is a filing cabinet
  • The computer is a toy

I think Reeves and Nass in The Media Equation (of which more at another time) would say that the computer is a medium containing one or more social actors, which users unconsciously perceive and interact with as being other people.