in metaphors we compute by (1 December, 2002, Interconnected)

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1 December, 2002:

Posted at 18h34. Permalink.

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.

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