Tools and Cognition

Tools influence what we can do, and also how we think.  The quipu was a useful tool for storage of information, but apparently not for manipulation. So if we have quipus but not a calculating board, we will be disinclined to do calculations. On the other hand, the calculating board does not allow storage of information.

Unfamiliarity with the tools (quipus, contour maps, swell maps, etc.) was a important experience to have as educators. The tools we are use to seem intuitive, but this may be substantially due to familiarity. Learning new things helps us remember that learning is effortful, and to feel like a learner in unfamiliar territory.

Ultimately, I do not want students to merely know the tools of the trade; these will change. More important is to be able to learn to adopt and create new tools as necessary. This brings us to recurring themes: we should be helping students to learn how to learn, the habits of mind of learners, more that the subject details themselves. Tools can change the focus of our learning, from Babylonian square roots (algorithms) to explicitly graphical/approximate techniques on the slide rule.

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