Cognition and the Web
Cognition and the Web
Empirical research related to the Web has typically focused on its impact to social relationships and wider society; however, the cognitive impact of the Web is also an increasing focus of scientific interest and research attention. In this paper, I attempt to provide an overview of what I see as the important issues in the debate regarding the relationship between human cognition and the Web. I argue that the Web is potentially poised to transform our cognitive and epistemic profiles, but that in order to understand the nature of this influence we need to countenance a position that factors in the available scientific evidence, the changing nature of our interaction with the Web, and the possibility that many of our everyday cognitive achievements rely on complex webs of social and technological scaffolding. I review the literature relating to the cognitive effects of current Web technology, and I attempt to anticipate the cognitive impact of next-generation technologies, such as Web-based augmented reality systems and the transition to data-centric modes of information representation. I suggest that additional work is required to more fully understand the cognitive impact of both current and future Web technologies, and I identify some of the issues for future scientific work in this area. Given that recent scientific effort around the Web has coalesced into a new scientific discipline, namely that of Web Science, I suggest that many of the issues related to cognition and the Web could form part of the emerging Web Science research agenda.
cognitive extension, extended mind, extended cognitive systems, cognition, web science, world wide web, internet, cognitive technology, cognitive psychology, situated cognition, web of data, linked data, future web, augmented reality, mixed reality, collective cognition, creativity, distributed cognition, web technology
Smart, Paul
cd8a3dbf-d963-4009-80fb-76ecc93579df
Smart, Paul
cd8a3dbf-d963-4009-80fb-76ecc93579df
Smart, Paul
(2010)
Cognition and the Web.
1st ITA Workshop on Network-Enabled Cognition: The Contribution of Social and Technological Networks to Human Cognition, Maryland, United States.
(In Press)
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
Empirical research related to the Web has typically focused on its impact to social relationships and wider society; however, the cognitive impact of the Web is also an increasing focus of scientific interest and research attention. In this paper, I attempt to provide an overview of what I see as the important issues in the debate regarding the relationship between human cognition and the Web. I argue that the Web is potentially poised to transform our cognitive and epistemic profiles, but that in order to understand the nature of this influence we need to countenance a position that factors in the available scientific evidence, the changing nature of our interaction with the Web, and the possibility that many of our everyday cognitive achievements rely on complex webs of social and technological scaffolding. I review the literature relating to the cognitive effects of current Web technology, and I attempt to anticipate the cognitive impact of next-generation technologies, such as Web-based augmented reality systems and the transition to data-centric modes of information representation. I suggest that additional work is required to more fully understand the cognitive impact of both current and future Web technologies, and I identify some of the issues for future scientific work in this area. Given that recent scientific effort around the Web has coalesced into a new scientific discipline, namely that of Web Science, I suggest that many of the issues related to cognition and the Web could form part of the emerging Web Science research agenda.
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Cognition_and_the_Webv13.pdf
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Accepted/In Press date: 21 December 2010
Additional Information:
Event Dates: 22nd September 2009
Venue - Dates:
1st ITA Workshop on Network-Enabled Cognition: The Contribution of Social and Technological Networks to Human Cognition, Maryland, United States, 2009-09-22
Keywords:
cognitive extension, extended mind, extended cognitive systems, cognition, web science, world wide web, internet, cognitive technology, cognitive psychology, situated cognition, web of data, linked data, future web, augmented reality, mixed reality, collective cognition, creativity, distributed cognition, web technology
Organisations:
Web & Internet Science
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 271824
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/271824
PURE UUID: fdab808f-03db-4de3-9637-38b85d63a0d6
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Date deposited: 22 Dec 2010 19:23
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:15
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Author:
Paul Smart
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