Understanding practice: Learning to navigate

摘要: The navigation activity At all times while a naval vessel is underway, plot of its past and projected movements maintained. Day night, whenever ship neither tied to pier nor at anchor, computations are performed. In long passage, the activities may be continuously performed for weeks or even months on end. Most time work by one person working alone, but when leaves enters port, operates in any other environment where maneuverability restricted, computational requirements task exceed capabilities individual. such circumstances, duties carried out team individuals together. described here continuation my long-standing interest looking cognition real world. earlier litigation Trobriand Islands (Hutchins, 1978, 1980), without instruments Micronesia 1983; Hutchins & Hinton, 1984), I was mainly concerned with influence culture individual actors their activities, socially situated, were considered primarily as cognitive accomplishments. Looking it actually conducted aboard ships, however, brought home me extent which accomplishments can joint accomplishments, not attributable Another absolutely apparent feature this setting mediated variety tools representational technologies.