Computers for The Rest of You

Catalog description

This class explores the possibilities of subtle interaction with computers. Conventional computer interface tends to accommodate conscious, explicit, intentional communication. Many unconscious cues and actions that are valued in ordinary human expression are ignored or filtered by computer-mediated interactions. Relinquishing a conscious gatekeeper can be associated with such uncomfortable subjects as subliminal manipulation, subconscious repression, even a loss of free will and the insanity defense! On the other hand going past conscious control can be associated with achieving virtuosity in the arts and athletics, acquiring insight into your personality, and engendering trust in conversation. In this course students build on software and hardware tool kits to create hands-on experiments tapping less conscious parts of your experience. The prototyping exercises include using cell phone as personal sensor logger and then visualizing the results; sensing autonomic nervous responses such as heart rate; and trapping and analyzing language use on your computer. Group work is encouraged. The last part of the semester we concentrate on final projects. ICM and Physical Computing are prerequisites to this course.