Re: <nettime> rage against the machine

[William Waites <ww@styx.org>]

> To my limited understanding, the black box in the airplane is not a
> device to limit the complexity of the pilots' interaction with, or
> understanding of, the plane by reducing a complex process to a simple
> in/out relationship.
> 
> No, it's a flight recorder. During the flight, it has no output at all,
> and in no way influences the processes of flying. It simply records
> certain signals, including voice signals.
> 
> The plane would fly in exactly the same way if it wasn't there.
> 
> In this sense, it's a forensic, not a cybernetic tool. And as that, it's
> function is actually exactly the opposite. It's a tool designed not to
> hide but to reveal complexity, to make transparent what happens inside
> the cockpit.

It seems to me it is a question of where you draw the system boundary. If the
system is an aeroplane that is flying, then the recording device is not part of
the control loop and it is not a cybernetic tool in that context. If the system
is the one that adjusts and optimises designs according to successes and
failures, then the recording device definitely is part of the control loop and
it is a cybernetic tool.

Best wishes,
-w

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