Presentation
The importance of “interaction” and the centrality of “design” need not be questioned. What must be questioned is our means of bringing one to the other. The right theoretical framework can provide that means, if it helps frame wicked problems and coordinate the disparate teams and specialized languages required to create products and services in our complex “systems age”. This presentation will show how cybernetics is that framework, how it has influenced design methods with too little recognition, and how no other theory is better suited to take on the critical issues in supporting digital interactions.
Dr Paul Pangaro is the CTO at CyberneticLifestyles.com in New York City, where he consults at the intersection of product strategy, prescriptive innovation, and organizational dynamics. He was CTO of several startups, including Idealab’s Snap.com, and was senior director and distinguished market strategist at Sun Microsystems. Paul co-taught a course on cybernetics and design at Stanford University for 7 years and has lectured at City University of New York, London's Bartlett School of Architecture, Instituto Itaú Cultural in Brazil, Art Institute of Boston, and University of California Berkeley and Santa Cruz.
With thanks to Hugh Dubberly for collaboration and support.