Science and games
^=D
Learning through structured play
393 C o m m e n t
Robert H. Maybury
395 A n interview with Ernö Rubik
George Marx
405 G a m e s , game-playing and technology
Elliott M . Avedon
^C
DE
N
00
ON
u
<u
419 S o m e enigmatic origins of the inventive game
Dharamjit Singh
1
425 T h e electronic game gambit
QI
1)
Jon Bing
u
u
•§
435 Computer games teach problem-solving
James Clayson
u
o
o
449 Development of skills through computers
Mike Lally and Iain Macleod
461 T h e Nehru Science Centre: public participation in science
R. M . Chakraborti
467 Science toys for science education
Isaías Raw
473 Linking science and drama at school
John Beetlestone and Charles Taylor
481 G a m e s and simulations teach social relevance of science
Henry Ellington, Eric Addinall and Fred Perával
493 Readers' forum
© Unesco 1982
ISSN 0019-2872
ISSOA8 32 (4) 391-496 (1982)
m
"o
>
Reminder to readers
impact of science on society is published regularly by Unesco not only
in English and French, but also in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and
Russian. Information regarding these four latter editions can be
obtained by writing to the following:
Spanish: Oficina de Educación Iberoamericana, Ciudad Universitaria,
Madrid 3 (Spain).
Arabic: Unesco Publications Centre in Cairo, 1 Talaat Harb Street,
Cairo (Egypt).
Chinese: T h e Association for the Journal of Dialectics of Nature,
c/o Academia Sinica, 20th Building, Friendship Hotel, Beijing (China).
Russian: T h e U S S R State Committee for Publishing, c/o T h e U S S R
National Commission for Unesco, 9 Prospekt Kalinina,
Moscow G - 1 9 (USSR).
Authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in signed
articles and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of Unesco and do
not commit the Organization.
The supplementary references section called 'To Delve More Deeply*, which appears at the end of
some articles, is normally compiled by the editors of the journal.
Published texts may be freely reproduced and translated (except when reproduction or translation
rights are reserved), provided that mention is made of the author and source.
Editor's note
In regard to the article by Ved P . Nanda, 'Global Climate Change and
International L a w ' , impact, Vol. 32, N o . 3, 1982, pp. 365-74, the reader
willfindthe subject treated in greater detail in the published papers of
the Symposium on Global Climatic Change, Denver Journal of
International Law and Policy, Vol. 10, N o . 3, 1981, and especially in
the following: E . Weiss, C A Resource Management Approach to Carbon
Dioxide During the Century of Transition', pp. 487-509; and
A . Rosencranz, ' T h e International L a w and Politics of Acid Rain',
pp. 5I7-27-
00
0\
à
i
Comment
I
o
O n learning with pleasure
Children at play undoubtedly learn m u c h about adult behaviour
whether their play is imitative—as with dolls—or instructive as in
sports. A n d w h y should it b e disturbing—except to that occasional
schoolmaster type w h o frowns o n the idea of joy accompanying
the learning act—to find pleasurable a n d voluntary activity
contributing to learning? Indeed, in this issue of impact with the
t h e m e 'Science a n d G a m e s ' our authors describe a surprising
variety of s u c h activities, ranging f r o m simple g a m e s of skill a n d
Rubik's challenging c u b e to today's graphically vivid a n d
interactive video g a m e s . E v e n the d r a m a is included a m o n g these,
readers being invited to scan several a w a r d - w i n n i n g scenarios
written to teach such fundamental ideas in science as B r o w n i a n
m o t i o n or pollution.
W e probably should not have b e e n so surprised to find m a n y forms
of play supporting learning, for about a year a g o w e heard Arthur
Clarke, w h o s e mastery of the art of giving joy through reading is
unquestioned, state plainly in a n address before a U n e s c o
audience that 'the best w a y to transfer technology is to m a k e the
technology into a toy. Children have always learned f r o m toys:
this is w h a t toys are for'.
O u r t h e m e 'Science a n d G a m e s ' is intended to call attention to
t w o particular aspects to play—both treated b y our authors. In
regard to the first of these aspects, signified b y the w o r d g a m e , our
'historian', Professor A v e d o n has this to say in his article, ' G a m e s ,
G a m e - p l a y i n g a n d Technology': ' A g a m e is a self-contained
social structure that embodies a formal contest of powers b e t w e e n
t w o or m o r e forces in opposition, confined b y procedures a n d
rules . . .'. T h i s structuring of behaviour, w h i c h the goal a n d the
rules of a g a m e achieve, m a y have m u c h to d o with the learning
that takes place. This is clearly a n aspect of play that m a k e s it a n
&
39,3
|j
§
ß
appropriate behaviour even in adults. Professor Avedon points
out that the structured social relationships provided by games gives
the psychologist a tool for use with adults w h o find interaction in
a sheltered environment to have therapeutic value. A n d our
authors Ellington, Addinall and Percival, in their article entitled
' G a m e s and Simulations Teach Social Relevance of Science',
describe the role-playing simulation g a m e 'Fluoridation?' as a
'structured debate' in which university students learn h o w to bring
both value judgements and rational appraisal of facts to the
resolution of community conflicts.
T h e second aspect of play, signified by the word science in our
theme, is actually twofold: play as structured in games can m a k e
a highly useful contribution to the learning of science, and science
in turn is making dramatic contributions to the equipment used
in playing games. O u r authors succeed in bringing out this twofold
aspect of play. T h u s , Taylor and Beetlestone, R a w , Chakraborti,
and Lally and Macleod each discuss this contribution of play
to learning of science, while Clayson and Bing explore the impact
of the most powerful scientific contribution to the innovation of
games to date, the microprocessor or 'chip'. A reporter, writing
recently in a sister publication about one of today's more
versatile and brainy computer software games, observes that
'because the player must decide h o w to capture his riches, the
g a m e teaches deductive logic. But, caught in the intricate whirligig
of the chase, he is not likely to notice that his mind is being
improved'. 1
•
ROBERT H . MAYBURY
Note
I. Natalie Angier, 'Toying With the Chip', Discover, pp. 73-5, December 1980.
394
'For m e ,
the cube is an object of nature'
N
00
ON
A n interview with Ernö Rubik
o
>
1
•s!
Ernö Rubik (left) discusses his feelings about the cube with George Marx (right)
Erna Rubik, an engineer, designer and assistant professor at the Budapest
College of Industrial Arts, has placed his coloured cube in the hands of
millions throughout the world—children and adults alike. Here in discussion
with Professor George Marx of the Department of Physics, Eötvös University
(Budapest, Hungary), he describes his motivations and feelings in creating
this remarkably challenging game.
395
M a r x : Rubik's C u b e has spread widely over five continents. It is an
object that has aroused the interest of scientists as well as of children.
Surely, something more than economic motivation must have stirred you
to create a toy of such widespread appeal. Y o u must have been moved by
something m u c h more innocent!
Rubik: O r something m u c h more serious! I think all those w h o create
something really original suffer the same disease.
M:
D o they intend to save the world?
R : T h e disease is a m u c h more elementary force. It is called curiosity.
W h e n w e first begin to explore our environment, w e are all creatures of
curiosity. Thus, children begin by asking such questions as ' W h y is a
tomato red?' T h e adult finds such questioning tiring. Either w e get the
answer quickly or w e consider it futile to go an asking the same thing.
Eventually, we get tired of questioning altogether. Objects become familiar
to us; w e get used to them. In this w a y , our exploratory behaviour fades
away and w e prefer to make use of the commonplace knowledge we have
learned. Our curiosity wakens only on exceptional occasions, for instance
when w e are choosing our mate.
M : If w e get used to kitchen-ready rules, w e are going to leave untouched
a number of the chances that lie hidden among the possibilities of matter.
R : It is a pity that the curiosity w e are born with fades away with time,
that it gets replaced by everyday routine. W e lose what w e had at the
beginning: a readiness to wonder about simple facts and an uninterrupted
concern with questions and answers. Yet the greatest discoveries have come
about only through this way of behaving. M a n y of these discoveries were
not m a d e earlier only because some simple question went unasked, or if
it was asked, people considered it irrelevant and didn't bother to give an
answer. Habit is one of the greatest dangers, in m y eyes. It is our greatest
enemy, making things look grey. W e cannot afford this. W e must give
ourselves and our environment a jolt n o w and then that breaks us away from
habit and puts us in an unsettled state. This state gives us a fresh point
of view so that even objects w e are well accustomed to will take on a n e w
and more interesting appearance. W e k n o w this from being travellers.
Look h o w different our town appears after w e havefirstreturned from a
trip abroad! It is as though w e are seeing it for thefirsttime. W e notice
things w e have simply missed before.
M : Most children like to be vagrants, most adults enjoy trips. But what
first aroused your interest in the cube? W a s it the blocks w e played with as
children?
Cube is the simplest block
R : It is not by chance that those blocks are cubic in shape. Experience
has shown us that the simpler the blocks are, the more forms w e can construct
with them. In this sense, the cube is the simplest block. Moreover, its cubic
shape lends greater stability to those constructions. Piling cubes upon each
other lets us build the most stable structures. Oblong blocks are not nearly
as good in this respect. Although toy building kits contain both cubic and
oblong blocks, the latter are more for ornamentation than for building basic
forms.
M : W e learned about the regular polyhedrons in our geometry classes at
school: h o w symmetric they were and h o w aesthetic as forms. But as
timeless objects, they g a v e u s n o feeling for the possibility o f process,
evolutionary change or decay. The cubic toy block, on the other hand, is an
object that comes alive in our hands. A s children w e experienced them as
challenges. Taking them in hand, we could imagine structures—houses, tall
buildings—which w e were both eager to build and alter and ready to knock
down. This constructive view is certainly a virtue of the cubic form of those
blocks.
R : I was indeed touched by the charm of those regular polyhedrons
during m y geometry lessons at school. Their simplicity led m e to think
about the sophisticated geometric relations among their elements. I enjoyed
the beauty of their connections; they aroused in m e a feeling simultaneously
of compact closedness and unfolding richness. You can see I a m of a visual
type. W h e n I say c cube', I do not visualize a solid object like a sugar cube
but, instead, a symmetrical room waiting to befilledup. I see it as a framework outlined by its edges. I can then m a k e this framework real by the use
of material rods. T h e rods are connected by joints that allow the framework
to be deformed and transformed.
A three-dimensional view
M : This is a very three-dimensional w a y of looking at things. Our
European culture has tended to diminish this view: drawing paper; the page
of a book; the painter's canvas; the photograph; the movie screen and
T V screen; all are two-dimensional experiences for us. W e have gotten so
used to these two-dimensional frames that w e express ourselves by them,
w e communicate with each other through them. W e use two-dimensional
maps of the world to orient ourselves. Rubik's Cube is a strange challenge
to us because it forces us to see and think in three dimensions. W e have to be
concerned with what is on the opposite side!
R : But the two-dimensional m a p is an abstraction! Children orient
themselves perfectly well in three dimensions m u c h better than w e as
adults do. Even artists and painters commonly indicate a third dimension
in their work. A n d , while w e inhabitants of block houses still use one- or
two-dimensional mental maps when w e m o v e around in our lifts or along
the corridors, the engineer is making our lives more and more threedimensional. Look at our traffic junctions, the highway or underground
crossings, the skyscrapers, the view from an aeroplane! Modern m a n is also
increasingly pressed to consider time along with the three spatial dimensions.
Present-day engineering is essentially four-dimensional.
M : Y o u are back to your favourite way of looking at things: seeing them
in motion. Rubik's Cube invites us to twist it, to transform it. This is its
way of teaching us some hard lessons of logic.
io
S
•S
'g
Bj
o
CD
Challenge present in cube
R : This challenge is present even in a single solid cube. Assign a value
to each of its sides. Y o u then have a die, which invites you to throw it,
to try your luck. H o w m a n y positions can it take? If you don't get a 'six',
it provokes you to throw again. You begin to think about your chances of
winning, about probabilities. A n d this is only a single die. W h a t if you have
several—dice! See h o w all your possible combinations increase enormously.
Think of the die poker! A n d , in addition to these random connections, you
can set about creating connections entirely by design. O n e of m y favorite
toys was the M c M e n o n cubie. These cubies have six colours, one for each
side. This personalized the geometrical elements for m e and set new tasks
before m e . Could I m a k e a larger cube out of the small ones and end u p
with the same colouring pattern as the single cubie? Since these building
blocks are separated, such games are still additive processes.
A dynamic connection
M : W h e r e did you get the impulse to make a connected structure from
those coloured building blocks?
R : It c a m e from a trend I observe in contemporary sculpture. T h e sculptor
today is not at all satisfied to exploit just the three spacial dimensions of
matter. So he goes on to create mobile works. S o m e sculptors, like Calder,
make use of random movements. See h o w his mobiles are transformed by
the passing wind or by the push of a visitor's hand. T h e motivation for this
has certainly come from Nature, from the wind-moved branches of a tree,
from its dancing leaves. But in addition to chance these creations reflect
the laws of equilibrium as well. There are artists w h o install machines in
their sculptures, in which case, the resulting motion expresses a sort of
fatalism.
M : Whether w e toss a die or pile cubic blocks on one another, w e are
creating a passive connection among the elements.
R : There are ways to make this connection more organic. O n e way is to
arrange the elements in a chain, giving rise to certain interesting possibilities.
Another way is to connect the elements by an axis that joins them without
fusing them into one single rigid body. O f course, any connection, especially
one thatfixesthe elements, also decreases the number of possible variations
in arrangements of the elements. T h e idea of the twistable cube poses an
interesting problem of construction. A sfirstit seems geometrically impossible to realize all of the rotational degrees of freedom. Yet it has turned out
to be possible to solve this problem by exploiting the intrinsic symmetry
properties of the hexahedron: its elements with equivalent geometric roles
can be interchanged with each other. Thus, in our cube, any element
occupying a vertex can be exchanged with any other element occupying a
vertex, or any element at an edge can be exchanged with any other element
at an edge.
Rubik's Cube an innocent object
M : This brings us to another facet of the great charm w e find Rubik's
C u b e seems to have. I a m familiar with solitary toys, and among them I find
m a n y that seem to be intentionally complicated just to annoy the user.
A two-dimensional example of this is the maze, while the wire puzzle is a
three-dimensional example. But I find Rubik's Cube a totally innocent
looking object. There is no over-sophistication shown either in its shape
or in its twistability. A feeling of action comes from its simple geometric
shape and from its simple rotational degrees of freedom.
R : I think all fundamental problems worthy of investigation have a way
of presenting themselves in a readily understandable way. I have never
liked sly puzzles or foggy queries. Elegant problems are difficult because
of their depth, not because of their complicated formulation.
M : Years ago w e discussed with the prominent mathematician, Paul
Turan, what the criterion of value is in the case of a mathematical theorem.
H e replied that the shorter the theorem, the more difficult its proof. In this
sense, Rubik's Cube is a masterpiece. There is no need to formulate the
rules of the game at all. Take the bare cube in hand, just as it comes from
the factory. Notice that it can be twisted. Soon youfindthat a number of
random twists leads to an ugly, disordered pattern in the colors. A s m u c h
as you would like to succeed in bringing back the original colour harmony,
you find you cannot easily do it. It is this awareness of a difficult task that
makes the cube a challenge. Once you accept this challenge, you find a
long path of careful, logical effort lies ahead.
R : I think all of the good toys and games are of this type. It m a y sound
strange for m e to say it, but for m e the cube is an object of Nature m u c h
in the same way that a marble is. S o m e consider both the cube and the
marble to be at the pinnacle of artistic and geometrical abstraction, to be
thefinalproducts of technological improvements. Yet, the pebble becomes
rounded quite spontaneously and the sphere can be seen in any number of
g
£
'S
g
"2
<
fruits. For m e , both the cube and the marble are objects fully consequences
of themselves, their shapes being due to their o w n geometrical laws. If
I take either one in hand, I feel as if I a m holding a natural object. Y o u
don't receive written instructions when you purchase a ball. T h e way to play
with it—the sequence of actions—follows from the object itself. T h u s , the
ball quite naturally has to be rolled or bounced. If it hits a wall, it bounces
back at some given angle. If I give it a twist, that angle changes accordingly.
A n d so on.
Child is taught by ball
R : Y o u can experiment with a ball. A s your experiences with it mount,
you can even begin to formulate some of the theoretical principles that
apply. A child actually is taught by the ball, his experience with it building
up specific motor skills: an ability to catch the ball, h o w to make a goal—or
basket—with it, in all of these activities learning the necessary co-ordination
of movements. Whether it is with the elastic ball or the twistable cube,
the user is presented with both shape and motion simultaneously. W h e n
the cube has had its colours scrambled, you are surprised by the brightly
coloured appearance it gives. W h e n youfirsttake the cube in your hand, it
does not tell very m u c h about its nature. Y o u have to learn to k n o w it.
You have to watch h o w its elements wander around as you twist the cube.
This trial and error period teaches you a lot. Children, in particular, make
surprisingly rapid progress. T h e y usually find a sequence of actions that
seems to lead quite directly to the desired end result.
A peaceful approach
M : There are other popular games that require concentration on the logic
of the steps to be taken in playing them, chess and the game c G o ' , for
example. T h e y model competition—even war—among the players. T h e
dialectic of Rubik's Cube is different, however. With this w e are facing
reality, w e are confronting matter. There is n o way w e can win by brute
force. If w e take the cube apart with the help of a knife, w e are violating
the very law of the object. Resorting to such methods is misleading, for
you can never really win against Nature. T h e correct approach is to study
the behaviour of the object and to learn its laws of motion. A s w e then
observe these in our play, the object will literally follow our instructions.
This peaceful approach is actually a model of what w e do when w e carry
on scientific research. It makes Rubik's C u b e a m u c h more noble game
in m y opinion.
R : In a certain sense, all solitary games are like this. But there is one vital
difference. In the case of other toys, w e feel they have been invented by
someone, that they have been purposely scrambled, making it our duty
to bring them back to some ordered state. Once w efindthe secret of how
to do this, the game is over, our thinking about it is finished. There is
nothing left to do but give the game to someone else to let them try to
figure it out. T h e case of the cube is different, however. Once w e have
successfully brought it back to the original ordered state, the game is not
over. T h e experience of finding thisfirstsolution convinces us that better
solutions must exist. This initial success is merely the beginning of our
real work! W e feel challenged to try to find a better solution and so w e
begin a further systematic exploration of possible moves. Although theoretically there are probably a m i n i m u m n u m b e r of successful moves, w e
are far from exhausting the knowledge of these possibilities. Perhaps
someday someone will find a simple formula for the m i n i m u m solution,
but I shall be sad indeed if this discovery comes too soon. I a m sure that
the excitement of playing chess would also soon die out if someone discovered
the absolutely certain strategy for winning.
In the hands of everyone
M : W e have heard h o w you came to create your cube. But tell us h o w
thoughts of putting it into the hands of the peoplefilledyour mind as y o u
first starting thinking about its manufacture. W a s this idea related to your
o w n experience of teaching young people at the College of Industrial Arts?
W a s it the thought of teaching some concept through use of the cube,
say the problem of orientation in three dimensions, or the logical approach
to problems?
R : Let m e remark on the h o w strongly I felt the challenge of the cube.
First of all, I faced the task of constructing the twistable cube as a physical
object. T h e n I had to solve the problem of its ordering. W h a t gripped m e
then was the solubility of the problem but also the difliculty offindinga
solution. I was deeply convinced that this dual feeling could be shared with
others. I saw m y o w n ability to find a solution as a mere threshold, certainly
not as a limit: if I a m able to solve the problem, surely someone else can
solve it in even a better way. Turning this idea into a toy was an inclination
arising out of m y professional interest in interior architecture and object
design. In this profession, mass production is a leading concern, differentiating us from the artist w h o devotes himself to creating a single piece
of original art. I could have m a d e a huge statue of the cube and erected
it at a town square, putting a motor inside of it to twist it automatically
while people would gather around and gaze. But this would violate m y sense
of values regarding the reproduction of objects. T o m e , it is more important
to reproduce an object in a way that it can be put in the hands of everyone.
Nature herself produces such objects!
M : Vilmos Csányi, the geneticist, has set forth a generalized theory of
evolution starting from the principle that the more fit the individual, the
faster the rate of reproduction. H e considers this same idea to apply to
ideas and industrial objects: their rate of spreading is proportional to their
appropriateness to society. In m y judgement, Rubik's C u b e was such an
idea, an object that proved itself to be very successful. W h a t do you guess
to be the total n u m b e r of these cubes in the world at the m o m e n t ?
Thirty million cubes produced
R : That's a difficult question to answer, but I would suspect there are
at least 30 million of the cubes n o w produced, at least that is m y estimate
of the n u m b e r produced legally under licence and trade m a r k arrangements.
Outside this legsl arrangement, there are probably several times more than
this—perhaps the n u m b e r reaches to nine digits! Hence the challenge of
this cube can be said to have reached several hundred millions of users.
ja
3
:o
¿
ja
'%
i£«
3
S
2ä
g
O
M : This is several per cent of the earth's population! That m a n y people
have been challenged by this cube and m a n y of them have succeeded in
solving it, either by themselves or with assistance. If pupils at school were
given such a difficult problem there would be a revolt by their parents,
I a m sure. Yet both parents and children are tackling the problem of the
cube and even spending their o w n money to do so. What do you think the
educational effect of the cube is likely to be on this generation of youth?
Cube educates people
R : That is also a difficult question to answer, particularly because the
effect is quite complex. T h e challenge looks quite simple at first, but it
really is not. M a n y w h o consider themselves quite smart try to solve it,
only to give u p after a while and suffer from feelings of personal limitations!
Others consider it above their dignity to tackle the cube, given that even
children are able to master it. But the cube soon educates people to be
more modest and considerate. People soon find that their store of skills
and knowledge do not always help with a n e w problem so, in the end, they
have to spend many hours searching for the solution and re-building their
self-confidence.
M:
Indeed, they m a y spend days or even weeks!
R : That's another lesson taught by the cube. With problems above a
certain level of sophistication, a person cannot just jump in and start
working towards the goal. Instead, it is necessaryfirstto analyse the task,
to break the problem d o w n into its parts. T h e n each step towards a possible
solution has to be explored separately. O n e has to be content with such
step-by-step progress. There is no other way to eventual success.
M:
Things are no different in science or in technology.
R : Yet another lesson is depicted in the case of those w h o learned a
solution to the cube from a book. Perhaps they first had tried to solve it
unaided and, w h e n unable to do so, they had a sense of hurt pride. Only
then did they turn to a book for help. I must say, though, that the structure
of the cube makes it exceedingly difficult to prepare written instructions for
its solution. T o follow these requires considerable mental gymnastics.
There is no way to remain passive.
M : I understand that books offering strategies for solving Rubik's Cube
have sold in the millions of copies to date.
R : I have just read that at least sixty different books are in print on the
subject, some of them selling in the millions of copies. Obviously, there is
enormous interest in learning h o w to solve the cube.
To find our way back . . .
M : T h e fundamental challenge of the cube is to find one's way back to
a primordial harmony. Y o u might say this characterizes the longing for an
original beauty that is alive in most of us w h o live in this troubled world.
T o find our way back . . . I think different people are struck in different
ways by the impact of the cube. S o m e m a y have seen there certain hidden
beauty that you yourself never thought about.
R : W h e n I said earlier that the cube was an object of Nature for m e , I by
no means meant that the cube included things I myself had hidden in it.
So, of course, I recognize fully the possibilities for others to make unexpected
discoveries with it. For example, I never imagined that competitions could
be organized with what is essentially a solitary game. In June, there was a
contest for world champion organized in Budapest!
M : Y o u have told us h o w an engineer can construct versatile structures
from simple parts. Mathematicians with w h o m I have discussed your cube
honour it as the very incarnation of group theory. T h e y say that its combination of twists leads to a noncommutative algebra they would term Rubik's
Group. S o m e even claim they could build a university course in algebra
based on the cube. O n e psychologist is even excited about the possibility
of testing h u m a n thinking patterns using the cube, taking into account
differences between the ways the brain is programmed in Eastern versus
Western cultures. T o m e as a physicist, the cube appears to be a model of
the world, its coloured cubies providing a visualization of atoms. In a recent
discussion with some particularly capable students, w e spoke about the way
the spontaneous mixing of the component cubes helps to visualize the
process of a drift of our world toward molecular chaos. This provoked some
of the students to raise questions about the origin and fate of the universe,
¡5;
ä
about entropy and the Big Bang theory in cosmology. S o m e physics teachers
in our Hungarian grammar schools are using the cube to teach thermodynamics. What a variety of lines of thought stem from this cube!
O
Unlimited potentialities
R : While in Canada recently, I met a poet w h o told m e he is proud to have
solved the problem of the cube's order. In Sweden, two philosophers told
m e they are writing a book about the symbolism of the shapes of the Magic
Serpent. All of these experiences strengthen m y belief that simplicity is the
best starting-point in our ventures and creations. W e need to search for
elementary motives fcr from these it is always possible to create something
new. Those things, which are elementary indeed, express the order of the
natural world w e live in. They are worth all the effort of our research, for
hidden in them lie unlimited potentialities.
•
To delve more deeply
DÉLÉDIG, A . After the Rubik Cube: A N e w Generation of Brain Teasers. La
Recherche, Vol. 12, December 1981, pp. 1450 ff.
H O F S T A D T E R , A . T h e Magic Cube's Cubies are Twiddled by Cubists and Solved by
Cubemeisters. Scientific American, Vol. 244, March 1981, pp. 14-26.
H O F S T A D T E R , D . Beyond Rubik's Cube: Spheres, Pyramids, Dodecahedrons and
G o d Knows What Else. Scientific American, Vol. 247, July 1982, pp. 19-20.
M A R X , G . ; G A J Z A G Ó , E . ; G N Ä D I G , P. T h e Universe of Rubik's Cube. European
Journal of Physics, Vol. 3, N o . I, 1982, pp. 39-43.
Rubik's International Game Magazine is a newly created quarterly publication in
English. Brno Rubik is the Editor-in-chief. Write to: Editorial Office of
Rubik's, H-1906 Budapest, P . O . B . 223, Hungary.
Game-playing, known since the dawn of civilization, has become a more
generalized phenomenon than ever, entering into public recreation, school
programmes and commercial promotional efforts. All games require competitive
interaction between two or more opposing forces. This makes game-playing
useful in clinical therapy ('playing out conflicts') and opens a game to
technological innovation—changes in its equipment but not its basic content.
The latest such innovation is the microprocessor, or 'chip'.
00
o
i
<J
«o
s
Games, game-playing
and technology
Elliott M . Avedon
I
Elliott M . Avedon is Professor, Department of Recreation, Faculty of Human
Kinetics and Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo, Canada, and also
Curator of the University Museum and Archive of Games. A member of the
International Sociologie Association Research Committee on Leisure and
Popular Culture, he has written over ioo books and articles on leisure,
including T h e Study of G a m e s : A Source Book, co-authored with
B . Sutton-Smith (R. E . Krieger Publishing Company, Inc., Huntington,
New York, reprinted, 1979). His address is: Museum and Archive of Games,
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, N2L 3G1 Canada.
Photographs of ancient games are shown in Plates 1, 2, 3 and 4
(following pages 406 and 422). These are provided by courtesy
of the author.
405
Introduction
di
>
<
^
Ö
3
w
Events concerning matters of collective social consequence such as politics,
economics and military conquest are the 'stuff' of History with a capital ' H ' .
Although the ordinary facets of everyday life such as games do not have
the same stature, study of ordinary things contributes to mankind's understanding of civilization's continuity and the h u m a n components of society.
Since games are not a matter of social consequence, but rather a matter
of individual joy or despair, details about games have not usually been
recorded; in the past, therefore, scant information has been available about
the impact of games and game-playing upon society. T h e few people w h o
over the years have devoted effort to the study of games have proposed a
range of theories based upon extremely limited information. Today, as a
consequence of the information explosion, developments in technology,
and the application of scientificfindings,w e are in a more fortunate position.
Although people have probably been playing games since the dawn of
civilization, today game-playing is a more generalized phenomenon than
in the past, and games have found their way into m a n y facets of society
in places where one would least expect them. With the increase in organized
public recreation programmes and public school programmes a variety
of opportunities to play games has generally become available for youth
throughout the world. Governments, religious organizations, health organizations, and educational authorities in many countries have long used
games, such as lotteries, to raise funds. In some countries, supermarkets
and cfast food' resturants now offer games as customer inducements. There
are g a m e 'shows' on television, and there are a growing number of gambling
casinos throughout the world. There are the international sport festivals,
such as the Olympics; once a means of worshipping the gods, these are n o w
nothing more than everyday secular games.
Games in great demand
Large shops no longer limit game supplies to toy departments, but have
established 'adult g a m e ' departments as well, and it is not unusual today
to find shops devoted exclusively to the sale of games. T h e number of
games on the contemporary market is staggering. Since the introduction of
plastics and modern methods of mass production and distribution, game
materials are within the price range of all pocket-books. However, in some
cultures a few people continue to handcraft traditional equipment for
games, but as tastes change and society becomes more urbanized such
activity m a y become a dying art form. Handcrafted g a m e equipment often
appears today in art museums in retrospective exhibits entitled 'folk arts
of the past'! Antique and art shops report difficulty in mamtaining a supply
of antique games that are heavily in demand by collectors, and there is
growing demand by collectors for n e w traditional handcrafted game equipment, not for use as intended by the maker, but rather as works of decorative
art. In some places today, n e w traditional handcrafted game equipment
has become an important commodity, sold on the tourist market as souvenirs.
M u s e u m s have found that reproductions of game-related artefacts in their
collections are popular sales items in their gift shops.
With the advent of computer technology, n e w methods of game-playing
can n o w be found in such diverse places as airport waiting-rooms, motel
DB9DC
. . - « H B 71
pwx*m<ei .
á
h*«**^
• • •
l*U-i*ll U W i l
II*M*¡
¡¿;Ç?all ¡ N Ä H .
Ï/VA |í':.-Ví
•
|*¿-¿*H |;C."-NN ll*W*l!
ii^e-îaii IÏ,;:V;I TO/
lr;M>íl ll«¿-¿sll : I Î O Ï - I iiïii-isii i.i>\v
• I f t JpinVrsSnC
t y ü «..
liWih
,;
nt»-?-J»ll !-r.-l ¡iifM-jii!
I-
l;,v.v;í üs.íMil! u,>».v;l
luttai
Mi__a_p)_Hiia
•«nr
PLATE I. Iraq: Inlaid chess-board.
Photo: Museum and Archives of Games, Waterloo, Canada.
m?M
n
í'í'JW-'YJ'i
• ~'7 ^-%
PLATE 2. Syrian Arab Republic: Count and capture board.
Photo: Museum and Archives of Games, Waterloo, Canada
lobbies, p u b s a n d taverns. S u c h technological innovations are fast replacing
mechanical machines just as the latter once replaced hand-manipulated
g a m e s . H o m e versions of electronic games are also replacing certain traditional board a n d table g a m e s a n d adding increased play-ability to these
games.
Many publications about games
In addition to newspaper columns about games found all over the world,
there are monthly and quarterly periodicals about games published in the
United Kingdom, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the United
States and elsewhere. Although instructional books about games is not a
new idea, bookshops n o w stock complete sections with hundreds of volumes
on games, a phenomenon unheard of in the past.
Attitudes toward games and game-playing vary from country to country
and from culture to culture. Today, most societies accept the concept of
games and game-playing as a positive social activity. However, there appears
to be some variation in the games per se which are acceptable. Considering
the pervasiveness of games in contemporary society, it appears worth while
to examine the phenomenon of games in more detail.
Game always a means
Play has been defined over the years in m a n y w a y s . It is generally accepted
today that the notion of 'play' connotes a type o f purposive behaviour.
It is thought b y s o m e that 'play' is a fundamental behaviour found in m a n y
animal species, a n d theories have b e e n devised to explain the rationale for
this specific behaviour. F o r our purposes though, it is important to underttand the distinction that exists between w h a t might be recognized as
'play' a n d w h a t can b e identified as a ' g a m e ' , In a philosophical context,
'playing' is never a m e a n s , but rather an end in itself. A ' g a m e ' is always
a means! 1
A g a m e is a self-contained social structure that embodies a formal contest
of powers between t w o or m o r e forces in opposition, confined b y procedures
and rules in order to produce a disequilibrial o u t c o m e . 2 O n e need only
think of the children's g a m e , K i n g of the M o u n t a i n , as an example.* Since
a g a m e is a structured system of behaviour rather than a tangible object
in itself, behaviours required b y a g a m e can b e repeated without alteration
b y others w h o play the s a m e g a m e in different locations at different times. 3
A g a m e is unique in that it is a circumscribed behavioural system into
which anyone m a y repeatedly enter anywhere, at a n y time. W h e n a player
leaves the real world a n d enters the confines of a g a m e , interaction within
the system does not change the real world, nor does the real world exert a n
influence u p o n w h a t happens in a g a m e . Although there are spouses w h o
* Throughout this article, examples of games are given. Sometimes the names
used to identify these examples are presented in the English language and have
been translated from the original language of the culture in which the game
may have had its genesis. Sometimes the name of a g a m e is presented in an
English transliteration of the name of a traditional g a m e . However, most of the
examples used can be found in m a n y different cultures although they m a y have a
different name.
oo
o
M
Ü
"2
a
a
¿
I
60
g
$
'£,
y
<
2J
t¡
•3
battle at the bridge table just as they do away from the bridge table, and
s o m e people throw a bowling ball with the same vehemence expressed while
cleaning their driveway after a snow-plough has just come d o w n their
street, these behaviours are not intrinsic to a g a m e . Such behaviours are an
intrusion of the real world into the system w e call a g a m e .
G a m e s are not dependent upon specific tangible objects for play: indeed,
s o m e games d o not require use of any objects or a specified environment in
order for people to play. Charades or the spelling bees are examples of
games that do not require any equipment or a special environment in order
for people to play.
Competitive interaction required
Every game does require, however, that there be competitive interaction
between two or more forces in opposition, confined by a mutually accepted
set of procedures and rules. O n e of the forces is always a person w h o plays
the game, but the opposite force m a y be: an object, the laws of physics,
a player's level of biological development, time, distance, an intellectual
perplexity, another person or persons and, of course, in contemporary
society a computer simulation m a y be the force in opposition. In games
modified by m o d e r n technology, a computer can play the role of one or
more persons in opposition. However, the point is that it is the g a m e
system that defines h o w opponent forces will interact, not tangible objects,
and it matters not whether the forces in opposition are h u m a n only or
h u m a n and electronic!
Although all games do not require use of tangible objects, some games
m a y be differentiated by the objects employed during play. Cultural
influences or aesthetic taste, and the level of technological development in a
society m a y alter objects and the playing environment in specific geographic
places at different points in time. A n early example of a g a m e illustrating
modifications is the g a m e k n o w n in the Western world as chess. In China
the g a m e is called shang ch'i, and the board is often m a d e from a sheet of
thin white paper with red lines. T h e g a m e is played o n the ninety intersections of the lines. In Japan, the g a m e is called shogi a n d the board is
traditionally m a d e of w o o d , painted yellow or stained a natural w o o d
colour, a n d embossed or painted with black lines forming a n uncheckered
pattern of ninety squares. A contemporary European chess-board is usually
a sixty-four-square checkered board m a d e of a range of materials from
inlaid fine w o o d to 'dime-store' cardboard. Certain contemporary chess
sets bear almost n o resemblance to these three, for contemporary sets are
c o m p o s e d of L E D (light emitting diode) or C R T (cathode ray tube) images
generated b y a micro-computer chip. Although each of these four sets look
different, there is the s a m e raison d'être for each of the four g a m e s , a similar
m e t h o d of play, and the s a m e unique m o v e s of certain pieces. T h e g a m e
in itself is not the equipment—but the formally organized unique system
of competitive interaction.
Conceptually then, a g a m e is a formal behavioural system in which t w o
or m o r e forces confined b y procedures a n d rules interact to produce a
disequilibrial outcome. A g a m e offers a formal relationship or interaction
pattern that inherently induces opposition between participants or between
participants a n d things, a n d results in o n e force being the winner, and the
other force being the loser.
£o
%
Jl
g
"g
*
.B
.3
o.
M)
¡j
.5
Game-playing in economic systems
Although one normally thinks of g a m e s only in association with leisure
experience, it has been recognized that certain social behaviours within
competitive economic systems have s o m e of the elements found in g a m e playing! Within the economic arena, people are often engaged in competitive
opposition with other individuals or aggregrates of individuals such as
corporations, or indeed as nations. E a c h aggregate strives to win. This
notion gave rise to the concept k n o w n as 'mathematical g a m e theory'.*
Such theories have had a n interesting impact o n contemporary society,
and fields that have found such theories applicable to their concerns have
incorporated games a n d game-playing into their professional training
H o w e v e r , often they d o not refer to these activities as g a m e s or g a m e playing! In educational circles certain materials used to teach social science
today, though n o different than football or basketball in a conceptual sense,
carry the academic label 'simulation', rather than 'games'. In business m a n agement and industrial training, educational games are k n o w n as ' m a n a g e m e n t
decision-making exercises'. In h u m a n relations training and psychotherapy,
the term for games is 'structured experiences for h u m a n interaction'!
Some must hide involvement
U s e of euphemistic labels for games suggests that s o m e facets of society
conceive of games as something that is not very respectable, a n d although
they find games useful a n d meaningful, they must hide involvement under
the guise of something that has a m o r e acceptable social label. Curiously,
409
this has been true for some time. There is some evidence in papyrus scrolls
from ancient Egypt that '. . . convicted gamesters a m o n g the populace
were sent to work in the quarries'.5 This might have been the beginnings
of surreptitious game-playing, for as late as a hundred years ago publishers
were issuing backgammon and chess boards in versions that looked like
two big scholarly volumes standing side by side. Printed on the 'spines'
were such titles as: 'History of Russia: Volumes I and II' or 'Evenings At
H o m e : Volumes I and II'. These were kept on a book shelf to blend in
with one's library, and thus did not appear to be game equipment. Although
some m a y have bought these items for the sake of novelty, for m a n y they
were an opportunity to 'hide' an interest in games. In some societies in the
recent past, handmade wooden game boards were enhanced with colourful
pastoral scenes on the underside of the game board. These boards were
hung as paintings with the game-board side facing the wall, and the painted
scene facing the viewer. T h u s one might avoid the problem of a visitor
finding out that they were in the home of someone w h o played games!
Psychologists recognize game-playing
In addition to mathematicians, various contemporary psychologists have
also recognized the similarity between game-playing and other social
behaviours. Such theorists as Berne, Goffman or Szasz indicated that some
people intentionally enter into interpersonal interactions only if these
relationships are competitive and have inherent constraints, rules, procedures
and predictable outcomes—just as are found in traditional games. 6 Though
some people might not call these social behaviours 'games', from a conceptual
point of view they have the principal elements of games. Other psychologists
(primarily developmentalists) indicate that games in themselves have other
psychological values. T h e y note that games offer children opportunities
to experiment with life, to test abilities and skills in a controlled environment,
practise interacting with others, and to develop a sense of mastery over
inanimate objects in circumscribed situations in relation to peers. However,
some educational psychologists claim that, if for no other reason, games
hold students' attention, which is reason enough for using them.
g¡¡
•§
J|
a
"3
3
Individuals 'play out' conflicts
Other psychologists indicate that in a recreative context for the adult,
games m a y be viewed as confined or limited social systems in which an
individual m a y cplay out' unresolved ego conflicts. G a m e s offer adults
opportunities for limited risk-taking experiences. T h e y provide a milieu
for structured social relationships in which one is able to interact in a
sheltered environment secure in the knowledge of the range of behaviours
which m a y be called for, and the outcome one m a y expect. Game-playing
according to some is psychologically safe, as compared to other types of
relationships in which behaviour is predicated upon degree of intimacy,
and outcomes are somewhat unpredictable. Some feel that games also offer
a variety of ego gratifications that m a y not, or cannot be gratified by an
individual through non-game structures. Family life, work, daily responsibilities m a y rule out the type of psychological gratification sought—yet
in a number of games one m a y find these gratifications.
In a biological sense, some scholars have claimed that games provide
oportunities for homeostasis, that is a balance within the h u m a n organism.
For example, the person w h o spends most day-time occupational hours at
a desk, m a y spend evening recreative hours in games requiring a range of
motor behaviours not used during the day. Conversely, a construction
worker m a y find satisfaction in playing sedentary games such as cards or
millgames, after an exhausting day engaged in physical labour. There is
also the notion that h u m a n beings suffer from stimulus hunger. As Murray
explains: ' M a n ' s innate urge to be doing something still impels h i m to
action. . . . " A n d it appears that games satisfy some people's need for
stimulation.
a"£,
¿
«
60
|
$
Therapists use games in treatment
It is such psychological and biological factors that have fostered therapeutic
use of games. 8 Physical therapists and occupational therapists use movement
inherent in games as treatment modalities with respect to muscle, joint
or nerve disease, rather than relying only on repetitive exercise, which is
often boring for the patient. A s in thefieldof education, therapists have
discovered that games hold a patient's attention, thus in rehabilitation
settings games are used to prevent secondary decrement that might develop
as a consequence of disability. Similarly in correctional institutions, games
are used with offenders to prevent primary decrement and to minimize
'acting-out' behaviour in the real world! Participation in physically active
games as a facet of preventive medicine are widely touted by governments
as a means of preventing rising health care costs as populations become
more sedentary.
With respect to psychotherapy, inherent psychological aspects in specific
games lend themselves to a variety of goals, for diagnostic purposes, and
as treatment modalities. G a m e s offer psychotherapists both a verbal and
411
1>
<
im
Ö
3
w
non-verbal m e a n s for understanding behavioural motivations, and for
observing behavioural change over a period of time. G a m e s provide for
realistic interactions and lend themselves to semantic and symbolic interpretations. G a m e s can be modified to accommodate physical or psychological
limitations, and can be adapted with respect to a patient's abilities and
interests. G a m e s do not seem like medicine as such, and consequently they
m a y be a treatment of choice in certain situations.
Games m a y be destructive
A s in all things, the converse is ever present as well. Just as games sustain
existence for s o m e people and are used as a powerful treatment device for
others, they m a y be destructive as well. Consider the hockey player w h o
has lost an eye, or the basketball player w h o has a cardiac seizure, or the
spouse w h o verbally assaults a partner at the bridge table, or the parent
w h o gambles away food m o n e y , or the team owner w h o exploits an athlete,
or the child whose world comes to a tearful end after going 'bankrupt'
playing Monopoly! There are even questions about the efficacy of computer
games that tend to limit social interaction. In some places in the world
today, commercial video-game parlours are viewed in m u c h the same way
as billiard halls were more thanfiftyyears ago!
Commercial enterprise has provided . . . a bewildering variety of cheap forms of
amusement. . . business has overlooked few opportunities for making profit out of
the leisure time resulting from the growth of technology and the craving for excitement generated by the monotony of industrial occupations. A n d as the appetites of
the population became jaded, thrill is added to thrill and sensation to sensation.'
Although this c o m m e n t w a s m a d e almost fifty years ago, it expresses
thoughts that are prévalant in s o m e areas of the world today!
Technology affects equipment for games
Throughout history, there are m a n y examples of advances in technology
affecting equipment for games. S o m e people have suggested that this is
a natural p h e n o m e n o n in that society consistently tries to improve aspects
of culture that it wishes to retain. Others have suggested that technological
innovation in game-playing enables society to become 'comfortable' with
n e w technology. Although this latter aspect m a y not have been a conscious
effort in the past, it is today! For example, it is n o w recognized that children
w h o play computerized games have very different feelings about computers
than adults w h o did not have this type of opportunity w h e n they were
young.
Computer influences game-playing
Because the use of computer technology has such a major influence on
game-playing at present and in the immediate future in m a n y parts of the
world, it is important to examine this aspect in m o r e detail. Computerized
games, as a concept, are not n e w , and had their beginnings early in the
development of modern computational devices. Experiments with artifical
intelligence used chess-playing as a model. U s e of chess for this purpose
was not n e w either, in that during the nineteenth century a n u m b e r of
s
o
â
«
a
a
1
¿
a
C-^uOt/Z.
people were trying to invent a 'thinking' machine that could serve as a
chess opponent. Following the Second World W a r , military educators began
developing computer simulations that could be used to teachfightingskills.
S o m e of these latter simulations became the basis for certain contemporary
commercial computer games.
In the 1950s and 1960s a number of game programs were developed for
use on large main-frame computers. Very few people had access to these
games, for they were generally intended to function as teaching devices to
help users become more effective in interacting with the computer. It was
not expected that these games would be used beyond the learning stage,
but curiously they were. As more people began to have access to computers,
people continued to want to play games against the computer. Perhaps this
represented a deep-seated desire to demonstrate h u m a n superiority—or
perhaps such game-playing was just plain fun! In any event, more game
programs were written to meet demand.
Enter the micro-chip
By the mid-1970s computer equipment became smaller and cheaper with
the general introduction of micro-chips, and it began to be commonplace to
find electronic computerized adaptations of pin-ball machines in commercial
arcades and pubs. Such devices could be played in Toronto, Vancouver,
Copenhagen, Frankfort, London, N e w York, Tokyo and many other cities
of the world. About the same time, some people began buying 'Pong'
systems, commercialized micro-chip computers to attach to h o m e television
sets, and the average person also discovered what fun it was to play against
a computer, or to play a game with another person that was refereed by a
computer. People were bored with sitting at h o m e and just watching
television—they wanted to interact with the screen! T h e Pong system seemed
to answer the need for interaction.
Pong systems only allowed play of three or four variations of the same
413
"2
<
g
o
a
w
game, and this apparently was not enough for m a n y consumers! T h e concept
(as in the arcade and pub games) was not new; these games were nothing
more than updated bagatelle games. A mechanical pin-ball machine was
nothing more than a mid-twentieth-century technological adaptation of
nineteenth-century bagatelle games. Thus, it was not surprising that by
the late 1970s other games with computer adaptations began to appear on
the market.
Interactive play on television screen
Although commercial arcades led the way with coin-hungry machines,
manufacturers began to place hand-held single-purpose computer games
on the consumer market. Consumers gobbled them u p for their novelty.
N e w versions of the Pong system appeared with interchangeable cartridges
(each with a different micro-chip), which permitted interactive play of m a n y
games on the h o m e television screen. B y 1980, the personal h o m e computer
became available with versions of the same games on cassette tapes and on
'floppy' disks.
By 1981, the consumer could choose from among a bewildering array of
relatively inexpensive hand-held micro-chip games, cartridge-television systems, and more expensive personal h o m e computer systems with games.
N o longer were there just a few games, but hundreds to choose from,
complete with dazzling colours and appropriate sound effects. T h e newest
models have voice simulators which permit a computer to act as a 'fourth'
at bridge. M a n y are adaptations of traditional games that were very familiar
to the public at large, while others were new and innovative adaptations of
older games that could not be played in their new form without the aid of a
computer. M a n y commercial game manufacturers had entered the microchip competition, only to find that they had made a poor investment since
public leisure spending behaviour is generally unpredictable. A surfeit oj
hand-held single purpose computer games were available at marked d o w n
prices by Christmas, 1981, and a number of manufacturers announced in
early 1982 that they were now withdrawing from what had become a very
confusing and competitive market!
Industry socializes consumers
W h a t the industry needed was a way to socialize consumers, and such a
socializing process n o w appears to be operant. A n interesting parallel in the
'leisure service industry' can be found in the recording industry. T h e
recording industry has developed a method for encouraging consumers to
purchase n e w recordings. Recordings are in effect comparable to g a m e
cartridges, hand-held electronic games, game cassettes, game disks, and the
like. With respect to recordings, the publicfirsthears a new song on the
radio, in a motion picture, or on television. After repeated hearings, the
sound becomes familar, and with appropriate advertising, recordings of the
song are 'released' on records or tape for sale in local shops. Similarly, people
can see and play a n e w video game in an arcade or pub. Later the game is
'released' with appropriate advertising fanfare as a component for a cartridge
system or personal computer. Eventually it might be released as a single
purpose hand-held game. In some instances public exposure is not only in
the lobbies of hotels or airport lounges, but also in the waiting-rooms of
physicians and dentists! T h e r e will probably b e m o r e of this type of approach
until such time as micro-chip g a m e adaptations are n o longer a novelty, but
'just' another type of g a m e equipment.
Game-playing shows remarkable continuity
It is apparent from this cursory examination of g a m e s a n d game-playing
that such social p h e n o m e n o n have h a d remarkable continuity. Apparently,
people continue to like g a m e s , a n d although playing with t h e m m a y have
s o m e negative connotations, this does not cause disuse. O n the contrary,
it seems that once a g a m e has been found enjoyable, it survives. G a m e s are
the property of all people a n d as each society has b e c o m e i m b u e d with
technological innovations, so has the g a m e . In fact, it appears that the major
modifications in most g a m e s , since ancient times, are the technological
modifications to the equipment; the subject content and playing procedures
of g a m e s vary very little. It is this lack of substantive variation that makes it
possible to identify historical continuity.
W e can expect further technological innovations in g a m e equipment in
the future, but the g a m e s in themselves will probably not change. W i t h
massive implications for the future of game-playing, there is the computer.
T h e international computer chess tournaments are well k n o w n , as are
commercial computerized arcade g a m e s . T h e s e latter machines offer opportunities to play electronic slot machines, to land o n the m o o n without
crashing, a n d to repel space invaders. H a n d - h e l d computers offer everthing
today from hockey to b a c k g a m m o n , a n d s o m e talk rather than just respond
with flashing lights.
D e p e n d i n g u p o n h o w extensive interactive services via communication
lines b e c o m e , a n d h o w widespread computer c o m p o n e n t systems b e c o m e ,
it w o u l d be possible, for example, o n a s n o w y winter's evening to call three
friends and to m a k e a date to play scrabble. H o w e v e r in this instance n o one
w o u l d leave their o w n h o m e . T h e y w o u l d sit d o w n at their respective
M
o
"o
a
¿¡
T3
g
I
¿
I
be
|
$
component centres, turn to an agreed-upon television channel at the appropriate time, and the g a m e board would appear on a screen. Tiles to play
would be ckey-boarded', and play would be interactive in any language of
choice among the four participants. N o t only could the game be played in
this manner, but challenges to words would be instantly resolved since a
multi-language dictionary would also reside in the m e m o r y of a central
computer that would be directing the entire operation. O r if one preferred
a bridge game, but could not find three other persons w h o were available
on a specific evening, the microprocessor would comply, by playing three
hands, while a person played the fourth!
Rapid innovation marks game market
T h e technological sophistication for such game-playing equipment is available n o w . T o many of us, a description of such game-playing seems to be
something from a sciencefictionnovel. Since it is not, it is relatively impossible to predict far into the future for game-playing equipment and subsequent modifications. For example, n e w electronic equipment for the h o m e
was placed on the consumer market in the spring of 1982. This new equipment provides for interactive game-playing on a video-disc system that
makes use of a focused laser beam that 'reads' the disc, and an infra-red
remote control that enables the game-player to interact with the disc. This
latter aspect eliminates the complex of wires and other equipment required
by the video-game cartridge or personal computer devices that only became
a generalized phenomenon in 1981. Such rapid innovation in the consumer
market makes future predictions regarding game equipment an impossible
task! W h a t can be predicted, however, is that people will continue to
play games!
Perhaps in the future, some of us willfindourselves as the living example
of Hesse's Magister Ludi—playing a continuous game. 1 0 Or if not this,
a new species that is a sort of Homo Ladens11—in Brave New World.12 In any
event, it appears that games and game-playing will not alter as a social
behaviour because of changes in technology. N e w technology will be
absorbed by society, g a m e equipment will change, and the same games, or
ones very similar to them, will continue to be played in modified form as a
result of new technology!
•
Notes
1. K . Riezler, 'Play and Seriousness', The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 38, N o . 19,
1941, PP. 505-17.
2. E . Avedon and E . Sutton Smith, The Study of Games, N e w York, John
Wiley & Sons, 1971. Reprint edition: Huntington, N . Y . , Robert E . Krieger
Publishing C o . , 1979.
3. M a n y scholars have reported this phenomenon; for example, see the work of
Paul G . Brewster, C A Worldwide G a m e and an Indian Legend', Eastern
Anthropologist (Luknow), Vol. 14, N o . 2,1961, pp. 192-3; C A R o m a n G a m e and
it's Survival on Four Continents', Classical Philology, Vol. 38,1943, pp. 134-7;
' T h e Egyptian G a m e Khazza Lawizza and it's Burmese Counter-part',
Zeitschrift für ethnologie, Vol. 211, 1961, pp. n - 1 3 .
4. J. von Neumann and O . Morgenstein, Theory of Games and Economic
Behavior, N e w York, John Wiley & Sons, 1964.
5. A . Wykes, Gambling, London, Aldus Books, 1964.
6. See, for example, E . Berne, Games People Play: The Psychology of Human
Relations, N e w Y o r k , G r o v e Press, 1967; E . G o f f m a n , Interaction Ritual: Essays
on Face to Pace Behavior, N e w York, Anchor B o o k s , 1967; and T . Szasz, The
Myth of Mental Illness, N e w Y o r k , Harper & R o w , 1961.
7. H . M u r r a y , History of Board-games Other Than Chess, Oxford, Clarendon
Press, 1952.
8. E . A v e d o n , Therapeutic Recreation Service: An Applied Behavioural Science
Approach, Englewood Cliffs, N . J . , Prentice-Hall, 1974.
9. G . Counts/SocialFoundationsof Education.Report oftheCommission on the
Social Studies', 1934, p . 300; quoted by R . Krauss in Recreation and Leisure
in Modern Society, N e w Y o r k , Appleton-Century Crofts, 1st ed., 1971.
10. H . Hesse, The Glass Bead Game, N e w Y o r k , Holt, Reinhart & Winston, 1969.
11. J. Huizinga, Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture, L o n d o n
Maurice T e m p l e Smith, 1970.
12. A . Huxley, Brave New World, L o n d o n , Folio Society, 1971.
To delve more deeply
EIGEN, M . ; W I N K L E R , R . The Laws of the Game, N e w York, Knopf, 1981.
W I L S O N , A . War Gaming, Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 1970.
SCIENTIA
International Review of Scientific Synthesis - F o u n d e d in 1907
Scientific Editorial B o a r d : Piero Caldirola • L u d o v i c o G e y m o n a t • G i u s e p p e Montalenti
Editor: N . Bonetti
S C I E N T I A in 7 4 years has never abandoned its p r o g r a m m e of rigorous scientific synthesis;
it aims at going beyond rather than refuting disciplinary specialization.
T h e motivations behind this approach can b e explained today o n the one hand through
the formation of n e w areas of scientific research, and on the other through the lively
evolution of those social frameworks which are at one and the same time both cause
and effect of such research.
Scientia takes o n the task it has set itself with the help of contributions from scientists
and philosophers from all parts of the world.
Publication: 3 volumes a year of approx. 4 0 0 pages each. Articles are published in the
language in which they were written and in the integral English and Italian versions.
Annual subscription: Italy Lit. 22.000 • Europe Lit. 27.000 - Non-European countries $44.00
Specimen copy:
Italy Lit. 5.000 - Europe Lit. 5.500 - Non-European countries S 7.50
S C I E N T I A - Via Guastalla 9 - 20122 M i l a n o (Italy) - T e l e p h o n e (02) 780.669
Ê2
-g
Jj
ö
-a
9
q*
j*
p,
Ü
g,
„?
g
Â
European
Journal
of Science Education
. . . a n authoritative voice in the world
of science education
Editors:
Professor Richard K e m p a (Keele, United Kingdom)
Professor Karl Frey (Kiel, Federal Republic of Germany)
The European Journal of Science Education aims to describe and assess
the specifically European contribution to educational research and practice,
to encourage the exchange of opinions and information, and to explore
the influence of European ideas (Piaget et al.) in an international context,
thus maintaining a balance between its European identity and its
international scope.
Recently, authors have discussed the image of science as perceived by pupils
and students of all ages, referring especially to the problems of
communicating the rational philosophy which lies behind scientific
progress (Vol. 4, N o . 1) and to its 'uncertain identity'. O f particular concern
has been the way in which pupils are so easily dissuaded from pursuing
science courses by its apparent inaccessibility. The need to express concepts,
and theories in a clear and stimulating manner is seen to be imperative.
Articles include:
'Epistemology and History in the Teaching of School Science', by
P . J. Rogers (Belfast); 'Images of Science', by J. A . Rowell and
E . R . Cawthron (Canberra); 'Educational Implications of the Uncertain
Identity of Science', by D . Margetson (Brisbane); 'Primary School Pupils'
Attitudes to Science', by R . A . H a d d e n and A . H . Johnstone (Glasgow).
Subscription details and further information are available from the
publishers, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 4 John Street, L o n d o n W C 1 N 2 E T .
A critic of science seeks to identify the ground from which emanate toys,
games and inventive play; he examines the knowledge and other prerequisites
characterizing the inventor of pastimes. In search of this Rosetta stone, the
author delves into physics and biology.
m
S o m e enigmatic origins
of the inventive game
«
Dharamjit Singh
o
(0
a.
E
d>
/L^C¿Í¿JZS
Mr Singh is a photographer and author from India who has contributed
several articles to this journal. He can be reached in care of: Editor, impact
of science on society.
.9
w
Man has never shown
so much sagacity as in
tfe invention of games.
§
Leibniz
a
O
What, at the outset, are the conditions required to find and decipher the
Rosetta stone of the inventive game? T h e answer lies a priori in nature, and
it must be discernible—must carry certain marks of recognition. T h e
'a priori' includes the relations existing between the inventor and the world.
Once these relations are established, they will reflect not only judgement but
objectivity; a n e w dimension then enhances the very being of the player.
Being a priori in nature, the answer should also manifest unity of consciousness. Both physical science and psychology are indispensable to this n e w
consciousness, a dynamic and constructive phenomenon.
Toys, games and play stretch over a formidable horizon; w e often have
httle idea of the imaginative range they encompass, the prowess and the
aesthetics they imply. Inventions rediscovered dating from the Indus period,
and moving through those of early Egypt, U r , Lagash, and later Greece and
China reflect this range, highlighted by the advent of chess. Chess, and other
games having an affinity to it, subsume the earlier existence of s o m e mathematical or scientific knowledge, of some kind of synoptic thought. T h e
board game was already in vogue during Epic times, and its ingenuity is said
to have c o m m a n d e d a monarchical offer to reward its inventor with a prize
that the royal court should n a m e . 'Whatever the inventor requests, Great
King!' was the court's counsel.
T h e inventor asked that his reward be a grain of wheat on thefirstsquare
of the board, two on the second, and so on. T h e reader knows the rest of
the story: the inventor's remuneration would exceed i. 8 X io16 grains of
wheat—the world's entire wheat production, at that time, for twenty years.
Given the integral elements of mathematics and science, the aspect of art
in regard to toys is capital. Schiller stressed that art itself belongs to the
category of games—art, like play, has the 'function of giving free reign to the
inclination that daily life does not satisfy'. Spontaneous creation, the liberty
c o m m o n to art and play, is thus satisfied, by the motivation to originate a
toy, a game, or other artful form of play.
Mimicry simplification, scale and humour
G a m e s , toys and play in general are co-axial with the evolution of the life
of a child. Just as the child is father of m a n , a child deprived of play m a y
evolve into a less than perfect adult. Indeed, thefirsttender flowers of one's
youthful years are seeded in infancy by play, leading to structured games.
T o design, to draw, to give plastic expression: these are among the most
primary of cultural actions, expressions of csapien-ness' shared by n o other
animal. T h e toy, the French joujou, is the child's initiation to the world of
artefacts. Play provides revealing, profound and often decisive experience,
frequently more so than the rational thought that would be imposed by an
adult. T h e child is often more perceptive than the adult, discovering anew
what the adult already knows. M a n ' s talents as an adult come from the
child's gift of simplification, mimicry, caricature, humour, and play of
colours.
A significant aspect of the play and games of an infant is the combination
of imitative talent with a need to miniaturize. Masks, puppets, and miniaturization of adult automata are reproductions related to biological replication, the continuity of evolution. Small size enables a child to relate reality
to his o w n life and dimension of thought; it furnishes, besides incalculable
fun and joy, possession and control. Secreted within small toys is also the
spell of magic—the Forest of Brocéliande, which never really deserts
the adult.
In terms of physical science, the child's need to reduce scale compares
with the scientist's ability to transform observed phenomena to symbols, to
abstractions known as conventions and laws. Through this process, chaos
becomes an orderly cosmos; it crosses the barrier of the material world into
that of the psyche, the real breeding-ground of invention.
Inventive influence, illusion and Indian science
Because of the correspondence that exists between science on the one hand
and games and invention on the other, m u c h the same features are found in
both. Science has had a great bearing on the mechanical characteristics of
toys and inventions, while inventive toys have influenced the philosophy of
science—making possible a natural transition from the infant's world to that
of the adult, from games to research. T h e most successful toys intrigue
not because of some arcane origin in the occult but because of their relation
to life and the mechanical universe.
T h e structure and laws governing inventions are observed in terms of
physical science. T h e enigmas of nature which innovation often represents
|
S
O
help form our received ideas of the h u m a n condition and its c o m m o n
illusions. Because the savant recognizes these, and because his passion for
novelty is greater than the c o m m o n man's heritage, the innovator learns a
new discipline to help h i m transcend such limitations. But is the inventor or
discoverer odd or extraordinary? M a x Planck was not so m u c h an exception
as one person w h o had surpassed a state in which others remain in obscurity,
observing things in an environment of constraining isolation.
Yet even scientists can share such illusions. W h y , though w e 'hang upside
down' on the planet's surface, do w e see everything 'right side up'? W e do
not 'fall from the earth' because of the existence of gravitation. Inertia and
resistance to motion are, in effect, based on universal laws. M a n ' s senses
usually function too grossly to perceive these but the inventor, in his o w n
way, learns to observe and appreciate them.
M a n is not designed to cope, in normal conditions, with very slow or very
fast phenomena. Indian science long ago pointed out that n o one perceives
the movements of an unfoldingflower,but it is on this very ground that the
innovator learns to operate. T h e early Indian concept of atomism held that
the earth is a mass of oscillating particles. Our o w n relative inertia makes
the planet appear solid, so that its inhabitants do not 'fall through the earth',
shooting out in a diametrically opposite direction. Comprehension of the
apparent paradoxes has enabled the singular mind to devise—what are to
some of us—everything from the simplest toys to the most baffling of games.
W e k n o w n o w that the energy in any given body has a direct relationship
to its mass, so that the conversion by combustion of a few kilograms of coal
yields energy in m a n y kilowatt-hours. Given our comprehension of this, w e
can then begin to understand h o w our sun and the other stars can burn so
long during their 'main sequence', radiating light and heat for eons of
terrestrial time. So it is man's reckoning, rather than the combustion itself,
which makes possible the seed-bed of n e w discovery and invention.
Psychological as well as physical constants
M a n , imprisoned in his body-system, is prone to fail to perceive other
paradoxes and discrepancies constituting nature and its function. W e humans
often imagine velocity as one of the essential onslaughts of nature's forces,
yet the cosmos has time at its disposal: a given body, left to itself, will take
the longest and slowest route through portions of the universe. Because the
route or surface followed is inevitably mathematically structured, this course
is called geodesic. So geodesies exclude any conception of m a n - m a d e time;
there is nothing occult about this, yet in the days of Victorian India,
Europeans were outraged w h e n faced with the Indian assertion that the
cosmos proceeds along great curves. Knowledge of the truth w e call physical
science gives the savant the power to push beyond the barriers of what w e
perceive to be normality.
Q u a n t u m physics has taught us that there is nothing in nature to approximate ' n o w ' or the qualifier, 'really'; the modern physicist usually will not
speculate about the impeccable mathematical quantities, such as units of
matter and radiation. Science will affirm as positive, however, the values of
constants (which have some equivalences in psychology, such as the archetypes—Jung's collective unconscious). O n e of these is Planck's constant.1
But the magnitude of this constant (infinitesimally small) cannot be explained
any more than can that of the velocity of light.
PLATE 3. Egypt: Senet board
(eighteenth dynasty).
Photo: Museum and Archives of Games,
Waterloo, Canada.
PLATE 4. Inuit (Canada) : Bone game.
Photo: Museum and Archives of Games, Waterloo, Canada.
While it is the aim of science to explain the physical universe, trying to see
the whole through its parts, and thus achieve harmony through understanding, it is the goal of the science of the mind to know the psyche. T h e
ordinary person, however, is baffled by the universe as m u c h as he is by the
personal experience of life (which is often comprised of a series of flashpoints in a succession of otherwise banal events).
T h e spectrum of the inventor is broader and longer. Where the average
person will encounter events or isolated phenomena, an Aristotle or Newton
or Einstein will relate a multiplicity of events to a grand scheme of things.
Generalization is one of the keys to success of the discoverer or inventor,
with the phenomena of nature presenting an unbroken continuum in which
to hypothesize, test and conclude.
Self-expression, self-determination
That phenomena reside independent of the observer is not convincing to the
ordinary person.2 For example the phenomenon called simultaneity in both
physics and cmind-science', and which concerns the velocity of light affecting
two events in the universe, is called space-like when the observer cannot be
present at both events; the interval is called time-like if the observer can be
present simultaneously at both places. There is, of course, a third case:
when the two events are part of the same light emission.
But the researcher can manipulate, unlike the m a n in the street, m a n y of
the facts he has marshalled—much as a speculator on the stock market can
juggle the values of industrial shares without picking up a single tool or
operating a machine on the factory floor. This is, in effect, what Einstein
did with the work of Maxwell, M a c h , Poincaré, Lorentz and others in order
to arrive at his formulation of E=mci.
Manipulation of matter is similarly
a secret of the mastery of enigmas, and plays an essential role in the development of toys and games.
So at the boundaries of physical knowledge and mind-knowledge, there is
a bridge. This is the link between cause and effect (a cause often being a
potential effect, in itself). In the creation of an imaginative toy or a complex
game, effect can be identified with cause. If creative interaction is absent,
then perfection of the game or toy becomes an impossibility. This compares
with the simile of 'clapping' a single hand in order to produce sound.
'S
¡§
:£
|
§
O
Corollary-wise, it is with the manifestation of various relata that w e can
conceptualize new forms, aesthetic objects, playthings and other tools. Relata
culminating as toys or games are thus connected, usually by a process of
analysis-synthesis, reflecting the states of the mind concentrated on a given
innovation. The material thus becomes inseparable from the psychical, each
an integral part of the process of innovation. T h e determination and
expression of self combine the biological, physical and chemical with the
mental in order to produce a new, or even unique, form of play.
Notes
i. In Planck's law, the basis of quantum theory, the energy of electromagnetic
radiation is confined to indivisible packets known as photons. A photon has hv
energy, where v stands for the frequency of the radiation, and h is Planck's
constant. T h e last has a value of 6.626196- io -34 joule second.—Ed.
2. Indeed, why should the ordinary m a n be convinced? Heisenberg's
indeterminancy principle holds, as one of its consequences, that the behaviour of
a system cannot apply at the atomic level.
To delve more deeply
B R O N O W S K I , H . , The Origins of Knowledge and Imagination. N e w Haven, Yale
University Press, 1978.
D E L E D I C Q , A . Autour du Cube de Rubik: une nouvelle génération de taquins, La
Recherche, N o . 128, December 1981.
W I C K E L G R E N , W . How to Solve Problems. San Francisco, Calif., W. H . Freeman,
1974-
424
The rapid evolution of today's video games nowfillsarcades and snack
bars—and increasingly our homes—with an array of highly interactive,
graphically vivid technical devices. Even the novel and detective story
are evolving under this technology as authors share with their readers the
development of the plot. The electronic environment is creating a worldwide
communication network. These developments will be beneficial provided we can
frame appropriate media policies in time.
00
OS
I
#\
N
m
O
>
ri
s
&
The electronic g a m e gambit
Jon Bing
I
!
Jon Bing holds a doctorate degree in law from Oslo University (1982) and
is associate professor in the Norwegian Research Centre for Computers and
Law. Although his research is mainly on computers and law, and he is current
chairman of the Committee on Legal Data Processing, Council of Europe,
he also publishes sciencefiction,novels, short stories and dramatic works for
stage, radio and television. His address is: Norwegian Research Centre
for Computers and Law, Oslo University, Niels Juels gate 16, Oslo 2
(Norway).
T h efirstvideo game to appear on the market was a very simple, stylized
tennis g a m e with two bars as rackets and a moving cursor traversing the
video screen. T h e players had control of the bars, and could m o v e them u p
and d o w n , while the cursor was reflected according to simulated laws of
physics each time it would strike the horizontal boundaries of thefield.For
experts, the speed of the moving cursor could be increased, making it more
difficult to get the bars in position in time. W h e n a player could not find a
suitable partner, the computer governing the game would take him on for a
set.
This was a simplistic game indeed. T h e graphics were simply lines and
rectangles, the logic of the most trivial kind. Nevertheless, m a n y were
fascinated by the g a m e , sitting for hours before a video screen, playing
prolonged matches of video tennis.
O f course this has changed. Colour has been added; the graphics have
become elaborate and inventive; the monotone sound effect of the tennis
ball striking racket or court has been replaced by a diversity of sounds from
a generator able to mimic any real sound.
T h e g a m e of Space Invaders is also n o w commonplace. Here squadrons
of alien craft swoop in from outer space while the playerfightsit out with
a lone star rocket. T h e outlines of spaceships are stylized, the colours perhaps
a bit garish, the sound effects recalling the b o o m of naval batteries each time
a laser beamflashesaccross the video screen—and, in spite of the vacuum
of outer space, thefighterscreate 'whooshes' as it executes unexpected dives.
Pac-man is another fantasy game featuring the n o w familiar round and
yellow Pac-man which eats up scores along the corridors of a labyrinth. H e
is pursued by three spooks, which will gobble him up if he is not careful—or
if he is not able to take them unawares the instant they metamorphose into
harmless and vulnerable creatures. This simple and happy g a m e has become
enormously popular. It is marketed by a company that produced the all-time
box-office success of the film industry, Star Wars. Revenue on Pac-man is
estimated to exceed that of Star Wars.
Space Invaders and Pac-man are only two of the m o r e well-known
examples of the current video games littering any snack-bar, pub, or roadside cafeteria. They line the walls of glittering arcades where the electronic
sound effects include the racket of subdued explosions, grating collisions and
whirring futuristic craft. In passing one of these caves off a city street, one
is perhaps struck by the intense concentration on the faces of the players,
who—communicating only with the video screen—battle a simulated war of
the future or fantasy.
In reality the fascination m a y reach the level of an obsession, or addiction.
Sweden has proposed to place an age limit on the use of video games in the
conviction that young children should not be exposed to the temptations of
the simulated, electronic world.
Video games bring n e w dimension
It is perhaps difficult to see w h y these games have such an attraction;
certainly no ready psychological explanation lies at hand. Historically, automatic games have always had a certain attraction reaching back to the
obsession of the Middle Ages with clock-work puppets and animated gardens;
through the penny slot machines that would make the sailor laugh or the
graveyard come alive; to the more recent mechanical pin-ball machines. But
the electronic video games have brought a n e w dimension to automatic
games, three aspects of which can be mentioned.
First, the games are interactive. In older games, like the pin-ball machines,
the 'interactive' element was created by a steel ball or a similar physical
device. W h e n the steel ball rolled d o w n the sloping table of the pin-ball
machine, it set off bells and released springs, giving an impression of
interaction with the games. But in the computerized video games, the
interaction is a form of dialogue with the game. Each pass through the
game will be different, but it is not merely chance—as in the pin-ball
game—which will govern the particular path followed by the projectile. This
is determined to a large degree by the choices of the player, and the g a m e
itself responds to this information. T h e result is an enhanced feeling within
the player that he is a part of thefictitiousreality of the game.
Second, the graphics are m u c h more vivid and varied, being generated
by the computer. With the recent release of thefirstcomputer-animated
films, w e have some indication of theflexibilityto be expected on the video
screen in the post-Space Invaders era. T h e figures will be detailed and
clearly drawn, they will have continuous movement and will, of course,
grunt, cry and even speak according to the turns of the game. These games
are developing into a kind of computerized, interactive adventure comics.
Third, the games will soon be found everywhere. Pin-ball machines and
similar devices have been limited to the bar room or the arcade. But the n e w
computerized games seem to face no limits on their placement. They have
already conquered the arcades and the bars. They m a y be purchased as a
black box to interface with the h o m e television set. They are becoming a
part of the h o m e computer system. T h e hand-held sets that can be purchased include travelling chess or bridge companions. They are even incorporated on digital watches—making it possible to pass the time at an air
terminal by playing Space Invaders on the wrist.
Finally, there is every sign that the technological development will
continue. Video screens will soon beflatand multicoloured, the images will
have improved resolution and the software will increase gready in complexity.
If the addictive power of crossword puzzles, chess, bridge, comic strips,
adventure stories and bowling could be rolled into one device, it would not
be surprising to see a large fraction of the population becoming more than
fascinated with that device. Yet, the computerized video game is not only
such a device, but in addition includes the features of interaction and
complexity. Leisure-time activities have considerable impact on society as
a whole, and w e m a y expect video games to have such an impact comparable
to or even exceeding that of television.
•*«
E
™
£
*°
'S
Ü
Ü
o
f-i
Choose your own adventure
T h e sketch above m a y have given the impression that the video game
addiction is some sort of destructive force at large in society. Perhaps it is
always easier to see the negative aspects of n e w applications—the obvious
ways of making a quick gain m a y be thefirstto be taken advantage of, while
other possibilities are more difficult to realize. In order to indicate at least
one of these other possibilities, w e should mention the game Adventure, one
of a class of computerized simulation games that has gained an enormous
popularity. They are not video games as m u c h as some sort of chooseyour-own-adventure concept.
427
T h e game starts by describing a scene to the player. H e stands at the end
of a road in front of a small brick building, with forest on all sides. H e must
then decide what he wishes to do, the game accepting a wide variety of
commands in some simplified version of natural languages. For example,
should the player decide that he wants to enter the building, he issues the
c o m m a n d 'Go Inside'. T h e g a m e will move the player inside and describe
the interior of the building, including objects discarded on thefloor.T h e
player m a y pick u p these objects by issuing a c o m m a n d such as 'Carry
Keys', expecting tofindthese useful at a later stage. A n d as a matter of fact
he will, for after rambling through the forest he will reach a locked iron gate
which he must open with his keys and pass through into a vast and wonderful
cave where treasures may be found and secured.
T h e game Adventure is not too different from other video games in
principle. Lacking animated scenes on screen, its story is presented m u c h
like a conventional novel in paragraphs of text. It is, however, m u c h more
complex than the usual video games, being a labyrinthic experience of
swords and sorcery. It has become immensely popular, computer facilities
offering Adventure often having a time lock on their access since the temptation to play would otherwise be overwhelmingly great.
' A garden of forking paths'
Actually, the g a m e Adventure takes us out of the video game and into the
realm of interactive novels. A conventional novel follows a single path only,
the path being dictated by the progress of the eye along a line of printed
words, from left to right, from thefirstpage to the last. T h e structure of
the novel is thus one long line having a beginning and an end. It is the
challenge of the game Adventure to break this linear structure and present
the novel as a labyrinth, as a flow diagram or—to use a phrase of Jorge
Luis Borges—CA garden of forking paths'. T h e reader is guided by the
author but at the same time is free to|make his o w n choices within the
restraints imposed by the author. What this means is that the author is
literally sharing responsibility with the reader for the development of the
plot.
This opens up a whole n e w world of novels, of course, some of which
m a y be sword and sorcery stories like Adventure while others m a y be more
serious, like the tale of the married couple in which the story unfolds not
only through the events introduced by the author but also through choices
made by the reader. T h e reader is thus able to go back over an incident,
m e n d his ways, and have another go at a happier ending!
T h e power of this concept of a novel is also revealed in considering
another type of light novel, the detective story, a straight 'who-done-it'. T h e
novel would open with some mystery to be solved and place the reader in
the role of the 'I' of the novel. A s he starts his investigation, he m a y order
an autopsy to be performed, a laboratory analysis to be carried out, an
arrest to be m a d e , etc. H e m a y then go on to interview persons, to examine
suspected sites—all the activities of a crime investigator being his to pursue.
Moreover, the story moves in real time: an interview will last an hour or
two; night will fall during a period of travel; and a new victim m a y be
found. T h e program will even introduce some weather condition, chosen at
random, making roads unsafe for travel or grounding planes for a period of
time.
There are almost unlimited possibilities in the development of this story.
A n d if this rather simple tale is so easily expanded in a few paragraphs,
given the present limited understanding of the methods involved, think
what the interactive novel m a y develop into in a few decades when authors
of some stature try their hand at this new m e d i u m of creation!
|
^
•a
oit
Computerized environment leads to worldwide network
u
i-H
<a
But the domain of the game goes beyond the 'Space Invaders' and the
interactive novel. A game is also a social activity; clubs of people sharing
some c o m m o n interest are also one form of leisure activity. T h e computerized
environment is likely to lead to a further proliferation of such groups as
h o m e computers become hooked into communication networks based upon
the dial telephone. Obviously the rapid development of telecommunication
technology, spurred on by satellite systems and fibre optics, will make
tomorrow's h o m e computer system a link in a worldwide communication
network.
Such systems will facilitate message exchange, leading to the widest
contacts between persons sharing a given interest. This will assist the
formation of clubs in which people, while never meeting, will exchange
messages, information and comments. People with rare and exclusive interests
m a y thus find ready communication with fellow enthusiasts—in contrast
to the present situation where this is prevented by such trivial barriers as
distance or lack of an appropriate forum.
H o w should w e assess the impact on society of such special interest
groups, often across national boundaries? It is worth noting in this context
that, though mass media have until n o w m a d e it necessary to offer products that please the greatest number of subscribers, these computercommunication networks m a y cater to the specialist, and m a y well encourage
individualization therefore rather than standardization.
Whole libraries on tap
T h e computer-communication networks will not only enable h o m e c o m puters to communicate with each other, but will actually enable them to
access the data-base networks already established. Dala bases will contain
information on any subject—meteorology, news, research papers, official
documents, encyclopedia, law, etc. Entire libraries will be on tap at the
touch of a key.
T h e impact this will have on society and the individual is still impossible
to assess. For one thing, a laser printer in the h o m e will reproduce any
available publication in a matter of minutes. If one should want, for example,
all existing reviews of Doris Lessing's latest novel, one only has to punch
the correct order, and the system will select the reviews from the newsmedia data bases around the world and compile, index and print them out
on the h o m e laser printer with high-quality fonts at a speed of approximately
ioo pages a minute. While the impact on the publishing industry of this
technology—which actually is just around the corner—is obvious, the
impact on the rest of society is less obvious.
jy
H
A liberating influence
Ours is a fact-oriented society. Value is associated with knowledge of a
factual nature. A m a n with an encyclopedic m e m o r y is acknowledged as a
learned m a n . In the future, however, this m a y not be the case. W e m a y
become instead a question-oriented society. If you k n o w what question
to ask, the system will be ready to offer you the answer. Facts will have less
value and the 'knowledge of ignorance' will become highly prized. T h e
expert will be the person w h o realizes what he does not know—not the
person w h o knows everything! Admittedly, these computer-communication
networks with their data banks m a y become liable to the abuse of'knowledge
freaks' w h o would find no barriers to stop them from pursuing their curiosity
in the details of scientific reports, historic archives, and public documents.
Yet this should not cause us to lose sight of the potential of these computercommunication networks to encourage depth rather than superficiality,
to cater for the individual rather than to the standardized appetite. For it
is evident that these new mass media have characteristics different from
the current media, particularly interaction with the user and the possibility
of meeting the user's individual demands. This holds out hope that the
electronic mass media m a y liberate personal resources rather than encourage
further standardization and uniformity.
Many possibilities realized
All these possibilities will be realized within more or less the same electronic
environment. Electronic games m a y be accessed at the same facility that
offers access to libraries or to banks of videotapes. For example, in the
h o m e , the facility will be some sort of record-television-stereo-radiostorage-computer-terminal. These h o m e electronic devices will then b e
integrated into a computerized system where videograms, audio recordings
and text are all stored in digital form and m a y be accessed from any of the
m a n y points throughout the h o m e where this is desirable. A likely output
device m a y well be the 2 x 3 metre flat television screen with a tactile quality.
Such screens, already in the experimental stage, will give a very high-quality
reproduction and an illusion of depth. W h e n not in active use, the screens
will be ideal for the display of favourite paintings. These h o m e devices
will allow play of the m a n y exciting video games, participation in a popular
interactive novel and communication with persons or data banks throughout
the world.
Policy on media use needed
Whether w e find this picture of the future optimistic or pessimistic depends
upon a number of circumstances. W h a t is crucial is our willingness to use
the n e w media for the right purposes—to make ourselves better informed,
more politically aware and more participative in an increasingly m o r e
complex reality.
A positive course of development is possible, but not without attention
to certain issues of policy. Thus, in the absence of an active media policy,
the Space Invaders of the arcade will invade the living-room and conquer
the imagination of individuals, making them addicts of synthetic adventure
and even more alienated from the real world. O u r panoramic television
screens will b e c o m e prison walls, a m e d i a cage f r o m w h i c h the individual
will not escape. T h e individual will b e c o m e m o r e isolated f r o m his fellows,
avoiding the challenges a n d frustrations of the real world, a n d preferring
the play-acting in the simulated world of the electronic g a m e s . M o r e o v e r ,
without a conscious m e d i a policy the development of electronic m a s s m e d i a
will tend only to confirm a n d reinforce the p o w e r structures of our present
society, both o n the national a n d the international levels. A n d , of course,
the addiction to video g a m e s a n d electronic gadgets will b e a curse o f the
technologically advanced countries—just as the possibilities in these c a n
also b e a b o o n .
x¡
Ë
M
B
M
c
a
¿j
&>
f->
Conclusion
It is exciting to consider the possibilities of the electronic age, to realize
that the video g a m e s are not simply a n e w gadget, but in principle something
quite different, w h i c h m a y bestow o n us valuable a n d positive benefits.
It is exciting to see in the electronic environment the e m e r g e n c e of a n e w
attitude, a n attitude w h i c h m a y m a k e the individual m o r e visible a n d p u t
h i m in better control of his destiny than is the case today. B u t these changes
for the better will c o m e about only if w e succeed in creating a sound m e d i a
policy for the electronic environment.
•
431
Din heard round the world
A wealthy Manila businessman had an inspiration. His 17-year-old
son was spending so m u c h time playing video games that the boy had
dropped out of school and was refusing even to see his friends. So
why not turn that addiction into a business by opening a
video-machine parlor and letting his son manage it? 'But then m y
wife prevailed upon m e ' , the m a n recalls. 'If I went ahead with m y
plan, she asked, h o w many young boys and girls would be ruined?' T h e
businessman's wife is not alone in her anxiety over the popularity
and deleterious effects of video games. Responding to pressure from
parents, President Ferdinand Marcos last November gave owners
of virtually all the country's machines two weeks to smash them.
Marcos' edict was a rather drastic response to the video virus.
Elsewhere in the world, the beep goes on. F r o m Sydney to Stockholm,
that distinctive noise has become the din heard round the world, and
it is not always a welcome sound. In some Western European countries,
the games are contributing to social problems. T h e boyish habitués of
Amsterdam's jammed video-machine parlors are prey to cruising
older homosexuals, w h o finance the youths' games in the hope
of favors in return. Yet the youngsters are hardly innocents. O n
Thursday nights, when stores stay open late in the city, gangs of youths
often sweep d o w n on shoppers, mugging and robbing to support their
game addiction. Several of the young thugs have even calmly confessed
to murder. In Stockholm young patrons of Fonzies, a game parlor
with live rock music and sadistic video films, would scatter after
closing time to terrorize people in the subways and streets. T h o u g h
Fonzies closed last summer, arcades stillflourish,as do games in
gas stations, restaurants and even in some schools. A bill to be
introduced in Sweden's Riksdag this spring is expected to ask for
stiffer licensing laws affecting any establishment with more than three
games.
Other European nations generally face less severe problems. In
Britain the video vogue seems to have passed its peak, and darts have
reasserted their primacy over astral wars in London pubs. West
Germany has settled for barring anyone under 18 from the arcade
games; France keeps out all under 16 unless they are with adults.
Younger folk fascinated by the machines have to settle for do-it-yourself
demonstrations of h o m e games in department stores.
The Atari demonstration room at the Galeries Lafayette in Paris is
so thick with young people that salesmen can hardly move. Prices
are steep (basic h o m e machines in France start at about $250, with
cassettes going as high as $64), but many families in France, West
Germany and Austria are buying. Astute pitchmen emphasize
educational values (math games, language lessons, sports skills), with
the added touch that the learning would be en famille.
In most countries, h o m e use is overshadowed by the popularity of
commercial video parlors. In Japan, where Space Invaders have long
since become mere aliens that breed contempt, Tokyo's glittering
432
_ ^ ^ _ — _ _ _ ^ ^ ^ _ _ _ _ ^ _ _ _ — ^ _ ^ ^ _ _ _
I
_
entertainment quarter, Shinjuku, is sprouting a forest of n e w game
parlors two and three stories high that far outnumber the once
ubiquitous pachinko parlors. T h e oddly n a m e d Donkey K o n g is the
current craze: the player tries to save a pretty blond from the clutches
of a monster ape. M o r e ominous for their gambling potential are
n e w console versions of mah-jongg and draw poker, in which some
plungers are k n o w n to risk up to $10,000 a month.
Elsewhere, the rupees, pesos, escudos, pesetas and other coins
mount up more modestly. In Quito, where Ecuador'sfirstparlor
opened late last year, Andean Indian boys with their hair in the
traditional long trenzas (pigtails) can be seen fending oif malevolent
galactic enemies. Hardly a town of any size in Galilee is without
at least one game to satisfy the fascinated young Arabs w h o flock
around it. Israel's game operators have a problem, however. Perhaps it
is their early military training, but for some reason young Israelis
often clearn the board' (master a game) in a month, while in other
countries, a game can hold players' interest for as long asfivemonths.
Once mastered, a contest begins to lose its fascination and revenues
tail off.
Yet there is money to be m a d e most everywhere, both in
manufacturing the games and in operating them. India's biggest maker
and arcade owner is Weston Electroniks Ltd. of N e w Delhi, which
has a total of 85 parlors across the country sheltering more than
700 machines. Even at the modest Indian playing fee of one rupee
(about 11$)j each machine takes in between $16 and $22 a day.
Throughout the Third World, more and more video machines are
being manufactured locally as import bills soar. In the villages of
Taiwan, youngsters play games that are blatant rip-offs of Japanese
originals. Brazil has prohibited imports, and thus encouraged a
homegrown industry that turns out boards with English names like
Super Bug, Aster Action and M u n c h M a n .
T h e tales of videomania are universal. In downtown Rio, a young
messenger arrives punctually every day a few minutes before the
Playtime arcade opens, then gets in half an hour of action before
reporting for work: he spends more than a fourth of his $98-a-month
salary for the privilege. In Bogotá, Colombian youngsters w h o
peddle contraband cigarettes on the street wind up putting m u c h of
their earnings into the games. Australian fans join clubs that
supply newsletters and sponsor social gatherings where scores and
performances are compared.
In the face of such dedication, defending the games hardly seems
necessary. But one Mexican engineer, Roberto Cárdenas, 38, a , .
regular at the chic Chispas (Sparks) arcade in Mexico City, points out
that the instructions on m a n y games are in English. Says Cárdenas:
'It can be an educational experience for people w h o want to practice
their English. If you don't understand the directions, you have to
ask what a word means, orfigureit out.' ScorTs a Chispas machine
repairman: 'If you know h o w to play, you k n o w h o w to play, in any
language.'
^
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
433
Perhaps the most unusual benefit of the video-game revolution has
blossomed in South Africa. There the machines can be found
almost anywhere—in arcades, delicatessens, supermarkets, hotels,
outside coffee shops. N o separate facilities, regulations or other color
bars keep apart the notably interracial crowds who cluster around
the consoles. Yet, in South Africa too, progress has its price. Video
games have come to the largest shopping center in the poor black
township of Soweto, one of the early results of that community's
electrification program.
Copyright 1982 Time Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission from Time.
Taking science and technology
to the grass roots...
Information Service on Science
and Technology from the Third World
This service, carried on by the Centre for Science and Environment,
N e w Delhi, covers n e w socially relevant scientific and technical
developments in energy, h u m a n settlements, agricultural research,
appropriate technology and environment. T h e service especially reports
on attempts to take science and technology to the grass roots, analysing
their successes and failures. Recent articles review the lessons of the
afforestation campaigns of the Chipko (Hug the Tree) M o v e m e n t of
northern India; slum-upgrading schemes in Calcutta, Manila and
Djakarta; community involvement efforts in control of soil erosion;
dissemination of cooking stoves with improved efficiency; rural housing
policy of China, etc.
Annual subscription (75 articles a year) $100 in the Americas,
$75 in Europe, Africa and Australia and $65 in Asia (separate rates by
surface postage). (Media subscribers are expected to pay their normal
contributors' rates for articles published.)
For further information write to: Director, Centre for Science and
Environment, 807, Vishal B h a w a n , 95, Nehru Place, N e w Delhi—110 019,
India.
The difficulty that many studentsfindin solving complex problems stems not
so much from a lack of mathematical skill as from an inability to visualize
the problem—to give it a tangible image. An appropriately structured computer
game may assist students to achieve this visualization and, perhaps, help solve
problems better. The reader is invited to follow a heuristic approach in
programming one such game.
oo
o
5Z5
ci
m
"o
>
•Sä
o
Computer games teach
problem-solving
S
o
James Clayson
I
James Clayson holds degrees from MIT and the University of Chicago and
is currently teaching operational research at the American College in Paris. He
continues to urge our readers to 'try for themselves' to discover some of the
virtues of the computer. His previous plea appeared in impact, Vol. 31,
No. 4, October-December 1981. His address is: 42 rue de Bruxelles,
7500p Paris (France).
g
>,
rt
«j
g
a
The importance for creative thinking of the domain where art and science merge has
been emphasized by the great philosopher-scientists of the twentieth century—Bohr,
Einstein and Poincaré. For in their research the boundaries between disciplines are
often dissolved a n d they proceed neither deductively through logic or inductively
through the exclusive use of empirical data, but b y visual thinking a n d aesthetics. 1
—
i i
Games help to visualize problem
In m y experience as a teacher of operational research, I have noticed that
students w h o have trouble structuring complex problems are limited not
so m u c h b y their lack of mathematical agility, as b y the inability to construct
models that they can visualize. Because they cannot visualize the problem
in terms of tangible images, they are overwhelmed b y its ambiguities a n d
complexities. H o w e v e r , I have h a d s o m e success in using computer g a m e s
to help these students give a shape to the perplexing problem, so that they
can begin to explore its various dimensions. W h e n students play o n the
computer, they are actually going through s o m e of the s a m e paces required
to deal with quantitative problem-solving. B u t of course, because they are
playing a g a m e a n d are relatively relaxed a n d uninhibited, they d o not
associate these activities with the classroom exercise. W h a t can w e learn
from this? T h a t g a m e s can b e useful for 'teaching' students h o w to visualize
a problem and then to manipulate—i.e. play creatively—with its c o m p o n e n t
parts.
Robot W a r is such a g a m e . 2 It simulates a battle between robots, each
of w h o m can m o v e about the screen, can search out opponents using radar,
and can fire o n t h e m with a missile-launching gun. T h e missile fired b y a
robot m o v e s across the screen a n d explodes at s o m e point determined b y
the robot. A s the g a m e progresses, the robots accumulate d a m a g e — b y
being hit b y missiles, by colliding with each other, or b y running into a
wall—until they arefinallyeliminated. T h e object of the g a m e is to b e the
last survivor o n the battlefield.
T h e m o v e m e n t s o n the screen are not r a n d o m . T h e y are the result of
computer programs written b y the player (or players) to control the
m o v e m e n t s a n d reactions o f u p to five individually p r o g r a m m e d robots.
Since it is unlikely that the novice player will k n o w in advance which
strategies will b e effective, h e is forced to begin b y guessing. B u t once the
experiment—e.g. battle—is u n d e r w a y , h e can modify a n d i m p r o v e his
approach according to what h e sees o n the screen. This is a perfect illustration of heuristic problem-solving, which I feel is the best w a y for students
to approach the structuring o f difficult a n d complex situations.3
Heuristic encourages student to explore
Heuristics c o m e s from the G r e e k w o r d heuriskein, to discover. It w a s coined
in the nineteenth century to describe any hint, or rule of t h u m b , that helps
a person discover, for himself, a solution to a problem. T h e reader m a y
wonder at this point w h y I have m a d e no mention of algorithms as a problemsolving device. Algorithms are indeed a helpful tool for solving those kinds
of problems which lend themselves to tidy mathematical formulation and
where a n optimal answer is being sought. B u t to expect students w h o are
already bewildered b y the apparent ambiguities a n d contradictions of the
situation before t h e m to arrive at a clean definition of the p r o b l e m is
unrealistic.
Heuristics, on the other hand, encourages the student to explore the
ambiguities, as he does in Robot W a r , until he becomes familiar enough
with the data that he can begin to construct his o w n models. In taking the
heuristics approach, priority is given to structuring and defining problems
for oneself, rather than solving problems 'organized' by someone else.
This has the added advantage of challenging the student's natural
tendency—acquired through years of schooling—to assume that both
question and answer are clear-cut. Unfortunately, the world is often not
like that. Most of the problems that the student will encounter in his
professional life—not to mention his personal life—will be untidy and
ill-defined. Anything the teacher can do to help a student learn to deal
comfortably and automatically with these problems will enhance his
effectiveness later on.
e
£
T
g
2
a
"S
ü
8
I
00
§
g*
o
U
Different patterns observed
In Robot W a r , the player has an opportunity to observefiveindependendy
programmed robots whose strategies have been predetermined by the
author. But as he watches their movements, he will begin to see patterns
in their behaviour: for example, one of the robots does absolutely nothing;
another moves, but looks for other robots by scanning its radar methodically
in a clockwise direction and then shooting once it has spotted another robot;
anodier runs to the bottom of the screen where it moves back and forth
from one edge to another all the while scanning with its radar until it sights
and thenfiresat another robot.
W h a t the player is witnessing are five battle heuristics, each of which
is different. T h e long-term effectiveness of any given strategy will not be
predictable at the outset, and the player has to study the scene for a while
in order to ascertain w h y some strategies work better than others. This is
always surprising to students, since the outcome is not what they expect.
But that is exacdy w h y such games are so instructive: they are fun, they
allow the player to visualize the problem, they encourage experimentation,
and, by trial and error, the students plays with the game until he eventually
arrives at a winning strategy. T h e point is m a d e that m a n y different means
can be used by the player/student to achieve his goal. T o win at Robot W a r ,
the player can elect either a passive/defensive stance or an aggressive/offensive
m o d e , or any combination of these. W h a t matters is not the complexity
of the player's program, but his ability to explore alternative strategies until
he finds the one that will cover the broadest number of opponent robot
behaviours. Obviously this is easier said than done. H o w to get the student
started, h o w to get him to try thatfirstheuristic?
S t u d e n t s in role-playing
I have had some success in using role-playing. Thus I will say to students:
Imagine that you are one of the robots on thefieldof battle, look around—try to
imagine what you could 'see' as a robot; remember that you have no eyes, only a
radar device that must be aimed and then pulsed like a camera—the eye opens and
closes seeing only in a single direction. There is no random viewing in the h u m a n
sense; you cannot look over the whole arena and pin-point your opponents. W h y ? Y o u
must 'look' only as a robot would—with its limitations.
N o w , imagine yourself moving about the arena. W h a t would it 'feel' like to do this?
g
(£,
H
v>
g
•—>
But, h o w does the robot go about 'feeling' anything? Oops! Don't run into the walls!
N o w , imagine that you have just been 'hit'; react quickly and emotionally; what would
you want to do? R u n , stop, hide, shoot back—what? H o w would you translate these
feelings, first, into a heuristic couched in words, and second, into robot language?
Can you apply any personal sporting heuristics that you have developed from, say,
tennis, squash, poker, chess . . .? Can you think of heuristics that are active/passive,
male/female, searching/hiding, etc.?
The translation of verbal heuristics into actual robot movements requires
certain skills in logic and programming. But anyone w h o has ever programmed knows that it is unusual for a program to work the first time
without 'bugs'. This can be very instructive, however. In the course of
fixing (i.e. 'debugging' in computer jargon) the program, w e m a y arrive
at a better definition of the problem. In Robot W a r the programmer has
the advantage of being able to see how each program change affects the
robot on the screen before him. H e can thus correct the program by small
increments.
The g a m e of Robot W a r encourages the integration of visual and abstract
thinking in solving a problem. With success in this, students are 'loosened
up' to explore and experiment with heuristic problem-solving in other
situations.
Games provide learning environment
I have dwelled on the subject of Robot W a r to show how games can provide
the student with an environment especially conducive to creative learning.
But Robot War is merely one particular and limited situation. H o w can
other problems—in, say, physics, geometry, operations management, urban
design, etc.—be imbued with the same play qualities as the game environment, so that the student is stimulated rather than overwhelmed by their
complexity?
Let m e take an example frum geometry to show how a game environment
can be established in another context. In this example, the student is asked
to imagine that he is facing the open end of a large pipe that protrudes from
a wall. H e is asked to place a cylinder parallel to the pipe, and to roll it
slowly around the pipe's circumference. T h e diameter of the cylinder is
indicated by a line drawn on its end face. T h e student is then asked to
describe what pattern this line will trace as the cylinder is rolled around
the pipe. (See Figure P-i of the sketches in the program (P) at the end of
the article.)
As in Robot W a r , the answer to the question is not readily apparent.
Only after the student has toyed with the shapes and studied the possible
configurations for a while does he begin to understand the problem.
Fortunately, the person interested in working on these kinds of problems
will find a computer language designed specifically to help them. This
language, which is called L O G O , is easy to learn, fun to use and versatile
enough to handle shapes, symbols and words as well as mathematical
notations. In summary, L O G O allows the student to build his own game
using heuristics of his own devising to structure and manipulate complex
problems.4
438
'Turtle graphics' described
T o illustrate h o w L O G O can be used, I will limit myself to a feature called
'turtle graphics'. T h e turtle is represented by a small triangle of light
located at the centre of the computer screen. T h e turtle can be moved
around the screen by programs written in the L O G O language, which
includes three basic movement commands: (a) go forward or backwards
x number of units; (b) turn right or left by x degrees; (c) leave a trail of
light on the screen as you m o v e , or leave no trace. L O G O is remarkable
in requiring so few commands to permit exploration of m a n y intricate
geometric puzzles. T o prove that this is so, I employ these commands with
a shape known to geometers as a nephroid (Fig. i). Figure i (a) and (b)
show that a nephroid is derived from a circle. T h e circle is replaced by a
star in Figure i (c), (d), (e) and (f ) and by a six-sided polygon in Figure i (g)
I
o
u
o.
X!
S
t>0
3
S
O
U
FIG. I. Variations on a nephroid shape.
>•
U
¡3
a
with analysis tangible in a way that mere mathematical notation is not
for most people. But h o w can L O G O ' S turtle graphics be used by the student
to solve the problems of the pipe and cylinder mentioned above? H o w does
he get started? A s in Robot W a r , role-playing can be helpful. T h e student
begins by identifying himself with the turtle, w h o can literally walk around
the problem, if instructed to do so. A single heuristic is all that is needed
to get the turtle moving. As in Robot W a r , the program selected rarely
works thefirsttime. But since the student's curiosity has been aroused by
the game aspect of turtle graphics, he generally will persist until he has an
answer. For the reader whose o w n curiosity is by n o w aroused, I provide
at the end of this article one particular heuristic as an example of h o w to
approach the pipe and cylinder riddle using our friend the turtle (see
Figure P-2).
This description of a strategy for directing the turtle's movements makes
writing the actual L O G O instructions a relatively routine matter. But
what do w e do with this program? Figure P-3 shows h o w the turtle has
solved our pipe and cylinder problem for us.
'Debugging' to eliminate mistakes
W h e n the student translates his o w n heuristic into L O G O program steps,
he more than likely will make mistakes. But here, as in the Robot W a r
example, the elimination of errors, a process w e call debugging, is facilitated
by the ability to watch the turtle m o v e in tandem with the program, bugs
(errors) and all. Also as in Robot W a r , the debugging will suggest modifications in the problem definition. W h e n the program has been debugged,
m a n y unexpected things will continue to happen. For instance, it becomes
obvious that the design does not always close after the cylinder has gone
around the pipe once (see Figure P - 4 ) . It may take several revolutions for
this to happen. W h y is this? S o m e mistakes in the program? N o , it is entirely
a question of the relative sizes of the cylinder and the pipe. Fortunately,
this L O G O program permits the user to conduct a number of experiments
to help him discover h o w closing is affected by altering the relative dimensions of the pipe and cylinder. A n d does the size of the arc between stops
have anything to do with closure? A n experiment provides the answer
immediately.
Another question is: What happens if a dot rather than a line is painted on
the end of the cylinder? Figure P - 5 shows the pattern traced out by a dot
placed between the centre of the cylinder and the circumference; Figure P - 6
shows the pattern traced out by a dot placed on a wire beyond the circumference of the cylinder. Yet another question is: W h a t would happen if the
cylinder were rolled along the inside surface of the pipe? Figures P - 7 , P - 8 ,
P - 9 and P-io illustrate several different sizes of cylinders rolling inside a
pipe.
Conclusion
Without belabouring the point, I hope that this example has succeeded in
demonstrating that the game environment is a valuable teaching aid. W e
have seen h o w Robot W a r encourages the student to play with a problem
using his o w n heuristics, and w e have seen h o w a computer language such
as L O G O can take the student one step further in construct his o w n game
environment. Although our experiments with geometric shapes m a y seem
remote from real-life situations, the skills they develop are not. T h e student
w h o understands the dynamics of the pipe and cylinder will find it easier
to penetrate the mysteries of such diversefieldsas machine design, Newtonian
physics, architectural renderings, and graphic arts. B y combining the
constructs of formal logic with the free-wheeling empirical approach,
which can be tested on the screen, the computer g a m e can prove highly
effective in providing us with new insights into problem-solving.6
•
Notes
i. A . Miller, 'Visualization Lost and Regained: T h e Genesis of Quantum Theory
in the Period 1913-1927'j in J. Wechsler (ed.), On Aesthetics in Science,
PP- 73-102, Cambridge, Mass., M I T Press, 1981.
2. S. Warner, Robot Wars, Baltimore, M d . , M u s e Software, 1981. Available only
for the Apple II personal computer.
3. For further discussion on the use of simple heuristic models, see J. Clayson,
'Micro-operational Research: A Simple Modelling Tool for Managers', Impact
of Science on Society, Vol. 31, N o . 4 , 1981, pp. 423-36.
4. T h e L O G O language was developed at M I T over the pastfifteenyears to teach
computer programming to non-specialists, including very young children. It
has been taught to students of all ages. For a discussion of the history and
philosophy of the language, see S. Papert, Mindstorms: Children, Computers and
Powerful Ideas, N e w York, Basic Books, 1980; and for an academic text showing
how turtle geometry can teach mathematics up to and including relativity
theory, see H . Abelson and A . diSessa, Turtle Geometry: The Computer as a
Medium for Exploring Mathematics, Cambridge, Mass., M I T Press, 1981. L O G O
is n o w implemented for a number of personal computers. T h e August,
1982 issue of the periodical, BYTE Magazine (Peterborough, N . H . , United
States) provides information on the sources and availability of these L O G O
implementations, while almost the entire August, 1982 issue of BYTE was
devoted to L O G O and its applications.
5. E . Lockwood, A Book of Curves, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1963.
F I G . P - I . Plan of the placement of the cylinder o n the pipe.
Orientation line
of the starting
position of
the cylinder
Second orientation
line
Radius of cylinder « 2
Radius of pipe = 3
'Turtle'
>
F I G . P - 2 . D i a g r a m of the turtle graphics heuristic to 'solve' the cylinder a n d pipe
problem (see text for explanation).
CD
/•""^•N
/
JT
^ \•v
\\
; \ | O N fc>/
""Sy
^
Vir:.
_
_ . _ _ ,
^ ^ . ^ i : . . -
< /
(a)
442
(b)
F I G . P - 3 . Pattern created b y the turtle graphics heuristic to 'solve' the cylinder
and pipe p r o b l e m : (a) turtle stops twelve times a r o u n d pipe; (b) turtle stops
thirty times; (c) turtle stops sixty times.
(c)
F I G . P - 4 . Illustration of a pattern that does not close after one revolution of the
cylinder around the pipe: (a) no closure onfirstrevolution; (b)finalclosed pattern
after three revolutions.
Dor
(a)
(b)
P - 5 Illustration of the pattern m a d e by a dot o n the cylinder: (a) situation;
n.
(b) pattern
FIG.
DOT
(a)
F I G . P - 6 . Illustration of the pattern m a d e by a dot placed beyond the circumference
of the cylinder: (a) situation; (b) pattern.
(b)
443
F I G . P - 7 . Illustration of the pattern m a d e b y a line on a cylinder rolling inside the
pipe: (a) situation; (b) pattern.
F I G . P - 8 . Another illustration of a cylinder rolling inside the pipe: (a) situation;
(b) pattern.
F I G . P - O . Another illustration of a cylinder rolling inside the pipe: (a) situation;
Cb) pattern.
444
F I G . P - I O . Pattern of dot outside of circumference of cylinder rolling inside pipe.
A heuristic:
solving the pipe a n d cylinder riddle
using turtle graphics
T h e problem can be stated as follows:
Roll the cylinder in small, counter-clockwise increments around the
outside surface of the pipe. Each time you stop the cylinder, draw a
line corresponding exactly to the position of the line (diameter)
painted on the end of the cylinder. If you were to stop the cylinder
twelve times, for example, while going around the pipe, you
would have drawn twelve different lines, each one showing the
orientation of the line painted o n the end of the cylinder at
its twelve stopping points—a procedure resembling time-lapse
photography (see Figure P~3(a)).
T h e question n o w is this: H o w shall w e get the turtle to m a k e moves
corresponding to each of these above indicated steps?
T o provide an answer to this question, w e turn to Figure P - 2
where w e show a pipe, to which w e have assigned a radius of three
units, and a cylinder with a radius of two units. W e locate our
turtle initially at point i, indicated by the circled n u m b e r i. This is
the point from which the turtle will commence its crawl along the
circumference of the pipe. But before this begins, w e must have the
turtle trace the line on the end of the cylinder and in this w a y
m a r k the orientation of the cylinder in its starting position. In what
follows, w e indicate each successive c o m m a n d w e must give to the
turtle.
i. T o draw a line that marks the orientation of the cylinder at its
starting position:
Turn turtle 90 degrees to right.
Move turtle forward along the line drawn on the end of the cylinder, and
then move it back to the original point (point 1).
Turn the turtle left 90 degrees so that it is ready to crawl along the
pipe's circumference.
2. T o draw the next orientation line (a line that shows the position of
the line painted on the end of the cylinder) after the cylinder has
rolled along the outside surface of the pipe through its first
incremental distance, i.e. from point 1 to point 2:
Instruct turtle to crawl along pipe's circumference from its original
position at point 1 to a new position at point 2, traversing an arc of
30 degrees.
Turn turtle right by 90 degrees.
Move turtle forward (along an imaginary line that is an extension of a
radial line of the pipe passing through point 2) a distance corresponding
to the radius of the cylinder, i.e. two units, bringing the turtle to
point 3 as shown in Figure P-2 (a).
Turn turtle to left by an angle 0, the value of this angle in degrees to be
calculated in the following way:
_ _ _ ^ ^ _ _ ^ _ _ _ ^ ^ _ ^ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ^ ^ _ _ ^ ^ _ _ _ _
445
Calculation of angle a
Ask yourself, what angle did I have to turn the turtle when I had it draw the
orientation line in the previous step, i.e. in section i above? T h e answer is,
of course, o degrees (since it was not necessary to turn the turtle at all in
that first case of drawing an orientation line).
N o w , the n e w value for this angle 0 will be the previous value (o degrees)
plus an amount that is equal to the value of the arc traversed (in degrees) in
going from point i to point 2 , this value being 30 degrees, multiplied by the
ratio of the radius of the pipe to the radius of the cylinder, that is, by 3/2.
Thus, the n e w value of the angle 0 is: o degrees plus 3/2 x 30 degrees which
equals 45 degrees.
This value of the angle 0, 45 degrees, is the amount by which the turtle,
which is at point 3, should be turned.
(Before continuing further c o m m a n d s , w e find it convenient to draw a
fresh sketch of the situation concerning the positions of the turtle,
cylinder a n d pipe. This has been done b y drawing Figure P-2(b)
where point 3 of Figure P-2(a) is re-labelled as point 4 . T h e turtle is
s h o w n at point 4 in an orientation corresponding to having been
turned to the left by angle 0 equal to 45 degrees. It is n o w ready to b e
m o v e d so that it will trace the n e w orientation line.)
Turn light tracer on.
Move turtle forward a distance equal to the radius of the cylinder,
i.e. two units, then back a distance of two cylinder radii, i.e. four units,
passing through point 4, and finally, forward again a distance of the
radius of the cylinder, i.e. two units, ending up at point 4. By
these moves, the turtle will have traced the orientation line
corresponding to the cylinder having been rolled along to this second
position.
Turn off tracer.
Turn turtle right by an angle 0 equal to 45 degrees, restoring it to its
orientation at the beginning of this group of command.
Move turtle back a distance of one radius of the cylinder, i.e. two units,
bringing it to point 5 in Figure P-2(b).
Turn turtle left by 90 degrees so that it is now in a position to begin its
next crawl along the circumference of the pipe.
3. T o draw the orientation line of the cylinder after it has rolled
further to its third position, point 6:
Instruct turtle to crawl along pipe's circumference from point 5 to
point 6, transcribing an arc of some given value.
Repeat the sequence of steps outlined in section 2 above.
4. T o d r a w further orientation lines corresponding to further
successive increments in rolling the cylinder around the pipe, continue
the c o m m a n d s to the turtle as outlined above in sections 2 a n d 3. A s
a final step, this program m u s t allow the user to assign whatever
values h e chooses to the pipe size, the cylinder size and the arc
travelled at each increment in rolling the cylinder. This is important if
the student is to play a n d experiment with different configurations of
the problem.
•
c
"o
X)
o
a
Xi
o
a
3
a
E
o
U
Photo: Robert M o h l
L O G O in action. A n interdisciplinary group of teachers, psychologists, linguists
and others from Senegal conversing with Professor Seymour Papert, Chief
Scientist of the World Centre for Micro-computers and H u m a n Resources, in Paris,
France. This group, assembled by M r Jacques Diouf, Secretary of State for
Scientific and Technological Research in Senegal, is working at the World Centre
on a project using L O G O as a language for introducing personal computers into the
learning experience of Senegalese youth and adults. Professor Papert, on a two-year
leave of absence from Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( M I T ) , is the
creator of L O G O .
447
GAMES AROUND THE WORLD
A fun-filled resource packet
40 games from 30 countries
Price US$4.00
Order from: U . S . Committee for U N I C E F
331 E . 38th Street
N e w York
N Y 10016
As many as 15 per cent of beginning school students have serious problems in
acquiring some of the basic skills: handwriting, reading, understanding
elementary numerical and spatial concepts. Because the traditional media to
remedy these limitations have been of limited effectiveness, new techniques
based on computer-assisted teaching need to be exploited. These will aid the
child in academic and social development, precluding certain unemployment
problems later in life.
00
£?
T?
o
^
J^
^
>
-8
Development of skills
through computers:
achieving an effective,
enjoyable learning
environment
M i k e Lally and Iain Macleod
¿?¿AÁ¿£<&
Mike Lally, a psychologist, is a research fellow in the Department of
Engineering Physics, The Australian National University, where his work
concerns mainly computer-based teaching. Iain Macleod, whose speciality is
image-processing, is a senior fellow in the same department. The authors wish
to acknowledge the support of the Australian Education Research and
Development Committee for their work, part of which is reflected in the
accompanying article. Address: Research School of Physical Sciences,
P . O . Box 4, Canberra 2600, Australia.
+*
o
e
|
Q.
E
Introduction
S o m e io to 15 per cent of beginning school students encounter serious
problems in acquiring basic skills such as handwriting, reading, and understanding of elementary numerical and spatial concepts. It is important to
cater for these students because deficiencies with basic skills can adversely
affect other areas of their academic and social development a n d , if not
corrected, their employment prospects. Obvious benefits will ensue if
improved techniques can be developed for those students w h o d o not
progress satisfactorily with traditional methods of instruction in basic skills.
Computer-based teaching shows great promise in this area and has m a n y
potential advantages w h e n compared with traditional media. These advantages arise largely from well-established psychological principles of skill
acquisition, and relate to the greater degree of control over the learning
process which is available with a computer presentation.1
Enjoyment a powerful motivator
Through use of appropriate task structure and means of interaction (i.e.
information presentation and student response), learning of basic skills
can become an enjoyable experience. Enjoyment of a learning activity is a
powerful motivator and contributes strongly to the speed with which skills
are acquired and to the level of proficiency achieved. Perhaps the best
evidence of the enjoyment that can accompany development of skills is the
remarkable success enjoyed b y electronic video games such as Space
Invaders and P a c - m a n . These games can be viewed as highly structured
learning environments in which players strive to develop a very specific
skill (i.e. the ability to achieve a high score). M o v e m e n t , sound and colour
are key elements in the interaction between player and g a m e . These elements
provide feedback about the player's performance from m o m e n t to m o m e n t ,
call attention to critical aspects of the g a m e , and encourage players to seek
greater and greater heights of achievement. T h e various components of
video games are blended in such a subde yet powerful manner that the
player/machine interaction can become addictive and several games have
acquired a cult status, complete with their 'wizards' or folk heroes w h o are
reputed to have extraordinary levels of skill.2
Clearly, conventional methods for teaching basic skills do not 'match up'
to successful video games in terms of motivation and enjoyment, despite
the fact that skills such as prediction and hand-eye co-ordination (which
are so m u c h a part of handwriting, for example) are a central requirement
in most video games. Parents of children w h o have become very proficient
at video games are often heard to remark 'if only they showed as m u c h
interest in their schoolwork'.
A learning environment is enhanced through use of teaching procedures
which: (a) concentrate attention o n the task as a whole and on those aspects
relevant at each stage; (b) exercise fine control over the learning process;
(c) provide feedback on both m o m e n t to m o m e n t and overall performance;
(d) involve activities that are challenging (but not too difficult) a n d at the
same time enjoyable; (e) and reinforce successes. M a n y of these features are
embodied in the more popular video games. T h e technology used in video
games is also available for computer-based teaching and the question arises as
to whether the principles that underly the high-quality interaction achieved
with these g a m e s can b e used to enhance development o f basic skills.
A t the Australian National University, w e have been researching c o m p u t e r aided assessment and development of basic skills since late 1974, using the
c o m b i n e d talents o f engineers, c o m p u t e r specialists, psychologists a n d
educators. O u r w o r k has concentrated o n students with learning difficulties
and w a s initially performed in a school for mildly intellectually handicapped
students. W e are n o w extending our studies to a wider spectrum of students,
including those o f average or above-average intelligence with specific
learning difficulties.
Evaluation experiments in this project have demonstrated that c o m p u t e r based exercises have unique advantages that can significantly enhance
development of basic skills. T h e following sections illustrate these advantages
b y describing several exercises w e have successfully i m p l e m e n t e d and b y
analysing the reasons for their enhanced effectiveness c o m p a r e d with
conventional m e t h o d s of instruction.
3
go.
u
u>
g
3
«
°
g
^
o
Teaching handwriting by tracing
Usual m e t h o d s for teaching handwriting involve variations o n tracing
and/or copying, but analysis in the light of established principles of skill
acquisition indicates that these m e t h o d s have several shortcomings. F o r
e x a m p l e , acquisition o f a skill is facilitated if a learner is accurate a n d
consistent in the m o t o r patterns produced, a n d at the s a m e time m a k e s
active decisions. T h e s e t w o factors are often incompatible, since m a k i n g
decisions about a yet to b e mastered skill involves the likelihood of m a k i n g
errors. F o r example, tracing promotes accuracy in the patterns produced,
but requires little thought (active decision-making) about letter shapes
a n d stroke sequences, while the converse applies with copying.
A further requirement for satisfactory skill acquisition is for s o m e m e a n s
of transferring control of the skill f r o m conscious to largely unconscious
processes, so that control b e c o m e s 'automatic'. Apart f r o m practice at the
task, neither copying n o r tracing offer m u c h assistance to the learner with
respect to transfer of control from conscious visual feedback processes to
faster unconscious muscular processes. T h e teacher can offer little help
at this stage a n d the student is left to grasp relationships between these
processes through repetition. M a n y students fail to m a k e this step and never
b e c o m e fluent handwriters.
Computer-based exercises impart control
W e have developed computer-based handwriting exercises that enable
students to be accurate but active learners, in the sense that accuracy of
response is maintained even though students are required to predict the
sequence of strokes to be followed in order to complete letter shapes. This
is achieved by giving learners a degree of external support appropriate to
their growing competence in the skill and informing them quickly of any
errors (thus localizing the consequences of wrong choices and interrupting
development of erroneous patterns). These exercises impart a m u c h greater
degree of control over the handwriting process than is possible with
conventional techniques, and at the same time encourage students to think
about what they are doing. T h e procedure adopted emphasizes the process
used in handwriting as well as the appearance of the product.
451
g
a
•3
~c
_>,
"«
u
a
A s m a y be seen in Figure i, equipment used for these exercises includes
a display screen on which fine detail can be drawn by the computer, and an
associated digitizer pen, which is the size and shape of a thick pencil. T h e
computer calculates the pen position from the lengths of two fine strings
attached to the pen tip which pass through eyelets above the display. A
square cursor box drawn on the display indicates the calculated pen position.
A switch inside the pen body indicates its u p / d o w n status and the impression
of writing is given by drawing a lighted track under the pen tip as it is pressed
d o w n and moved around the display. O n e form of handwriting exercise
involves a series of line segments, each of which has to be tracked before a
guideline for the next is drawn. T h e line segments can be as simple as
individual strokes, or as complex as complete words, according to students
developing abilities.
Student tracks letters of alphabet
Successful tracking requires the student to press the pen d o w n at the
beginning of each guideline and to m o v e along it within an accuracy defined
by the (variable) cursor box size; i.e. the student aims to keep the cursor
box centred over the track, although tracking continues as long as some part
of the cursor box overlaps the track. A s students track successfully, the thin
guideline changes into a thicker path. If the student starts at the wrong end
of a stroke, lifts the pen or moves the cursor box too far off the guideline,
path-filling stops and a small blinking spot calls attention to the point where
the pen should be. 3
Students track various letters of the alphabet during training sessions.
In some letters only portions of the oudine are visible, although strokes for
the complete letter are stored and the same criteria for successful tracking
apply. Getting students to track incomplete stimuli encourages them to
think about what they are doing and to predict letter shapes from m e m o r y .
Together with the use of a variable size cursor box, this procedure allows
the amount of support given by the computer to be reduced as the student's
competence grows. A large cursor box is used with children of lower ability.
Gross motor movements resulting from their attempts to approximate letter
shapes cause the computer to produce well-formed model letter shapes.
This procedure reinforces the appearance of the desired product rather than
students' possibly ill-formed attempts. A s students' skill improves, the
cursor box is gradually reduced so that their movements are shaped to
become more and more like those required to produce the desired model
letters without computer support. Speed and accuracy of tracking are displayed at the end of each exercise: most students are intensely interested
in their performance and see reductions in cursor box size as a mark of
achievement.
Tracking exercise improves skills
W e have found that the above exercise is effective in improving handwriting
skills both with intellectually handicapped schoolchildren and with nonretarded children w h o have a specific learning difficulty.1
W e are currently investigating ways of making it easier for students to
explore relationships between the visual feedback used by beginning writers
and the muscular feedback used by fluent writers.5 T h e importance of
F I G . I. Computer-based handwriting exercise.
453
muscular feedback in handwriting can be demonstrated by the relative ease
with which individual words can be written with closed eyes. Visual feedback
still plays a significant part, however, in positioning writing on the page,
maintaining alignment and spacing between words, and in correcting (over
a period of time) any distortions that creep into letter shapes.
B y moving the cursor box and the track from directly under the pen tip
and displacing it upwards by about 15 centimetres, students can view their
writing separately from their hand and finger movements. Because the pen
produces no visible track under its tip, students need to attend to non-visual
feedback from hand and arm movements in order to predict and control the
cursor box movements and writing produced on the display screen. T h e
displaced pen/display configuration also allows magnification, so that small
pen movements result in larger visual movements on the display.
This system aims to facilitate more rapid transfer from visual to muscular
control. In addition, the magnification results in muscular feedback appropriate to the final skill being generated. While the visual letters produced
are large enough for the learner to see what is happening, pen movements
are of a size requiring finger movements rather than whole hand and arm
movements to direct and control the cursor box. Initial results indicate that
this configuration is successful in training students to use non-visual processes to control their handwriting.6
Reading skills acquired
Before children can begin to read sentences, there are several basic skills
that need to be learnt. They need to be able to recognize individual words,
either by their overall shape or by sounding them out. M a n y Australian
schools use both these techniques in teaching reading skills. Children are
taught to recognize certain words and then to use these words to investigate
word-attack skills such as sound blending.
A large proportion of early schooling is spent in acquiring beginning
reading skills. A traditional method of teaching whole-word recognition is
use of 'flash-cards', where a teacher shows the student a word written on
a card and says the word out loud. This process is repeated m a n y times so
that the student learns to associate the visual and auditory forms of the
word. A s with conventional handwriting techniques, this method relies on
practice by a passive learner in order to form the association. A s well as
presenting difficulties with consistent repetition of words, this procedure
does not make efficient use of highly trained teachers' time or take account
of individual differences.
Computer-based exercises offer advantages
Computer-based exercises in beginning reading skills offer several advantages
in terms of control over the learning process, consistency of presentation,
enabling students to work independently and keeping records of student
progress. Interaction with pre-literate students involves obvious limitations
on use of written information to convey instructions and information.
Computer synthesized speech has improved in intelligibility to the point
where it is n o w a quite practicable means of communicating with students,
and offers the incidental advantage of consistent pronunciation of words.
T h e capacity for continual monitoring of performance means that the
presentation can be modified to meet students' changing abilities, including
prompting where necessary to avoid extended failure situations. In this way,
error rates can be kept small so that a child's self-confidence and motivation
can be maintained throughout an extended learning session.
O n e computer-based programme w e have developed teaches students to
recognize a beginner's reading vocabulary of 105 words. During exercise
sessions, overlays of sixteen words are placed over a matrix of sixteen large
buttons. Twelve different overlays are used to present the training words.
Each overlay has versions with the same words in different positions to avoid
responses based on sound/position associations.
T h e computer gives instructions such as 'Press was'. If the student
responds correctly, a light under the appropriate word flashes and the
computer says the word three times. If the student presses the wrong word,
say, 'saw' instead of 'was', then the computer responds with ' Y o u got saw,
try again, press was'. If the student has not responded after five seconds,
or has already m a d e more than one error, the light under the correct word
begins to flash. W h e n the student presses this word after prompting, the
machine says 'Right, but try again, Press was'. T h e same word is presented
until the student responds correctly within the given time interval. Presentation of n e w words occurs only after correct responses so that the learner
is not swamped with a large number of different and u n k n o w n words, but
rather deals with a small subset of words until these are correctly recognized,
causing the subset to gradually increase until it reaches sixteen. At the end of
each set of sixteen trials, the computer gives verbal results to the student.
Handicapped students show improvement
Intellectually handicapped students w h o received five hours of computerassisted instruction with the above exercise over a period of four weeks
showed an increase in the n u m b e r of words correctly recognized from an
average of 39 to 69.' O f great interest was the fact that this improvement
was maintained a half year later (an average of 71 words being recognized),
even though no further computer-based training took place.
Our present research is based on equipment that allows the interaction
between learner and reading material to be even more flexible than that
described above. This work utilizes a touch-sensitive display screen so that
students need only press d o w n on an appropriate area of the graphic display
for a response to be recorded. T h e addedflexibilityof a dynamic display
(rather than relatively fixed word overlays on top of buttons) means that
m a n y other aspects of reading instruction can be investigated.
For example, w e have found that students enjoy building sentences using
this equipment. A m e n u of word types is displayed on the screen: 'a'
signifies words beginning with the letter 'a', 'verb' means a variety of verbs,
and so on. Students select the category of successive words as their sentences
evolve by pressing on an appropriate section of the display. This causes a
selection of those words (for example, words all beginning with the letter 'a')
to appear. Words chosen by the students are then written in sentence form
on the display screen. Students enjoy listening to their sentences being read
out by a voice synthesizer—this gives verbal feedback and allows selfcorrection if a sentence is not what was intended. Completed sentences are
output on a printing terminal and students take a hard copy of their efforts
h o m e with them.
g
3
Ë
u
"S
g
"&
a
»
°
g
^
.2
¡3
^
g
,|
-*
1
t»
2
t>
3
Another exercise that exploits our equipment'sflexibilityis one in reading
comprehension. Fluency in reading requires more than merely sounding out
each word—the aim of reading is to derive the meaning of whole passages
of words. O n e technique that has received m u c h attention in this area is
the 'cloze' procedure, wherein students must identify words that have been
omitted from passages they are presented. Students need to read the passages
and obtain contextual cues (both semantic and syntactic) for the missing
words. This procedure has been used for some time in assessing students'
ability to comprehend reading material, but its potential as a training
procedure has not been fully realized. This in part stems from the difficulty
of monitoring a student's progress through this type of material.8
W e have been using a modified cloze technique to present exercises in
reading comprehension to children. Students are given a choice of words for
each of those missing in the displayed text and receive feedback and assistance as they work their way through the passage. If, for example, students
cannot recognize a word on the display screen, they simply press on the
word and the computer speaks it out. This has proved to be an effective
technique both in teaching children to read for meaning and in helping
them to develop better overall reading strategies.9
Child forms concepts
Piaget maintains that it is through the child's interaction with the world that
the concepts of space, number and time develop. H e argues that a child is
forced to elaborate his/her model of the world when contradictions occur as
the child interacts with (applies his/her model to) the environment.10
T h u s , one way of promoting cognitive development is to enhance the
learner's environment so that a child can recognize that his/her immature
model of the world is inadequate. Note that if too advanced an environment
is employed the child will not see his/her model as relevant (even if inadequate) and will not have a frame of reference to work from. It is therefore
necessary to construct a learning environment which is challenging but
which is at the same time within the competence of the child's level of
reasoning.
W e have investigated use of computer-based learning environments in
developing conservation of number and basic spatial concepts with mildly
intellectually handicapped schoolchildren. T h e paradigm in these training
programmes was to emphasize contradictions in a student's cognitive judgements. These contradictions should lead to the child identifying and
hypothesizing about the shortcomings of his/her present view of the world
and to changes in the underlying cognitive structures, such that the child's
concepts of the world gradually increase in complexity and form a better
working model.
Conservation of number is a prerequisite for other number skills. For
example, Piaget has outlined three stages of development in the child's
ability to know whether two rows of counters have differing numbers of
counters when placed in rows with differing spacing. A non-conserving child
in stage one determines equality of counters solely by equality of lengths of
the rows. During stage two, the child uses the dimensions of length and
intercounter spacing at different times and recognizes the relevance of both
dimensions, but is unable to cognitively overcome the strong perceptual
factors inherent in the task. T h e conserving child at stage three has recog-
nized the relationship between spacing a n d overall length a n d is able to
divert his/her attention from the salient perceptual factors.
£
3
Ho
Programme
43
o
develops concept of number . . .
bo
3
O
In the training p r o g r a m m e , students faced a colour television monitor with the
button b o x in front of t h e m . T w o rows of squares w e r e then displayed o n
the screen, each r o w having a different colour, orientation a n d spacing. O n
half the trials there were equal n u m b e r s of coloured squares whereas o n the
other half, one r o w h a d one m o r e square. T h e computer, via synthetic
speech, asked the child if both colours h a d equal n u m b e r s of squares. T h e
child could respond b y pressing a button with an ' = ' sign, or a coloured
button if he/she thought that colour h a d m o r e squares. T h e computer
repeated the child's response a n d said: c Let us count t h e m . ' A button
n u m b e r e d '1' then lit u p . W h e n the child pressed this button the computer
said ' O n e red' a n d m o v e d one of the red squares across to the bottom
right-hand corner of the screen, then said ' O n e blue' a n d m o v e d one of the
other squares, in this case blue, to a position alongside the red square in the
bottom right-hand corner. A button n u m b e r e d ' 2 ' then lit u p and after it
w a s pressed, the computer counted a n d m o v e d the second squares.
In this m a n n e r , the child and the computer stacked the squares in t w o
piles so that the n u m b e r s of squares b e c a m e obvious. If the child m a d e a
correct response, the computer replied with: 'That w a s right, there were
m o r e red squares.' If the child m a d e a n incorrect response (say, 'equal'
instead of ' m o r e red'), the computer said: ' Y o u said equal, but look at the
screen, there were m o r e red squares.' O n the next trial at least one of the
colours, the orientation a n d the size w e r e different, a n d the answer might or
might not b e the s a m e .
Students needed little introductory training in order to perform the task.
T h e y enjoyed the interaction and s a w themselves as being in control b y
manipulating the buttons and coloured squares. T h e instruction to ' L o o k
at the screen' w a s very effective in directing attention a w a y from the button
array towards the stacked u p squares. This training procedure w a s successful in developing m o s t of the children's concept o f n u m b e r although
their strategies did not generalize well to other conservation tasks, for
example v o l u m e , a n d were dependent o n the w a y in w h i c h questions were
worded. 11
J3
«
J2
<g
ci
|
§<
7J
Q
. . . and spatial concepts
Success with number conservation led us to devise a procedure for development of spatial concepts such as left/right, inside/outside, above/below,
corner/side, etc. During training sessions, intellectually handicapped children sat in front of a button box with an 8 x 8 array of buttons which could
be individually lit or extinguished. Various reference patterns could be
formed on this matrix by lighting appropriate buttons. A s students pressed
different buttons, the computer described the spatial relationship between
that particular button and the reference pattern; e.g. 'bottom left corner of
the square'. Children were free to change the reference pattern at any time
and were told that they could press any one of the sixty-four buttons, and
in any sequence they wished.
457
o
*o
¡|
,jjj
*-•
g
•.
*
v
3
This programme was successful in developing concepts of left/right,
above/below, and to a lesser extent inside/outside (as measured on the
B o e h m Test).12 Examination of the frequency with which different buttons
were pressed revealed an interesting and unexpected pattern. Although
intellectually handicapped children seemed to enjoy the procedure, their
exploration of the stimulus arrays was quite limited. M a n y buttons which
were near pattern contours and were relatively informative (e.g. 'bottom
left corner') were rarely pressed while other buttons that were lower in
information content (e.g. 'below') were pressed frequently.
O u r suspicion that this strategy was unusual was confirmed b y looking
at h o w younger non-retarded children, presumably at a similar cognitive
level, investigated the same environment. Their exploration was more
varied and tended to concentrate near contours and corners of patterns.
Thisfindingis consistent with our other work in suggesting that the problem
of directing and holding learners' attention to the relevant, and therefore
informative, aspects of a learning environment is of critical importance in
teaching basic skills.
S o m e useful conclusions
T w o of the most notable features of computer-based exercises are their
ability to hold the attention of normally distractible students and the strong
motivation and enjoyment exhibited by students (we have even had tears
upon cancelling an exercise session). Several factors help to concentrate
attention. First, computer presentation minimizes extraneous distractions
of the type present in a normal classroom. Second, the computer always
attends to the student and reacts quickly to responses or requests for assistance, thus motivating the student to reciprocate. Third, exercises can be
structured so that, to be counted as correct, responses have to be m a d e
within a pre-set time. Directing attention to the critical aspects of the task
can be aided by omitting information that is not currently relevant (for
example, succeeding strokes in a handwriting exercise) and b y use of
movement, sound and colour. T h e overall effect is that computer-based
exercises get students to spend a m u c h greater proportion of time 'on-task'
than is typically obtained with conventional media.
Motivation is a very complex issue, but several aspects of the computerbased exercises which help establish and maintain motivation can be identified.
M a n y students with learning difficulties have been exposed to a range of
teaching methods overs a period of several years without making satisfactory
progress and have become conditioned to expect failure. T h e radically
different appearance of computer exercises, together with the semi-mystical
powers popularly attributed to computers, gives students an enhanced
expectation of success and m a y allow a fresh start to be m a d e . This expectation can be built on by presenting exercises as sequences of relatively simple
steps and by automatically prompting as necessary to stop students getting
'stuck'. B y using computer assistance to facilitate successful completion of
each exercise, students can work independently on material that is more
complex and meaningful to them than would otherwise be possible. S o m e
learning-disabled students are afraid of making mistakes and become very
tentative in their approach to exercises of moderate difficulty. Students tend
to think of their mistakes as being private w h e n they are working with a
computer and suffer little if any loss of face. A s a consequence, they seem
more willing to make responses even if they are not sure of the answers.
W o r k with students w h o do not have learning difficulties indicates that
the exercises described above are enjoyable and effective with these
children as well. W e are currently implementing several exercises in reading
and handwriting on microcomputers of the Apple type, which are already
widely available in elementary schools. A few weeks of intensive but brief
daily sessions with computer-based training programmes can lead to longterm gains in competence with basic skills. This type of instruction must be
regarded, however, as simply one more tool (albeit a very powerful one) in a
teacher's range of pedagogical techniques. Achieving the best results will
rely on the skill and judgement of teachers w h o can relate the strengths and
limitations of these exercises to the needs and abilities of individual students.
Implementation of suitable exercises on classroom computers will also help
in achieving timely remediation (within the peer-group setting) of latent
problems with basic skills, before they interfere with other aspects of a
student's development. A reduction in the time necessary for young students
to achieve fluency in reading and handwriting would have a dramatic impact
on elementary schooling, and computer-based exercises could well become
the preferred teaching method in this area.
In conclusion, the unique characteristics of computer technology allow
new educational strategies to be devised in which the interaction between
student and learning material is both attractive and effective. Experience
indicates that students can then approach educational instruction in basic
core curricula with motivation and attention similar to that seen in electronic
game arcades.
•
Notes
1. A . Welford, Skilled Performance: Perceptual and Motor Skills. Glenview, 111.,
Scott, Foresman & C o . , 1976.
2. J. Skow, ' G a m e s that Play People', Time, Vol. 119, N o . 3, 18 January 1982,
pp. 62-70.
3. I. Macleod and P. S. Procter, ' A Dynamic Approach to Teaching Handwriting
Skills', Visible Language, Vol. 13, 1979, pp. 29-42.
4. M . Lally, 'Computer-assisted Handwriting Instruction and Visual/Kinaesthetic
Feedback Processes', Applied Research in Mental Retardation, 1982 (in press).
5. I. Macleod and M . Lally, ' T h e Effectiveness of Computer Controlled
Feedback in Handwriting Instruction', in R . Lewis and E . D . Tagg (eds.),
Computers in Education, pp. 291-6, Amsterdam, North Holland, 1981.
6. M . Lally, 'Computer-assisted Handwriting Instruction for Intellectually
Handicapped Children and the Role of Visual and Kinaesthetic Feedback
Processes', in W . H . Gladstones (ed.), Ergonomics and the Disabled Person,
pp. 53-8, Canberra, Australian Government Printer, 1981.
7. M . Lally, 'Computer Assisted Teaching of Sight W o r d Recognition to Retarded
School Children', American Journal of Mental Deficiency, Vol. 85, 1981,
pp. 383-8.
8. E . Jongsma, The Cloze Procedure as a Teaching Technique, Newark, Del.,
International Reading Association, 1971; Cloze Instruction Research: A Second
Look, Newark, Del., International Reading Association, 1980; V . P . G u n n
and J. Elkins, 'Oozing the Reading G a p ' , Australian Journal of Reading, Vol. 2 ,
1979, PP- 144-51.
g
3
S
o
i«
§
«
3
»
°
g
8
Q.
55>
a
"o
•3
•5
|n
•o
a
J?
£
o
9. M . Grocke, 'Computer-assisted Reading Instruction for Intellectually
Handicapped Children', in W . H . Gladstones (ed.), Ergonomics and the Disabled
Person, pp. 47-52, Canberra, Australian Government Printer, 1981.
10. J. Piaget, Judgement and Reasoning in the Child, L o n d o n , Routledge & Kegan
Paul, 1928.
n . M . Lally, 'Computer Assisted Development of N u m b e r Conservation in
Mentally Retarded School Children', Australian Journal of Developmental
Disabilities, Vol. 6,1980, pp. 131-6.
12. A . B o e h m , Boehm Test of Basic Concepts Manual, N e w York, T h e Psychological
Corporation, 1971.
Computers for everybody
With apologies to Wills and Miller (see below), w e indicate to the
reader who has been stimulated by the articles by Clayson and by Lally
and Macleod some further reading on the educational use of
computers. Our list is purely suggestive and by no means exhaustive.
T h e three American items have appeared in the spring Newsletter of
the Division of Chemical Education Inc., American Chemical Society,
Washington, D . C . , 1982.
G . Computer-based Studies for Physical Chemistry. Carmel
Valley, Calif., T h e Milne Press, 1982. Computer play, which
implies loosely directed, student-centred computer use, might well
turn out to be the most important role for computers in instruction
in subjects like physical chemistry.
B O R K , A . Learning with Computers. Bedford, Mass., Digital Press,
1981. Written by a physicist, this book explores a variety of
approaches to computer-aided instruction with which the author
has experimented. Very good if you want to get an idea of what can
and might be done with computers without necessarily worrying
about exactly h o w to do it.
T A G G , E . (ed.). Microcomputers in Secondary Education. Amsterdam,
North-Holland Publishing C o . , 1980. These proceedings of the
International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP)
Technical Committee 3 (Education) Working Conference on
Microcomputers in Secondary Education make a significant
contribution to the explosion of interest in the use of microcomputers
at the secondary level.
W I L L S , J.; M I L L E R , M . Computers for Everybody. Beaverton, Oreg.,
Dilithium Press, 1981. A n introduction to microcomputers that
succeeds in being readable for those with no previous experience.
BARROW,
What happens when a decision is made to create a large popular exhibition
of science and technology, a centre both indoors and outdoors which will
serve a large community? What are some of the cultural and other social
factors to be taken into account? An Indian specialist explains how this
is being accomplished in Bombay, at the Children's Science Park.
ON
o
N
rr\
>
T h e Nehru Science Centre:
public participation in science
••*
u
o
«o
«
R . M . Chakraborti
I
¿2 („¿¿¿jzs
The author, a specialist in the popularization of science, is project officer of
the Nehru Science Centre, Dr E . Moses Road, Worli, Bombay 400 018, India.
The Nehru Science Centre is an affiliated organization of the National
Council of Science Museums, India.
461
'Participatory science' is a concept to be integrated within the social matrix
in order that a science culture m a y evolve; it would enable citizens to
understand changing needs better and to assimilate information on the use
of science and technology. Traditional methods of education often lack
motivation, and there are too few social processes to promote a 'scientific
temper'. Underutilization or neglect of science and technology can result
from society's 'scientific illiteracy'.
There is thus an extreme necessity to narrow the communication gap,
filling the void with exposure and experience by the community in terms of
financial and social benefit from science and technology. Citizens should
be conditioned to change, adapting themselves to shifting social conditions.
They can become conscious of the benefits of technology, exchanging views
on its ill effects. Improved communication can also help to demystify science
and technology.
India became sensitive to these issues immediately after its independence
in 1947 and introduced a number of innovations in its system of science
education. These changes were appropriate to the formal educational format,
whereas the need of a traditional society such as India's was for a non-formal
approach. T h e youth of today m a y be tomorrow's decision-maker, and his
or her wisdom m a y bring about social transformation. For this, today's
child needs orientation in a non-formal w a y through participatory science.
Science museums and similar centres are institutions equipped to make
this possible.
A p o p u l a r science centre is created
T h e Planning Commission in India, considering it essential for the country's
educational system to avail itself of the potential of science museums,
appointed a Task Force on Science M u s e u m s in 1973 t 0 h ^ P evolve a
process of science participation centred around museums—a process that
would help children absorb and appreciate the habits of science easily and
effectively.1
T h e task force developed a scheme setting u p various categories of science
museums and looking forward to their funding in a phased manner. They
also suggested creation of an organization to co-ordinate m u s e u m activities
countrywide, including in-depth experiences for various elements of the
population, especially children and teenagers. A unique plan of action was
envisaged to meet both urban and rural needs. In 1978, a National Council
of Science M u s e u m s ( N C S M ) was formed as an autonomous organization
and given management of the country's existing science m u s e u m s . Immediately after its formation, the N C S M embarked on a massive programme to
establish a network of science centres, of which the institution in B o m b a y
would be the largest in terms of scope of activities and finances. It was
thought that science centres based on activities meant to stimulate creative
abilities and the process of questioning would be more appropriate than
science m u s e u m s based on exhibits. T h u s was born the Nehru Science
Centre.
Conceptually, the Nehru Science Centre is designed to appeal to
motivation through an integrated process that combines various methods
of problem-solving. T h e centre would gradually be transformed into a
non-formal research unit in which an out-of-school clientele could carry
on scientific investigations. T h e learning process is integrated in such a
way as to inculcate a spirit of inquiry, foster creative talent, and develop the
scientific temper to which I have referred. With passive exhibits the centre
would be a 'place of education', a kind of non-formal learning through fun
and pleasure; with active exhibits, the centre would be a 'place for investigation'. But with interactive exhibits, it promises to become a place to form
and sharpen ideas. It is this interaction, and not mere communication, that
will elevate the centre from a house of scientific marvels to a veritable cradle
of the scientific spirit.2
u
.£
a
.2
§.
-p
^
o
Exhibits and activities follow logic
T h e information flows in an interactive process presuppose that exhibits
and other activities should follow the logic of an interdependent system.
This logic aids in assimilating information, in understanding a problem,
in inductively forming a hypothesis, in testing that hypothesis and,
finally,
in finding answers to problems. T h e logic answers the basic what, w h y and
h o w of every question.
This logic therefore leads the audience to find an answer through systematic search rather than through trial and error. Even in the case of an
answer found in an empirically cognitive way, one needs to understand the
steps leading to the answer. Yet the solution itself is not the most important
thing; it is the method of finding the solution which counts. In other words,
it is the method of science and not science alone that has to be highlighted
in the method of communication. T h e Nehru Science Centre has been
designed within these guidelines.
Through its holistic approach, the Nehru centre provides a total understanding of science. Exhibits and activities take multidisciplinary themes
in contrast with the traditional, unidimensional presentation of a particular
branch of science or technology.
This multidisciplinary concept guided the architect of the N e h r u centre
in designing the building along non-traditional lines. T h e building is
modular, with four blocks spread obliquely along the horizontal plane while
the height of each block is limited to three storeys—obviating fatigue on
the part of the visitors. Because of the contours of the land, however, the
blocks are not all on the same level. T h e difference in levels brought an
element of asymmetry to the architecture leading to an environment of
diversity. T h efirstphase of the centre's construction has m a d e 10,000 square
metres of surface available to exhibition and educational services.
Decisions m a d e during construction
Permanent exhibition halls are being set u p to house different forms of
presentation in three distinct areas: the world of perception, science and
technology, and technology for mankind. While construction was in progress, two important decisions had to be made. T h efirstconcerned setting
up an experimental hall on the theme of'light and sight' within the context
of the World of Perception. Such an experiment with the exhibits that were
planned and designed for a permanent hall would help the designers to
become aware of the sensitivity among visitors to this multidisciplinary
approach. It would also help designers to observe the visitors' interactions
with exhibits. This insight would provide feedback needed in modifying
or reorienting the exhibits for proper motivation. Indeed, a system of
3
G
5
0
c
"0
a
.3
£
£
h
g
•
*
t¿
continuous monitoring and evaluation can keep the communicator abreast
of visitor demands and reaction to the exhibits, thus increasing the effectiveness of the entire channel of communication. For a proper evaluation,
the communicator has to frame well-defined objectives for each exhibit,
specify its target group and monitor both the target group and the
objectives.3
Science Park to instil spirit of inquiry
T h e second decision involved setting up a science park (thefirstof its kind
in India) in the foreground of the building, stretching over an area
of 4,400 square metres. T h e Science Park is a place of recreation not in the traditional sense, but a place of fun and pleasure to instil a spirit of inquiry.
T h e plan of the park includes scientific and technological artefacts, open-air
participatory exhibits, bodies of water and a 'life science corner' surrounded
by a green environment.
It is intriguing for a child to watch a car or heavy truck being lifted in the
service station. H e is amazed to learn the method of lowering massive water
mains used in a municipal water supply system. His questions are answered
as he raises weights using the pulleys, inclined plane or jackscrew available
in the park, or by operating the hydraulic lift that will raise his parents off
the ground. Such experiences give the child confidence and the enthusiasm
to discover more n e w things.
Exhibits such as a sundial, a sand clock and weather instruments have
been placed in the park to nurture a scientific attitude and spirit of inquiry
a m o n g youngsters. A child will observe keenly the falling of sand through
the hourglass, comparing the rate of fall with time elapsed on his watch.
H e will make comparable observations of the sundial, learning tofindthe
correct time via a compensating index to take account of changing days and
months. T h e weather instruments offer the young person the opportunity
to note maximal and minimal temperatures, percentage of humidity
according to a hygrometer, and wind speed and direction indicated by an
anemometer. A rain gauge is available to measure precipitation. For c o m parison of weather data, a teleprinter connected to the city's weather station
will soon begin to function.
There is also an exhibit called Isis Speaks, after Isis the ancient Egyptian
goddess of magic. Her devotees are said to have visited the Temple of Isis
to receive her blessings and instructions. W e k n o w , of course, that in fact
a priest created the illusion by use of a sound tube. T o simulate this situation, the Science Park has two statues of Isis to maximize participation by
visitors, an act intended to demystify science and technology a m o n g
the young.
Exhibits part of total system
T h e park's exhibits are designed as the parts of a total system. T h u s , w h e n
the visitor hasfinishedseeing the larger exhibits, he can pass on to flowering
plants in order to study their shape and colour, leaves and fragrance, and
so on. T h e youthful visitor can then observe birds and their nests and listen
to the vocal interactions of birds in the park with recorded birdsong.
In the park's watercourse, a child can study the behaviour of fishes,
turtles and other aquatic life. Since the water is exposed to the sun, the
i
tí
o
"S
O,
O
a
JO
3
O.
a
o
u
a
'o
I
u
55
£?^l¿a¿c¿s~
formation and growth of algae and other vegetal biota can b e seen, but the
most intriguing observations m a d e seem to be those of the social behaviour
of different species of fish.
A set of water-wheels functioning within the body of water form a
sculpture that expresses power. A series of jets concentrate water o n the
vanes of turbine-like wheels, thus setting t h e m in motion: energy transformation in action. T h e stored energy of water is demonstrated b y a
rotating windmill, p u m p i n g water so that it falls o n a n overshot wheel
(water-wheel). T h e windmill is strategically situated, standing as a sentinel
at the entrance to the science centre, responsible for the capture of one of
nature's most c o m m o n manifestations—the wind.
Children responsive to animals
T o m a k e children sensitive and responsive to animals, the centre lends
rabbits a n d guinea-pigs to schools belonging to its B u n n y Rabbit Club.
Schoolchildren feed a n d care for the animals a n d administer any medicine
465
prescribed. T h e animals are lent in pairs for one month. T h e centre plans
to make loans of snakes and other reptiles once the snake pit is made ready.
Bats draw special attention. Visitors watch them swoop low over the
watercourse each evening in order to catchfish,and there are exhibits being
planned on h o w a bat catches its prey using ultrasound—these being planned
for the Hall of Sound and Hearing.
Chlorophyll, the substance that converts sunlight into plant energy via
photosynthesis, is described in the hall designated Science and Children. In
the same building, a beehive with access directly to the outside helps
children understand where and h o w bees live and work and h o w they
function co-operatively. Similarly, an exhibit of a bird's nest in a box with
a glass pane on one side allows visitors to watch a bird build a nest from
diverse materials, lay and hatch eggs, and feed itsfledglingsvarious foods
found in nature.
Artefacts from technology on display
Artefacts from technology—the nation's material culture and heritage—are
also on display in the park. T h e narrow-gauge locomotive on display was
in use in 1914 on the Siliguri-Darjeeling line of the North East Frontier
Railways; it breathed its last puff of steam in the Himalayan region in 1967.
T h e Great Indian Peninsular Railway undertook electrification in 1912,
suspended this during the First World W a r , then resumed conversion
in 1922, completing electrification of the Kalyan-Poona line in 1929. T h e
direct-current engine, which can be seen in the Science Park, is one of the
earliest locomotives to ply the Kalyan-Poona run, having been commissioned
in 1930.
Also on demonstration are steam and horse-drawn trams operated at the
turn of the century by the Calcutta Tramways C o . , a steam omnibus built
by the Sentinel W a g g o n Works Ltd, in 1925 for use in B o m b a y , as well
as the H F - 2 4 prototype fighter aircraft, developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, and powered by twin Orpheus engines equipped with re-heat
systems.
Other exemplars of technology used in India include the Pelton generator
used by the Tata Hydro Electric Power Supply Ltd, in 1914. These artefacts
enable the visitor to understand not only the function of a machine but its
pertinence to society as well. T h e exhibits highlight the impact which the
advent of machinery has had on society. Such understanding also helps
explain the transfer, adaptation or modification of technology in countries
receiving technology from outside. Exposure to artefacts also underlines
h o w craft technique slowly merges into developing industrial technology,
helping a country that once imported only modern technology to begin
exporting its own brand.
•
Notes
1. Report of the Task Force on Museums, N e w Delhi, Planning Commission,
Education Division, 1972.
2. S. Ghosh, Science Centres in Newly Emerging Countries, in V . Danilov (ed.),
Towards the Year 2000, p p . 72-5, Washington, D . C . , Association of Science
and Technology Centres, 1981.
3. Ibid.
The absence of a 'hands-on' experience with science equipment in the schools
stimulated the author to produce science kits and place these directly in
the hands of children. Thirty years later, his enterprise has become a
national institution with a proud history of effecting change in the
school-teaching of science throughout his country.
00
o
m
"o
>
Science toys for science
education
o
s
Isaías R a w
!
(£-¿>^OJ!<JZS
Isaías Raw is internationally known as the founder of the Fundaçào
Brasileña para o Desenvolvimento do Ensino de Ciencias (FUNBEC).
He
has been Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Säo Paulo and
has served outside his country as a consultant in science education to Unesco,
the Organization of American States (OAS),
the Ford Foundation and
others. His address is: Scientific Adviser, FUNBEC,
Cidade Universitaria,
Galpäo de IBECC,
Caixa Postal 2089, Säo Paulo, Brazil.
467
Introduction
Thirty years ago, as Brazilfirststepped on to the path of rapid national
development, w e saw clearly the need to enlarge the number of future
scientists in our country and to prepare the manpower w e would need for
a build-up of our country's technological capacity. O u r diagnosis of the
educational system in the country, which w e k n e w would have to play a
central part in this effort to develop h u m a n resources, showed its weakest
component to be the middle school where formal education in science first
occurs.
W h a t did w e find on examining this initial approach to science education?
A curriculum, dictated by the government, nothing more than truly sterile
exercise; and classroom teaching of science mostly a presentation of a few
old and well-established facts, a multitude of definitions and a vast glossary
of intricate and fancy words. N o n e of these things gave any help to the
child in understanding h o w science actually functions or h o w one might go
about making some use of it, what Conant has referred to as the 'tactics and
strategies of science'. Moreover, all attempts that were m a d e to introduce
changes into the curriculum through government decree turned out to have
achieved nothing. W h e n a 'new' curriculum was introduced, it would simply
change the order of the same old topics or, at most, introduce a few n e w
topics by adding them on to an already too-long list of topics. This m a y
have brought about some updating of the content of instruction but it meant
that, overall, the curriculum still lagged behind by half a century. W h e n w e
examined the laboratories in the schools, w e found they were nothing but
collections of chrome-plated demonstration equipment that had been
imported through expenditure of m u c h hard-earned foreign exchange.
These imported sets of apparatus even contained distilled water—the teacher
insisting that this water was different from that available at the corner
service station! O n e consequence of this situation was that apparatus
considered so precious and expensive was rarely used. A few teachers would
handle the apparatus as a m u s e u m piece merely showing it to a class as an
example of the textbook picture. This reached the point where one m a n u facturer actually produced a ' d u m m y ' spectroscope, an instrument that
contained no prism, since he realized it would not be given real use. Here
and there, an 'outstanding' teacher would carry out a demonstration before
a class with the explicit purpose of illustrating a scientific principle or law.
But even here it was understood that when the correct answer was not
obtained, the demonstration was at fault rather than the textbook.
Students 'get their hands on' science
Faced with this deplorable situation in school-teaching of science, w e realized
that something would have to be done to help students 'get their hands on'
science. W e wanted to provide the self-motivated student with material he
could use in performing experiments and thus learn what science was really
all about. W e knew, of course, that it would not be possible to provide such
laboratory materials through the school system. W e would have tofinda
way to reach the child directly. Knowing that the majority of high-school
students were from middle-class families w h o could afford to purchase
school supplies, including science equipment, if these were available at a
reasonable price, w e began to look into the possibility of supplying students
directly with apparatus for carrying out scientific experiments. W e realized
w e would have to accompany the apparatus with proper instructions and
yet avoid spoiling the authentic nature of an experiment b y supplying
predetermined results or conclusions.
S
,§
JJ
u
tí
IBECC
assists our efforts
«
i-.
A n opportunity to realize these possibilities was finally provided to us
through the regional branch of the Brazilian National Commission for
Unesco k n o w n as I B E C C (Instituto Brasileiro de Educaçâo, Ciencia e
Cultura), which is located in Säo Paulo. T h e School of Medicine of the
University of Säo Paulo also assisted our efforts by providing space—in a
garage on the campus—for setting u p a small shop where w e could carry
out the work of designing and producing the science equipment w e intended
to provide to students. O u r decision was to develop complete sets of equipment that w e called 'laboratories' in each of the basic sciences, chemistry,
physics and biology. Each 'laboratory' was constructed in the form of a
w o o d e n suitcase which served as desk, stand and cabinet and contained all
the apparatus and supplies needed to perform a series of experiments in
that particular science. W e sold these directly to families of students at the
price they cost us to assemble. W e accompanied each purchase of a 'laboratory' with a free subscription to a scientific magazine that w e began to edit
and publish. A s more materials and supplies became necessary to supply,
w e m a d e these available through what w e termed the House for Tomorrow's
Scientists.
Families purchase laboratory kits
This direct outreach to students proved highly successful, m a n y families
purchasing the 'laboratories' for their sons and daughters w h o showed
genuine application in using the apparatus over m a n y months. A s expected,
our strategy of providing guidelines to the experiments but not giving
answers and conclusions stirred m a n y of the students, given the typical
defiant attitude of their age, to challenge their teachers at school. T h e y
reported on the experiments they were performing at h o m e and demanded
to have the results discussed and even to be permitted to do the experiments
in the school. This demonstrated to the school system, of course, that
school science experiments could be carried out without having to spend
large sums of m o n e y on purchasing imported equipment that would never
be placed in the hands of the students.
O u r experience with these 'laboratories' led us o n to begin another
I B E C C programme—the design and manufacture of science equipment for
the schools. T h u s , through both of these programmes, the sale of the
'laboratories' and the production of equipment for the schools, w e became
pioneers in innovating in science education through the use of simple,
low-cost equipment that supported direct and imaginative experimentation
a m o n g youth.
T h e production of these 'laboratories', even on a non-profit basis, turned
out to very costly, although of course w e anticipated that a student would
work with the equipment over a period of m a n y months. A more feasible
approach to providing equipment to students proved to be the production
of smaller, less costly kits suitable for about one to two weeks' activity.
<2
w
o
g
8
¿3
W e found that one w a y to reduce the cost of these smaller kits was to
eliminate unnecessary packaging. In fact, w efinallygot around to packaging
them in a size and shape that resembled a thick pocket-book. This brought
the price d o w n to where a student could purchase one at 'pocket-money'
prices. It also enabled us to market them through bookstore displays.
Joint production of kits started
After marketing these small kits this way through bookstores throughout
the 1960s, w e approached a Brazilian publishing house, Abril, about the
possibility of joint production of a series of the kits. Hence, from 1969 on,
w e worked with Abril in producing a n e w series of kits. W e kept to the
basic shape and concepts of the earlier series but w e gave the n e w line an
orientation around the lives and works of well-known scientists. T h u s the
series ranged from Lavoisier (with a balance sensitive to 1 m g ) to Einstein
(photoelectric effect), from parts with which to build an electric battery to
a Van de Graaf generator, from Schlein and Schwann's discovery of the cell
to Pauling's discovery of thefirstmolecular inborn error in humans, from
Pasteur's challenge to the spontaneous origin of life to Darwin's theory of
evolution. Each kit was m a d e to resemble a book with a biography of the
particular scientist printed on the outside while materials for performing
experiments related to the scientistfilledthe inside. T h e kit also contained
a small instruction booklet to guide the young experimenter. Each kit
measured 11 x 18 X 2 . 5 c m and was sold for less than $2.
This series of kits, which w e called ' T h e Scientists', includedfiftydifferent
kits, requiring us to tool u p for mass production. T o hold this production
to die highest standards of quality while keeping prices low, w e had to work
out a plan whereby w e would produce and sell each unit on a bi-weekly
schedule rather making all of the kits available simultaneously from a large
supply stock. A further cost-cutting step was taken by persuading the
government to consider these kits as books, which were subject to a lower
tax rate than equipment. This also permitted us to market the kits through
numerous street-corner news-stands rather than through bookstores with
their higher overhead costs and need for higher profit margins. W e were
able to keep our capital costs at a m i n i m u m by the simple procedure of
selling the kits one week only to the northern half of the country and then
the following week selling the remainder to the southern half.
'The Scientists' kits sell well
This series sold well throughout the country for over two years, with almost
300,000 youth beginning their journey into science through these experiments and with 50,000 actually completing the entire series, surely one of
the largest out-of-school operations ever undertaken. T h e impact of the
programme on the schools resulted in the kits becoming adopted as school
science equipment.
Once the novelty of this series wore off, w e returned to producing kits
on a permanent basis and marketing them through toy-shops and supermarkets. This provided us experience that enabled us to produce improved
and less costly school science apparatus for the country's growing number
of schools. A t the same time, however, w e continued to look on science
kits as a method of providing materials to self-motivated students w h o wished
to keep u p and develop their interest in science through supplementing their
school experience or even replacing it. Also, through these kits, w e were
able to bring continuous pressure to bear on teachers to allow students to
use the school laboratories.
a
V
A computer that is able to learn
Our experience with the commercial world has shown us that w e can travel
this route and still remain innovative. T h u s , w e have recently introduced a
computer, Gabriela, into our series of kits. This computer is able to 'learn'
and is a sophisticated concept w h e n compared with the kind of g a m e that
simply asks the player to toss dice and m o v e counters. Gabriela allows the
player to play tick-tack-toe against the machine. T h e kit contains a number
of boxes with colour-coded beads, each one representing a specific m o v e . At
the outset, the kit is so set that it contains one bead for each possible move.
A chance drawing indicates each move by Gabriela in response to each of
the player's moves. Playing this way by chance means that the machine will
very likely lose the game, but when this occurs the player removes those
'bad' moves from a m o n g the beads. T h e following game then has a slightly
higher chance for a win by the machine over the player and, if this occurs,
the player places back among the beads those corresponding to the 'good'
moves by Gabriela (or even places back twice as m a n y of these as a reward!).
As more and more rounds are played, Gabriela's performance improves to
the point where it matches that of the player. It is thus a machine that stores
and uses information as a computer and learns with the help of the player. It
is a very simple kit and can be manufactured with locally available materials,
requiring no microchips or other imported parts.
Primitive attitudes affect our daily affairs
I have for long been concerned about the schizophrenia w efindso commonly
around us allowing us, on the one hand, to learn, store and retrieve rational
scientific information for formal use while, on the other, to adhere to truly
primitive attitudes and notions in the conduct of our daily affairs. This
touches even such serious matters as our health and well-being. W e find
this not only a m o n g those with litde education in developing countries,
but also among highly educated and cultured individuals in the more
developed world. Look h o w the horoscope charts and the palm-readers
coexist alongside the high achievements of reaching Saturn or walking on the
m o o n . These dictate the behaviour for m a n y far more than science does.
T o appreciate the evidence for a scientifically based medicine or diet
recommendation or that against some quackery requires more than just
information: an actual understanding of that evidence must be attained.
Yet the formal science instruction in our schools fails just at this point, not
even requiring mastery of the most elementary statistical notions. In an
attempt to remedy this, w e designed a very simple kit containing three dice
and a good-luck charm. In putting this into a child's hands, w e ask him to
find out for himself whether or not chance brings good luck by playing a
heads-and-tails game. W e also ask him to test the effectiveness of the goodluck charm as well as of certain other popular beliefs (passing under a ladder
or consulting his horoscope). Once the child grasps the meaning of chance
through playing the heads-and-tails game, w e have him go on to other,
more intricate games with the dice. W e have found that this kit is not only
stirring up children in their homes but is even shaking up the traditional
a
OT
<H
>.
classrooms in the schools. Its use in the school is encouraging m u c h informal
discussion and argument among students and between students and teachers
and in this way demonstrating that learning is not dependent on having
children sit quietly and passively while a teacher lectures.
Kits n o w educating the majority
Although thirty years ago w e set out to help the country prepare an élite
group of scientists and engineers needed for development, w e n o w
realize that science kits are playing a real role in educating the majority of
students in the country. In fact, w e are even taking part in a national effort
to increase adult literacy. For this, w e have designed a kit that contains a
model house and its various rooms. T h e adult is asked to wire up the
lighting and other circuits in this model house using wires, batteries and
small bulbs and sockets. Through this activity, he soon learns m a n y fundamental principles of electricity applicable to the h o m e . This kit is n o w
available as a popular toy for large numbers of youth. Observing their agility
in learning electricity this way w e are reminded of an experience w e had
twelve years ago a m o n g over a thousand university-entering students.
Each was given a b o x in which several batteries were hidden after being
wired together in a particular circuit. They were asked to determine this
circuit pattern with the help of a meter. A surprising number of these
university students, all capable of solving very complex physics problems
involving O h m ' s and Kirchoff's laws, simply did not k n o w h o w to connect a
meter into a circuit!
W e continue to investigate other forms of science kits and toys that can
serve to complement the formal education of a child. O n e of our current
ideas is to make use of the space in universities and museums for activities
with our kits by children. W e would admit a child, w h o is asked to purchase
a ticket, to a session in which he works with the materials in a kit that is
made available to him. H e would also have access to certain supplementary
apparatus like a microscope or oscilloscope, and would receive guidance during
the session from an instructor, perhaps a university student. At the close of
the session, the child would be permitted to take the kit h o m e with him.
Conclusion
Our years of effort in designing and producing science kits have culminated
in a most unexpected manner. Today, after having mastered the production
of science kits for children and then having gone on to supply science
equipment to schools, w e n o w find ourselves designing and producing
university and even medical equipment. From a small programme started
by I B E C C w e have grown to a large non-profit corporation known as
F U N B E C (Fundaçâo Brasileira para o Desenvolvimento do Ensino de
Ciencias), employing about 50 engineers and 400 other workers. A s F U N B E C
w e are creating jobs and technology in an emerging developing country and
thus providing a model w e hope m a y serve others.
•
To delve more deeply
H A K A N S S O N , C . Design and Provision of Teaching Aids and Educational
Equipment on a National Scale. Educational Equipment and Materials, N o . 3.
Paris, Unesco, Unit for Co-operation with U N I C E F , August 1981.
Since a child draws no sharp distinction between work and play, it is possible
to link science and drama in the school and thus integrate science learning
with the rest of the child's education. The success of this approach is
attested by descriptions of four dramatic presentations which werefinalistsin
an interschool competition.
oo
ON
O
>
Linking science and drama
at school
John Beetlestone a n d Charles Taylor
I
£?
Á<\¿¿¿ÍJZS
Charles Taylor is professor of physics at University College, Cardiff, and
currently professor of experimental physics at the Royal Institution of Great
Britain. John Beetlestone is professor of Science Education at University
College, Cardiff. He is secretary of the University College, Cardiff, Science,
Mathematics and Technology Centre, which is a Science and Technology
Regional Organization (SATRO).
Both can be addressed as follows:
University College, P . O . Box 78, Cardiff CFi iXL (United Kingdom).
473
An experiment that explores links
O n 20 November 1981 the fourfinalistsin the University College, Cardiff,
Schools Science and D r a m a competition presented their entries on the stage
of the Sherman Theatre. O n e idea behind this unusual experiment was to
try to transcend the science and arts barrier and, in particular, to make a
contribution towards changing the public image of the scientist w h o is so
often portrayed in films and television programmes as either criminally
insane or pathologically one-track-minded! It is our conviction that science
should be so integrated with the rest of education that children would think
it as natural to study science as it is to study their native language. It is
widely recognized that within the school, particularly for younger children,
the distinction between work and play is a false one and, since children tend
to regard dramatic activity as play rather than work, it seems likely that a
competition linking science and drama might well be an exciting way to
m o v e towards our goal.
Associations between science and drama in any context are u n c o m m o n
and, where they do occur, the outcome is frequently a travesty of science or
scientists. A notable exception is the Molecule Club, a professional theatre
group based on the Mermaid Theatre in London, which produces scientific
entertainments for young children. In the schools of m a n y countries dramatic activity has an approved place in the curriculum, but rarely is drama
used as a vehicle for presenting, understanding and enjoying science, or
science used as the germ around which a dramatic presentation is developed.
Thus any educational experiment that explores links between science and
drama in schools is noteworthy. This article is a description of such an
experiment and the context in which it took place.
Science in the theatre
T h e Sherman Theatre, which is part of University College, Cardiff, was
opened in 1973. At the outset it was decided to explore a suggestion by the
director of the theatre, Geoffrey Axworthy, that, once every two years, the
theatre should be devoted for a week to scientific activities. It was assumed
that science would be broadly interpreted as a convenient label for a wide
spectrum of endeavours embracing science, applied science, technology
engineering and mathematics. F r o m modest beginnings in 1973 the prog r a m m e has progressively developed so that, in Science W e e k '81, more than
8,500 pupils and 2,000 members of the general public attended forty events
in the main auditorium (seating 480) and in the arena (seating about 150).
T h e aim from the beginning was to make as m u c h use of the theatre facilities
as possible in order to present events in a dramatic and spectacular fashion
rather than merely to use the theatre as a large-scale lecture room.
A wide variety of events has been included in thefiveScience Weeks held
so far, but two broad categories m a y be distinguished:
1. Events in which a presentation is m a d e to an audience by demonstration
lecturers or a group of performers. Within this category three distinct
types can be identified: (a) those that seek, either to present in an understandable form the results and insights of contemporary research to
school pupils or to the general public, or to present, in a manner appropriate to the age and background of the audience, fundamental and
complex scientific concepts; (b) those that relate science to other aspects
of our culture, notably various facets of the arts; and (c) those concerned
with the way in which scientific and technological developments have
affected, or might affect, our planet, the societies on it and our o w n
individual lives within those societies.
2. Events that involve the participation of pupils: for example, competitions
with a scientific or technological theme. In this category w e have staged
competitions involving the building and flying of model gliders from the
back of the theatre to land close to a marked spot on the stage, 'quiz'
competitions in which teams compete to answer questions in a particular
science, and a bridge-building competition in which small light-weight
bridges were designed and prepared by school teams, assembled on the
stage and tested to destruction by the addition of loads.
Several years ago one of us put forward the proposal that a science and
drama competition might be a valuable addition in this second category of
events and took on the task of organizing thefirstUniversity College Science
and D r a m a Competition for Science W e e k '81.
Schools invited to compete
All junior and secondary schools (i.e. those schools catering for pupils in the
age range 8-18) from throughout three counties in South Wales were
invited to enter and were informed about the rules of this competition. These
rules specified that an entry for the competition should be a theatrical
presentation of either an event from the history of science and technology or
a contemporary, controversial issue related to the social consequences of
developments in science and technology. T h e presentation should be devised
and performed by groups of children from junior, middle or secondary
schools.
T h e rules then specified that entries be made in two sections, one group
consisting of 8-14-year-olds, the other of 15-18-year-olds. Although rigid
age limits were not imposed, thefirstsection was intended for children in
junior school or years 1,2 and 3 of the secondary school (or equivalent years
in other types of schools). T h e second group was to consist of 15-18-yearolds, this section being-intended for children in years 4 to 6 in secondary
school.
T h e rules further stipulated that two finalists in each section would
present their entries on the main stage of the Sherman Theatre in an
afternoon performance. Thesefinalistswere to meet the following conditions: (a) the performance should last aboutfifteenminutes but not longer
than twenty minutes; (b) the presentation must be performed against a black
backdrop, or against a white background lit in a specified colour; (c) the set
must be assembled and struck by the members of the group in not more
than five minutes. All properties must be provided and transported to the
Sherman Theatre by the group and must be removed from the theatre on
the day of the performance; (d) lighting requirements must be simple.
Finalists would be given thirty minutes on the day of the performance to
hold a technical rehearsal with the Sherman Theatre staff; and (e) the
presentation might take any form such as drama, m i m e , dance, etc. and
might include the projection of slides, film or video recordings; facilities
would be available for projecting 3 5 - m m slides, 1 6 - m m films and largescreen (5 X 4 ft /150 X 120 c m ) video, although participants were advised that
slide and/orfilmprojection might not marry easily with full stage presentation.
j5
«"
•S
j§
.Q
Î3
c
Thesefinalistswere to be selected by a team of judges w h o would visit
each school to view presentations. Entries were to be judged on the effectiveness of the presentations. O n request, members of staff in the Science
and Applied Science Faculties of University College, Cardiff, were available
to advise on possible topics for presentation. O n e last rule required schools
to complete an entry form, specifying the title of the presentation, the
number of performers, the form of presentation (for example, drama,
m i m e , dance, revue, etc.), technical requirements and a 50-100 word
tj
description o f t h e presentation.
M
D
4-1
O
m
Competition opened to all schools
£
A response to thisfirstinvitation was received from thirteen groups, six
of these being in the younger age group. As a consequence of the energetic
response, the high standard of s o m e of the entries, the enthusiasm of the
Science and D r a m a advisers a m o n g the local education authorities involved,
and the interest shown by Her Majesty's Inspectorate in Wales, w e decided
to run the competition as an annual event. Moreover, in the light of
comments on the 1981 competition, w e m a d e certain modifications to the
rules, opening the competition to all schools in South Wales and renaming
the event the Schools Science, Technology and D r a m a Competition. With
changes, the rules n o w called for an entry to be a theatrical presentation,
devised and performed by groups of children from junior, middle or
secondary schools. T h e theme should be an episode from the history of
science, technology or engineering; a contemporary, controversial issue
related to the social consequences of developments in science and technology;
or the exposition of a scientific concept in a way that facilitates its understanding.
Entries should be m a d e in two sections, by groups consisting of middleor secondary-school children or b y groups consisting of junior-school
children. Finally, entries were to be judged on scientific correctness and
the effectiveness of the presentations.
The
1981 finalists chosen
Fourfinalists(two in each age-group) were chosen in the 1981 competition
after judges had seen each entry performed at the school. T h e organizer
visited all the schools accompanied by two other judges: a science judge
whose area of professional expertise embraced the theme of the presentation,
and a drama judge, w h o had professional awareness of the use of drama in
schools. T h e choice offinalistswas m a d e on the basis of the reports of the
judges. After the presentation at each school, the judges talked for fifteen
to twenty minutes with the teachers and pupils involved with the production.
Three of the original thirteen entries eventually withdrew. T h e finalists
prepared detailed descriptions of their presentations for inclusion in
programme notes for the Sherman Theatre final. These notes as prepared
by the fourfinaliststhemselves read as follows:
'Slime'
476
T h e setting for the play is a village p o n d somewhere in the countryside o n the
periphery of a small industrial estate. T h e action revolves around the insects,fisha n d
reptiles which inhabit or live around the margins of the p o n d .
There is m u c h consternation among the pond creatures with regard to a sudden
increase in the frog population which threatens to upset the ecological balance of the
pond. In thefirstscene the reason for the sudden appearance of the frogs is revealed
by one of the newcomers in a conversation with an older, 'resident' frog.
Their conversation is overheard by the little pond snail and as the story unfolds it
becomes apparent that the circumstances which forced the 'newcomers' to desert
their former pond pose a far greater and infinitely more sinister menace than the frogs
themselves.
'Slime' is concerned with pollution its effects and consequences and was developed
directly from the children's concern with what all too often appears to be the careless
destruction of our environment. There are also some uncomfortable parallels to be
drawn with the modern technological society in which w e live.
This entry was from a primary school in a small village. All children in the
school, aged 8 and above (approximately thirty) participated in the play.
Freshness and vitality is not unusual in a dramatic presentation by children
of this age but the w a y in which these qualities were harnessed to achieve
an integrity between the science and drama was quite outstanding. T h e
costumes were cheap but very effective; the transformation of children into
tadpoles by black plastic waste bags or into frogs by green cloth caps with
bulging eyes and a red mouth are good examples. This presentation was
the winner of the junior section and was awarded a cup as the overall winner
of the competition. A s one of the judges remarked to the audience after
announcing the result, 'no one w h o had watched Slime could ever again
look at a pond and fail to remember that it was somebody's h o m e ' .
'Neto Clear Fission'
T h e action takes place at a traditional M a g n o x Nuclear Power Station. A n official
party arrives, and the Guide, struggling with the limited conceptual understanding
of the local Mayor and Lady Tiara, resorts to an analogy. ' T h e Reactor', explains the
Guide, 'can be thought of as a classroom of Uranium atoms'. N o w w e 'phase into'
the reactor and the analogy comes alive. W e see the class teacher trying to cope with
a very lively group of Uranium 235 atoms. Her efforts are thwarted by the arrival of
the 'Punk-neutrons' w h o really stir up trouble. T h e teacher brings in the Moderators
(the 'Mods') to relieve the situation by slowing down the Punk-neutrons. This only
exacerbates the situation so the teacher in desperation calls for Doctor Boron, w h o
brings temporary calm. But Doctor Boron is locked in his room by the Punk-neutrons
w h o return to wreak more havoc. It looks as if all is out of control when, in answer to
the teacher's desperate calls, 'Superboron' arrives dramatically on the scene, and
brings absolute peace once more.
W e n o w 'phase out' of the Reactor to rejoin the official party w h o are rather overwhelmed by the events they have witnessed. Only a cheeky boy w h o tagged on to the
party gives the precise explanation as to what has occurred, and so the Mayor and
Lady Tiara eventually grasp the essentials of nuclearfission.Finally under interrogation the cheeky boy is obliged to reveal the secret of his immense knowledge.
This entry was the runner-up in the junior section. T h e participants w e r e
secondary-school pupils at the upper e n d of the age-range for this section
of the competition. T h e presentation w a s devised a n d rehearsed in the
pupils' o w n time a n d did not form part of their formal timetable. F r o m the
above description it is not apparent that the presentation w a s in the style
of a rock opera. W o r d s , music a n d dramatic sound effects written a n d
devised by the pupils with the guidance and advice of a chemistry a n d
d r a m a teacher produced an exciting piece of theatre.
g
-g
"
ß
^
-a
3
u
.u
w
ö
¡-J
*Atomic Disco9
o
»—i
[2
«
"2
^
^j
§
g
S
T h e presentation pays particular attention to the work of Robert B r o w n , the eighteenth-century Scottish botanist, whose name was given to the movement of particles.
Robert B r o w n studied the movement of pollen grains, and this aspect of his work
is illustrated by means of music and dance. However Robert B r o w n did not give an
explanation of the movement of pollen grains. Brownian movement was explained by
Weiner, Perrin and Einstein at the beginning of this century,
Albert Einstein makes a guest appearance in our production, to explain to us, in
simple terms, the behaviour of particles in the solid, liquid and gaseous states. T h e
Vi
Ü
SJ
G
finale
expresses everyone's delight o n understanding the particulate theory o f matter.
T h e following quotation, attributed to Louis Pasteur, has been used as our inspiration: Discoveries come only to the mind that is prepared to recognize them.
x¡
o
1-1
This presentation, w h i c h w a s the winning entry in the senior section,
combined conventional d r a m a with dance in a n imaginative w a y , a feature
perhaps not unconnected with the fact that o n e of the chemistry teachers
also teaches dance. During the conversation between the judges a n d the
participants after the performance at the school, one judge asked the pupils
whether, as a consequence of producing the play, they n o w h a d a better
understanding of Brownian motion. It w a s the d r a m a teacher w h o replied
instantly, saying W e l l , I d o ! '
'Time as a Tyrant'
Through the ages m a n has been fascinated by time, has tried to understand it and
had dreams of controlling it. Science fiction writers have toyed with the idea of time
travel. M a n has needed to measure time in connection with religion, astronomy,
navigation and scientific experiments. H o w has this happened? W h a t is the effect on
ordinary m a n ? Does m a n understand time more clearly?
W e present scenes from time as m a n attempts to unravel the mysteries of time
itself. Galileo, Christiaan Huygens, Robert Hooke and Einstein all contributed to this
quest. Have their discoveries improved the lot of m a n ? Does your ten-function
digital watch help you in daily life or has it simply m a d e you aware that you cannot
stop the march of time?
S o m e of the questions w e attempt to answer are: H o w did the principles
governing the movement of a pendulum occur to Galileo? W h y was Huygens
interested in creating a clock which was accurate at sea? H o w did Hooke's work
help in this?
W e also hope our presentation will raise other questions in the mind of the
spectator.
This production, devised b y sixth-form pupils (16-18), not specializing
in science, w a s primarily concerned with philosophical a n d religious aspects
of time. It w a s a n interesting idea but perhaps not sufficiently developed to
m a k e as big a n impact as the other finalists.
Other entries described
Other entries were as follows: Tested Scientifically 'in w h i c h a group of
h u m a n subjects are experimented u p o n b y rabbits for the purposes of
testing a n d marketing a n e w cosmetic'; The Science Lesson cin which a class
containing, for example, N e w t o n , Einstein, A r c h i m e d e s , W a t t a n d D a r w i n ,
fool about with kettles, apples a n d p e n d u l u m s while their teacher babbles
o n about alchemy a n d the n e e d for neat notes'; A dance/drama entitled
Use and Misuse of Energy: Meeting in No Man's Land in which the theme
was the making of the atomic b o m b and potential aftermath of its use;
A dance/drama entitled Changes of State—Restless Atoms representing in
dance form 'the changes of motion of particles as they are heated'.
Aims more clearly defined
W h e n the competition was planned the aims were certainly not defined
in any precise educational terms. Did the competition achieve anything
even in the broadest sense? Through the processes of drawing up rules,
viewing and judging the presentations and talking with both pupils and
teachers after the event, some aims and outcomes began to be more clearly
identified.
In a large number of secondary schools in the United K i n g d o m , the
curriculum is divided up into traditional subjects that are rigidly separated
from each other. Collaboration and co-operation across these conventional
boundaries are rare. However, m a n y people in the United Kingdom,
including ourselves, consider that it would be immensely beneficial if these
boundaries were crossed more frequently and became blurred through
greater collaboration and co-operation between subject teachers. This is
not the place to discuss the reasons for the rigidity of these boundaries but
w e soon realized that for some of the participating secondary schools the
science and drama competition had provided a mechanism by which
teachers and advisers responsible for different curricular compartments,
w h o had not hitherto collaborated, could explore ways of doing so.
Science made interesting
In spite of considerable change in recent years, it remains true that the
tradition within which science is taught in secondary schools in the United
K i n g d o m is akin to that in the former grammar schools in which the curriculum was determined primarily by the attitudes, abilities and needs of
the academically more able. In m a n y schools, science for the majority of
pupils still remains too mathematical and quantitative to be accessible,
and too frequently, in response to the syllabuses of examinations at 1 6 + ,
science lessons m a y be dull and dominated by the need to commit facts to
m e m o r y . F r o m the responses to the competition w e could see that it had
provided a stimulus and opportunity to make science interesting, understandable in common-sense terms and, above all, fun for a wide range of
pupils.
In contrast to that in secondary schools, the curriculum in primary schools
in the United K i n g d o m is often not formally divided into conventional
subjects, but science still does not form part of this curriculum in a large
proportion of schools. However, there is a major movement to encourage
the teaching of science and technology in primary schools. For m a n y
reasons, this is not a simple task and there is a need to explore ways in
which science can be introduced in a manner that is consistent with the
prevailing style of teaching in primary schools. T h e entries from these
schools would suggest that the use of drama as a vehicle for science at the
primary level has exciting possibilities that warrant further exploration.
o
Concluding remarks
">»
ci
E-1
jS
_§
u
Is
u
g
Jj
u
OJ
PQ
â
o
480
W e are conscious that w e have m a d e n o attempt to survey other efforts
to link science and drama. Such activities m a y well be taking place elsewhere
in the world. Indeed, the idea of the competition has already spread to one
or t w o other centres in the United K i n g d o m . A s w e look forward to our
o w n 1982 competition, w e feel certain that whatever value there is to the
children and teachers w h o take part, w e ourselves shall gain enormously
in insights and experience and indeed in the sheer enjoyment of the
performances.
•
Three different simulation and gaming techniques are described in detail as
examples of exercises that provide education through science, i.e. that
demonstrate how science and technologyfitinto the broad political, social
and environmental context. These games and simulations also cultivate
useful skills and desirable attitudes.
<
o\
G a m e s and simulations teach
social relevance of science
Henry Ellington, Eric Addinall and Fred Percival
I
¿TX^tó
Henry Ellington is senior lecturer in charge of the Education Technology
Unit, Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology; Eric Addinall is senior
lecturer in the School of Physics, Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology.
Both can be reached at the following address: Robert Gordon's Institute
of Technology, St Andrew Street, Aberdeen ABi iMG, Scotland (United
Kingdom). Frederick Percival is learning systems adviser at the Glasgow
College of Technology in Glasgow, Scotland. They are co-authors of
the following books: G a m e s and Simulations in Science Education, Kogan
Page, London INicho Is Publishing Co., New York, 1981, and A n
Introduction to G a m e Design, Kogan Page, London/Nichols Publishing
Co., New York, 1982.
481
Introduction
During the last twenty years, simulation and gaming techniques have
become increasingly widely used in schools, colleges and universities
throughout the world. Initially, their use was largely confined to social
science and business management courses, but, in the last few years, the
great potential of such techniques in teaching science—and, in particular,
the social relevance of science—has begun to be recognized.
Since 1973, the authors have been actively involved in this development,
and have been particularly concerned with the design and exploitation of
exercises that show the importance of science and technology in m o d e r n
society.
T h e purpose of this article is to give a broad introduction to simulation
and gaming and to show h o w such techniques can be used to demonstrate
the social relevance of science. It is written in two main sections. T h e first
reviews the simulation and gaming field and gives a general rationale for
using science-based simulation/games and simulated case-studies in schools
and colleges. T h e second examines three of the exercises with whose
development the authors have been associated—one with a basis in physics,
' T h e Power Station G a m e ' , one in chemistry, ' T h e A m s y n Problem', and
one in the biological sciences 'Fluoridation?'.
G a m e s , simulations and case-studies distinguished
Since there is often a great deal of confusion over the meaning of terms such
as 'game', 'simulation' and 'case-study', it would probably be useful to
begin by distinguishing between them. In essence, a game is 'any contest
(play) a m o n g adversaries (players) operating under constraints (rules) for
an objective (winning, victory or pay-off)'.1 A simulation is 'an operating
representation of central features of reality'.2 A case-study is 'an in-depth
examination of a real-life or simulated situation carried out in order to
illustrate special and/or general characteristics'.3
A n example of a 'pure game', i.e. an exercise that has none of the charac-
FlG. 1. T h e overlapping sets of games, simulations and case-studies.
teristics of either simulations or case-studies, is 'Scrabble'. T h e Link Trainer,
developed during the Second World W a r to teach basic flying skills, is an
example of a pure simulation, while the real-life case histories studied by
trainee doctors and lawyers are examples of pure case-studies. In practice,
however, the sets of games, simulations and case-studies overlap to a
considerable extent, as shown in Figure i.4 'Monopoly', for example, is a
simulation game, whereas the use of actors to represent patients in the
training of doctors (a technique pioneered at McMaster University, Canada)
is one of the best-known examples of the use of simulated case-studies.
M a n y of the exercises developed by the authors are of the latter type, while
others have characteristics associated with all three of the basic classes (for
example, the three exercises described below).
Science-based simulation games and case-studies useful
Science-based simulation games and simulated case-studies have a number
of characteristics that make them extremely useful from an educational
point of view. 6
i. T h e y constitute a highly versatile m e d i u m whereby a wide range of
educational aims and objectives (both cognitive and affective) can be
achieved. Experience has shown that they are particularly valuable in
achieving aims and objectives that lie outside the scope of traditional
fact-loaded curricula, for example showing the relevance of the material
being studied, developing interpersonal and communication skills, and
inculcating desirable attitudinal traits such as willingness to listen to and
appreciate the opinions of others.
2. T h e y generally provide a vehicle whereby the participants are encouraged
to utilize and develop their initiative and powers of creative thought, thus
helping to cultivate the divergent thought processes regarded as so
important in contemporary education.
3. B y their very nature, they generally produce a high degree of pupil or
student involvement, a feature that makes them particularly beneficial
to those w h o are less able. Also, the participants almost invariably find
them highly enjoyable.
4. If an exercise has a competitive atmosphere (which is often present even
where groups or individuals are not in overt competition with one
another), this undoubtedly increases the motivation of the participants.
5. If (as is often the case) an exercise has a multidisciplinary background,
this helps the participants to integrate concepts from widely related areas
into a cohesive and balanced 'world picture'—surely one of the main
overall aims of any worthwhile educational system. Exercises that require
the participants to formulate value judgements or examine technological
problems from other than a purely scientific point of view are particularly
valuable in this regard.
6. A n additional advantage of multidisciplinary exercises is that they often
provide a situation in which people with expertise in different subject
areas have to work together efficiently and harmoniously in order to
achieve a c o m m o n end. Interpersonal skills of this type are vitally
important for success in later life, and constitute an area of education in
which multidisciplinary simulation games such as ' T h e Power Station
G a m e ' and co-operative design projects are virtually the only means of
providing practical experience in a classroom or college environment.
o
.«
•»
°
g
™
u
g
£
«
**
a
o
•a
.2
"3
a
"w
a
«
B
O
g
y
CM
15
T h e authors believe that science-based games and simulations constitute
one of the most effective means at our disposal of developing what Bernard
Dixon, former editor of New Scientist, describes as ' c o m m u n a l technical
literacy56 and bridging C . P . Snow's ctwo-culture' gap. 7
£
§
Games demonstrate broad context
CO
.S
•a
u
¿j
£
3
Ö
W
£?
u
This can be done in t w o different ways. 8 First, if incorporated into science
courses in schools, colleges and universities, such games can be used to
provide a m u c h broader, m o r e liberal science education than can possibly
be achieved by factual instruction alone. T h e y can do this partly by d e m o n straling h o w science a n d technologyfitinto the broad political, social a n d
environmental context, a n d partly by cultivating useful skills and desirable
attitudinal traits of the type described above. In other words, such exercises
provide a means of education through science, i.e. of using science-based
exercises as a vehicle for achieving a wide range of educational objectives
that go far beyond those that would normally be associated with their
intrinsic content.
Secondly, if incorporated into non-science courses, they can be used to
demonstrate the vital role played by science and technology in m o d e r n
industrial society. T h e lack of appreciation b y non-scientists of the importance of science and technology is a feature of the t w o cultures that w a s
particularly deplored b y C . P . S n o w , a n d is something that he felt could
only b e remedied b y suitable education of our future citizens." While not
claiming that science-based games of the type described are capable of
turning everyone into a 'renaissance m a n ' overnight, the authors firmly
believe that the widespread use of such exercises would go a long w a y
towards providing the type of education that S n o w advocates.
'The
Power Station G a m e ' intended for A-levels
'The P o w e r Station G a m e ' is primarily intended for use with physics students
of roughly A-level standard (i.e. 17-19 years old), although it can easily be
adapted for use with younger or less able students.10 T h e starting-point of
the g a m e is the hypothesis that a 2 , 0 0 0 - M W power station is to be built
in a certain (imaginary) part of the United K i n g d o m , the object being to
reach a decision as to which type of station to build (coal, oil or nuclear)
and where to site it. T h e participants (optimum n u m b e r 18) are divided
into three groups, each of which has to prepare as strong a case as possible
for building one particular type of station. T h e three teams then present
their cases at a plenary session at which an independent jury decides which
station to build; the g a m e is then completed b y holding a simulated public
inquiry into the scheme selected.
T h e g a m e falls naturally into four distinct phases, each of which is
designed to achieve a different set of educational aims a n d objectives (see
Fig. 2). In thefirstphase (which precedes the g a m e proper), the participating students are given an introductory booklet to study at h o m e . This
contains a general description of the electricity generation process (to give
the students the background knowledge necessary to play the g a m e effectively) and incorporates photographs of different types of power station a n d
of power station plant (to give the students an idea of the enormous scale
of the electricity generating industry).
FIG. 2. The schematic structure of'The Power Station Game'.
Students carry out technical calculations
In the second phase of the game, the students (now divided into their three
competing groups) have to carry out a series of technical calculations on
their particular station. These calculations are designed to show the relevance
of physics to an important, real-life situation, to give the students experience
of the handling and interpretation of data (they are based on realistic data
supplied by bodies such as the United Kingdom's Central Electricity
Generating Board and the Atomic Energy Authority) and to give them a
feel for handling large numbers. Firstly, they involve working out the energy
losses of each stage of the generation process; this teaches the students
something about the physics of transformers and generators, the thermodynamics of steam turbines and the nature of the processes by which steam
is produced from chemical energy in a boiler house or from nuclear energy
in a reactor. Secondly, the students have to calculate the annual fuel requirements of their station; this teaches them about such things as load factor
485
a
>
PH
•a
a
«
a
a
•a
•a
<
and seasonal variation in power consumption as well as making them aware
of the enormous amounts of fuel consumed by power stations (a 2 , 0 0 0 - M W
coal-fired station burns over 4.5 million tonnes a year—the complete output
of roughly nine typical British pits!). Thirdly, the students have to calculate
the cooling-water requirements of their station—this teaches them about
the physics of direct cooling systems and the various types of cooling tower.
Finally, they have to calculate the rates at which waste products are
produced—this involves them in the use of molecular masses and makes
them aware of the scale of the problem of atmospheric pollution and nuclear
waste disposal. In all, the calculations take roughly three hours and contain
the main scientific content of the game.
w
a
o
4-1
DO
.tí
&
tí
v
S
Third phase shows students real-life problems
In the third phase of c T h e Power Station G a m e ' , the three groups have first
to prepare and then to present the case for their station. In preparing their
case, each group has to calculate capital and running costs, select the most
suitable site (with the aid of a geographical pack containing a set of m a p s of
the area in which the station is to be built, plus large-scale maps of the eight
possible sites) and examine the cases likely to be m a d e for the two rival
stations with a view to identifying possible weaknesses. These tasks are
carried out b y three working subgroups which then recombine in order
to prepare a report on the proposed scheme for presentation at the plenary
session. This third phase of ' T h e Power Station G a m e ' is designed to achieve
a wide range of educational aims and objectives that effectively cover all
the areas listed in the previous section.
Specifically, the economic calculations give the students an idea of the
vast expense associated with large-scale industrial projects and of the
importance of financial factors in making technical decisions, while the
486
(E-¿*¿a£¿/
siting problem demonstrates the importance of geographical and social
factors in making such decisions. In addition, the students are placed in a
situation where effective co-operation is vital if they are to achieve success
and where they have ample scope to use their initiative and imagination,
and (in the plenary session) to develop their public speaking and debating
skills. T h e third phase of the game is also designed to show students that
real-life problems can be extremely complicated and do not generally have
a clear-cut solution.
u
.a
£
°
aa
>
"¡J
"3
u
O
Physics affects everyday lives
Like the previous phase, the simulated public inquiry that concludes 'The
Power Station G a m e ' is designed to achieve a wide range of educational aims
and objectives. Specifically, it is designed to help the students develop their
public-speaking and debating skills and to make them aware of the large
number of social, environmental, amenity and other factors which must be
taken into consideration before afinaldecision can be reached regarding
a major project like the construction of a large power station. It is also
designed to make the students realize that a given situation can be viewed
in a large number of ways and thus (hopefully) make them readier to
appreciate the points of view of others.
It should be noted that the primary aim of 'The Power Station G a m e ' is not
to teach the participants hard facts, although they undoubtedly learn a
great deal about physics and electrical engineering as well as other subjects
such as geography, economics and environmental studies. Rather, it is to
act as a vehicle for the development of the various 'bonus' skills and attitudinal traits outlined above and to show that physics is not a dull, rather
difficult academic subject that is of no great importance except to scientists,
but an interesting and far-rangingfieldof study that has important applications in areas that affect the everyday lives of us all.
'The
A m s y n Problem' inculcates attitudes
'The A m s y n Problem' is a role-playing simulation game that uses a hypothetical situation in the chemical industry as a vehicle for developing skills
in problem-solving, decision-making, argument and discussion, as well as
for inculcating attitudes such as appreciation of the limitations of science in
solving certain types of problem and of the importance of exercising
empathy. 11 T h e exercise is again designed primarily for use with science
students of roughly A-level standard, with w h o m it has proved highly
successful.
T h e simulation is based on a small (imaginary) Scottish town (population,
3,000) which suffers from high unemployment and is in an area of industrial
decline. T h e town has been left with one major industry—a small chemical
works called A m s y n Ltd. The company's main line of business is in the
manufacture of aromatic amines, for which it uses a two-stage process,
namely mixed acid nitration followed by sodium sulphide reduction of the
nitro-compounds. This is supplemented by various contract jobs that are
of a more sporadic nature. The two lines combine to m a k e the company
marginally profitable while providing employment for about 120 people,
although it is only goodfinancialmanagement allied to good labour relations
that have maintained this position.
'S
a
.°
>|
|
£
§
8
§
^
W
a
o
T h e m a i n amine production process does, however, produce considerable
quantities of heavily polluted effluent, which has traditionally been discharged directly into a nearby river, with disastrous environmental results.
In a bid to clean up the river, the local district council has commissioned the
installation of a n e w sewage system for the town into which all industrial
effluent will have to be fed. T h e strict effluent levels that have been set by
the council have forced A m s y n to consider methods of reducing, or even
eliminating the toxic constituents of their effluent. Various alternatives
under consideration include straightforward 'liming out' of the offending
varieties of sulphur anions, and alternative reduction steps such as iron
reduction and catalytic reduction are also being investigated. H o w e v e r , if
no viable chemical solution is found, the c o m p a n y m a y have to consider
partial or total closure of the plant, which would be socially unacceptable
in an already depressed area.
a
Problem viewed from different value-positions
>
u
u
0)
PH
TJ
u
fi
S
.a
•a
•a
<
u
X
It is against this background that the m a n a g e m e n t of A m s y n Ltd has called
a meeting to discuss the situation with two interested parties, namely the
trade-union representatives of the work-force, and representatives of the
district council. Each party, though wishing to find a mutually satisfactory
solution, naturally views the problem with a different set of values and
responsibilities (see Fig. 3).
Main priority: T o
safeguard the interests
of the shareholders
by ensuring that the
factory does not run
at a loss
Main priority: T o
safeguard the jobs
and wage levels of
the work-force
Meeting held
to discuss,
pollution problem
and seek a
generally
acceptable
solution
Main priority: T o
ensure that the new
regulations regarding
pollution levels are.
strictly adhered to
FIG. 3. T h e schematic structure of'The A m s y n Problem'. Problem situation:
Amsyn Ltd (a small chemical works) currently produce heavy pollution of the local
river with their effluent, and, because of the imminent introduction of new
regulations, are required to reduce this pollution drastically. Options: various
possible modifications of the main production process to reduce pollution (some
involving high capital expenditure) or partial or complete closure of the factory.
T h e exercise commences with a short tape/slide introduction to the
problem which is seen by all participants (whose optimum n u m b e r is 16).
This has the dual purpose of providing background knowledge and also
realism. (The exercise can, however, be mounted without this particular
form of introduction.) T h e participants, w h o are each issued with a basic
information booklet, then split u p into the three groups involved in order
to discuss the problem and the various possible solutions from their o w n
respective viewpoints. Each group has to decide on the alternative it considers
would be the most acceptable to those the group represents.
W h e n the three groups reassemble at a management-chaired meeting, a
delegated spokesman from each interested party argues the case from their
group's point of view and attempts to justify their particular solution to
the problem. Following the presentation of cases, a general discussion
ensues (involving all the participants) in order to see if a mutually suitable
agreement can be thrashed out. If, at the e n d of the allotted time, no
agreement o n the company's future policy has been reached, the management is forced to propose a line of action, and the other parties are asked for
their reaction.
T h e exercise, which illustrates a dilemma typical in today's industrial
society, places the inherent scientific content in a context of realism. It is
hoped that the chemistry is seen to be related to other disciplines and that
purely chemical decisions are often influenced b y social, economic and even
moral considerations. Consequently, the simple chemical equations of the
textbook are seen to have relevance and implications far beyond the textbook,
or even the laboratory.
Simulation game used as a 'mind-broadening' exercise
'Fluoridation?' is a role-playing simulation g a m e designed for use as a casestudy and 'mind-broadening' exercise in biology, health education, and
science in society courses at both upper-secondary and tertiary levels (i.e.
with students of roughly 16 years and over).12 It is based on the hypothesis
that a British Area Health Authority (for the imaginary e Hadley Area') is
considering the principle offluoridationof the public water supply, and
takes the form of a simulated public meeting called by one of the local
health councils to discuss the question. T h e exercise takes between one
and a quarter and two hours to complete (depending on the numbers
involved and on the level of sophistication of the participants) and can be
used with a class of between thirteen and twenty-four students.
T h e structure of 'Fluoridation?' is shown in schematic form in Figure 4.
Roughly a week before the exercise is due to take place, each participant is
given a copy of an introductory booklet to read at h o m e . This contains
background information about those aspects of local government structure
relevant to the game, a summary of the main features of the simulated area,
and a review of the format and structure of the exercise. At this stage, the
participants are also allocated their roles and given the appropriate briefing
booklet so that they can prepare the arguments they are to present.
Game takes form of structured debate
T h e g a m e itself takes the form of a structured debate in which representatives
of the various groups that support and oppose fluoridation present their
u
.y
£
°
a
£
"H
[g
g
M
u
S
a
.2
-3
|
^
§
u
g
^
o
CU
•a
o
PH
•a
a
m
sa
es
G
T3
•a
<
w
a
o
w
>.
l-t
c
u
respective cases to the members of the Community Health Council, w h o
have the task of deciding whether or not to supportfluoridationw h e n the
issue is discussed at a higher level. T h e exercise has been designed in such
a w a y that the main medical, economic and social arguments that are
commonly presented in favour offluoridationare shared between the various
supporters, while those that are generally raised by the pressure groups
opposingfluoridationare shared between the objectors (see Fig. 4). T h e
chairman of the council controls the debate, calling the various speakers in a
predetermined order and using any time that remains for an open discussion.
'Fluoridation?' highlights the type of conflict that almost invariably arises
between the protagonists of a controversial measure w h o generally produce
detailed arguments to show that it would be technically or economically
beneficial to the community as a whole, and its opponents, w h o generally
claim that its introduction would violate the rights of the individual or
produce unacceptable (albeit often unquantifiable) environmental or social
side-effects. Such issues, whose resolution has nearly always to be based on
the formulation of value judgements rather than on the rational appraisal of
facts, are ideally suited to treatment using the type of 'radial' structure
employed in 'Fluoridation?' (see Fig. 4). T h e exercise thus provides a good
example of the type of approach that m a y be employed in dealing with
issues of this kind in a classroom situation.
During its final pre-publication field trials in three Aberdeen schools,
an attempt was m a d e to evaluate the educational effectiveness of 'Fluoridation?'13 This proved extremely encouraging, indicating that the exercise
was succeeding in achieving both its cognitive and its affective objectives
and clearly demonstrating that it was highly popular with both pupils and
Meeting of C o m m u n i t y
Health Council held
to decide whether or
not to support fluoridation
of the public water supply
when the issue is discussed
at a higher level.
(The council consists
of a chairman
and up to six members.)
49O
F I G . 4 . T h e schematic structure of 'Fluoridation?'. Supporters of fluoridation:
5 X = area dental officer, 5 2 = area medical officer, 5 3 = representative of health
service trade unions, St = private individual (local dentist); objectors to
fluoridation: Or = representative(s) of National Association for Unpolluted Water,
O a = representative(s) of Committee against Compulsory Medication,
O s = representative(s) of local housewives association, 0 4 = représentative®
of local ratepayers' association, 0 5 to 0 7 = private individuals.
teachers. O n e interesting (and not altogether unexpected) outcome of this
evaluation was that the participants tended to become polarized by their
roles, those w h o were given roles supportingfluoridationshowing a distinct
positive attitude shift towardsfluoridationas a result of playing the g a m e
and those given opposing rules showing an attitude shift in the opposite
direction. Such polarization is something that must be kept under careful
review by g a m e designers and g a m e users alike, since its effects can, in
certain circumstances, be counter-productive or even harmful.
Notes
i. This is a generally accepted definition of a 'game', and wasfirstgiven by
C . C . Abt in ' G a m e s for Learning', in S. S. Boocock and E . O . Schild (eds.),
Simulation Games in Learning, Beverley Hills, Calif., Sage Publications, 1968.
2. This is the standard definition of a 'simulation', and wasfirstgiven by
H . Guetzkow in Simulation in International Relations, Englewood Cliffs, N . J . ,
Prentice Hall, 1963.
3. This definition of a 'case-study' wasfirstproposed by F . Percival and
H . I. Ellington, ' T h e Place of Case-studies in the Simulation/Gaming Field',
in P . Race and D . Brook (eds.), Perspectives on Academic Gaming and
Simulation 5, London, KoganPage, 1980.
4. Figure 1 wasfirstgiven in ibid.
5. T h e educational characteristics of games and simulations and the potential
applications of such exercises in the teaching of science are discussed in
detail in a book recently written by H . Ellington, E . Addinall and F . Percival,
Games and Simulations in Science Education, L o n d o n , Kogan Page,
N e w York, Nichols Publishing C o . , 1981.
6. Bernard Dixon, 'Education for Participants', Net» Scientist, Vol. 79, N o . 1117,
P- 530,1978.
7. C . P . Snow, The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution, Cambridge,
Cambridge University Press, 1959.
8. Percival and Ellington, op. cit.
9. Dixon, op. cit.
10. 'The Power Station G a m e ' is described in detail in H . I. Ellington,
N . H . Langton and M . E . Smythe, ' T h e Use of Simulation G a m e s in
Schools—A Case Study', in P. Hills and J. Gilbert (eds.), Aspect of Educational
Technology XI, London, Kogan Page, 1977. T h e g a m e itself can be obtained
from the Institution of Electrical Engineers, Station House, Nightingale
Road, Hitchin, Herts, United K i n g d o m , £25 (within United Kingdom),
£30 (outside United Kingdom), both including postal charges.
11. ' T h e A m s y n Problem' is described in detail in H . I. Ellington and F . Percival,
Educating 'Through' Science Using Multi-disciplinary Simulation Games,
Programmed Learning and Educational Technology, Vol. 14, N o . 2,1977, p. 117.
T h e game itself can be obtained from the Scottish Council for Educational
Technology, Dowanhill, Victoria Crescent, Glasgow, United Kingdom, £8.50.
12. 'Fluoridation?' is described in detail in F . Percival and H . I. Ellington,
'Fluoridation?—A Role-playing Simulation G a m e for Schools and Colleges',
SAGSET
Journal, Vol. 8, N o . 3, p . 93, 1978. T h e game itself can be obtained
from the Institution of Electrical Engineers, Station House, Nightingale
Road, Hitchin, Herts, United K i n g d o m , £7 (within United Kingdom),
£10 (outside United Kingdom), both including postal charges.
13. See F . Percival and H . I. Ellington, ' A n Attempt to Evaluate Fluoridation?—A
Role Playing Simulation Exercise', in J. Megarry (ed.), Perspectives on
Academic Gaming and Simulation 4, London, Kogan Page, 1979.
Call for papers
Satellites
and
computer
communications
International symposium, 27-29 April 1983
Versailles, France
Topics
1. Computers in satellite systems
2. Satellite channel-sharing systems
3. Impact of satellites on O S I reference model
4. Protocols for high transmission rate satellite circuits
5. Protocols for multipoint satellite circuits
6. Satellite distributed computer applications (computer mail, distributed
data bases, etc.)
7. Network interconnection by satellite
8. Performance measurements and experience
9. Simulation and modelling
Submission of papers: 15 November 1982
INFORMATION
I N R I A , Domaine de Voluceau, Rocquencourt
B.P. 105, 78153 Le Chesnay Cedex (France)
J. L . Grange
Programme Committee Chairman
Président du Comité de Programme
T h . Bricheteau
S. Gosset-Le Bihan
Symposium Secretariat
Secrétariat du Symposium
Readers' forum
An invitation to readers
Reasoned letters which comment, pro or con, on any of the articles
printed in impact or which present the writer's view on any subject
discussed in impact are welcomed. They should be addressed to the
Editor, impact of science on society, 7 place de Fontenoy,
75700 Paris (France).
00
55
m
-g
í>
¿I
•§
o
to
S
o
Improving hazard warning systems
The following letter has reached us from Mr Robert Schwöre at the National
Center for Atmospheric Research, P . O . Box 3000, Boulder, C O 80307,
United States of America.
g
8
•*«,
+•
a
o.
E
T h e impacts of natural disasters is but one of a great m a n y problems that
will probably have to be faced by both developing and developed countries
in the decades ahead.
Interest in improving the effectiveness and therefore societal value of
hazard warning systems is widespread a m o n g international organizations,
government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and research institutes. T h e World Meteorological Organization ( W M O ) , the Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific ( E S C A P ) , the Office of the
United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator ( U N D R O ) , and the League
of Red Cross Societies, a m o n g others, have all been involved in programmes
designed to improve forecasting and warning capabilities as well as to
develop methods for disseminating such warnings and exchanging information in order to reduce loss of life and damage fromfloods,typhoon winds,
and storm surges.
Within the United States Government, the Agency for International
Development (AID) has a deep interest in improving early warning systems
through its United States Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance ( O F D A ) .
For example, it is currently providing technical assistance and training for
representatives of the Government of Bangladesh to apply satellite meteorology to cyclone detection and monitoring, and for other countries bordering
the Bay of Bengal to develop computer models for estimating cyclone strike
probability and wind threat to geographic points surrounding the Bay of
Bengal. T h e National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's ( N O A A )
Centerfor Environmental Assessment Services (CEAS),too,iscurrendy developing an early-warning programme to provide reliable, timely information
on potential food shortages triggered by climate anomalies. A n d the National
Center for Atmospheric Research's ( N C A R ) Environmental and Societal
Impacts Group (ESIG) has been concerned with the societal value and use of
climate-related forecast and warning information in developing countries.
T h e international and national technical assistance and training programmes mentioned above are costing millions of dollars. Yet little effort has
apparently been directed toward examining whether such disaster forecast,
prediction, and warning systems will be of use to the ultimate users,
I
o
-w
«
8
especially those populations most 'at risk' such as those located in villages.
In addition, little attention has been given to whether those systems, developed in developed societies, are the most 'appropriate' form of technology
transfer.
Moreover, obstacles such as ideology, politics and values suggest that
neither scientific advances into the causes of natural hazards nor technical
improvements of forecasts and warnings for dealing with them will, by
themselves, benefit intended users of forecasting and warning information.
In a n u m b e r of different contexts, it has been found that despite the existence
of formal plans for disseminating warnings, in practice these are not adapted
to the local, social and seasonal conditions. S o m e groups and communities
are isolated from the official warning system. Local community warning
systems develop from necessity and often complement—rather than are
mutually exclusive of—officially organized warning systems.
There are many instances of cost-effective, reliable community systems
used to warn 'at risk' residents of hazard events, yet these have been given
very little attention by the m a n y channels of technology transfer, including
national and international agencies, voluntary agencies, and research institutes. S o m e one hundred self-help forecast and warning systems operate
in the United States for tributary watersheds that are not covered by the
National Weather Service River Forecasting System. These systems are
not necessarily free of socio-economic and technical obstacles. They do
provide, however, alternative means of detecting, interpreting, and relaying
flood-warning information.
Rural people's technical knowledge peculiar to their environmental,
cultural, and social setting should also be given close attention. Large
geographical areas are not covered by official forecasting and warning
programmes, which often break d o w n during those times w h e n they are most
needed. Rural people usually have considerable empirical understanding of
their ecosystem and have a store of collective knowledge concerning ways
to predict natural hazards. T h e functional consequences of these techniques
in relation to direct needs of rural people should m a k e them important
enough to deserve examination in the established circles of science and
technology.
Robert S C H W A R E
Ice-age now overdue?
Also commenting on impact, Vol. 32, No. 1, January-March 1982, with
the theme 'The Violent Forces of Nature' is Dr G. Paul Gretton-Watson, a
physicist and computer-consultant living at 6B Hillside Road, Streatham
Hill, London, SW2 3 H N United Kingdom.
494
After reading through impact (Vol. 32, N o . 1, January-March 1982, on
'The Violent Forces of Nature') I could not help feeling that, although the
issue admirably covered the most serious natural hazards that threaten the
h u m a n race in the short term, there was only a short reference to that
natural catastrophe which most threatens mankind in the long term, namely
the ice-age which is n o w overdue by about 2,000 years.
Contrary to what the natural intuition of most people would probably
lead them to think, the present interglacial state of the earth, in which
only 10.4 per cent of the earth's land mass is covered in ice, is not its normal
state. In fact over the last million years, the Earth has only spent about 10 per
cent of its time in the interglacial state. T h e other 90 per cent of its time has
been spent in the ice-age state, during which, according to the best estimates,
28 to 30 per cent of the Earth's land mass is covered with an ice-sheet of
roughly 800 metres in thickness.
Estimates m a d e by London University scientists of the consequences of
the next ice-age put the total death-toll through starvation at several hundred
million, and the global economic devastation at something very comparable
to the aftermath of a nuclear war. (A melting of the ice-caps would result in a
similar or larger death-toll, but would not threaten the earth for so long.)
Over the last century or so, various theories of the causes of ice-ages
have been proposed, the most celebrated of which is that of Croll and
Milankovitch, which attributes ice-ages to astronomical causes. In 1981,
though, Sir Fred Hoyle published his o w n revolutionary theory that ice-ages
are initiated by stone meteorite impacts, and terminated by iron meteorite
impacts, dismissing the Croll-Milankovitch theory for a number of reasons,
the most important of which being the fact that, in Sir Fred Hoyle's view,
the Croll-Milankovitch theory is insufficient to cause the very dramatic
cooling of the earth that takes place during an ice-age. Sir Fred Hoyle's
proposal is that, to prevent further ice-ages, the solar energy content of the
ocean should be increased over a period of 4,000 years by pumping cold
water from the bottom of the ocean to the top—a technique which could offer
some energy profit.
A whole host of questions on Sir Fred Hoyle's proposal must have arisen
in the minds of m a n y people, not least of which must be the question of h o w
the Hoyle theory could be tested and proven to the satisfaction of the world's
scientific community, and the question of whether a controlled iron-asteroid
impact could be used to terminate a future ice-age (as I recently suggested
myself in the columns of Astronautics and Aeronautics, the journal of the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics).
I would like, if I m a y , to suggest that this topic be the subject of some
attention in a future edition of impact.
G. Paul GRETTON-WATSON
Did y o u k n o w that
educators, research workers and
students can use Unesco coupons to purchase
books, periodicals, films
art work, sheet music
radio and television sets
tape-recorders
musical instruments
measuring instruments
typewriters
scientific equipment
machine tools
U N E S C O C O U P O N S can also be used to pay for subscriptions to
educational, scientific or cultural publications, for university
registration fees and copyright dues
(Blank coupons which can be m a d e out for the s u m of 1 to 99 cents also available)
H o w d o they work?
In every user country there is a body—often the National Commission for
Unesco—which is responsible for the sale of the coupons.
Write to Unesco Coupons Office, Unesco, 7 place de Fontenoy,
75700 Paris, France, for list of main suppliers participating in the
programme, as well as for the name and address of your country's
Unesco Coupon Sales Office.
Y o u pay for the coupons in your own currency and enclose the coupons with your
order to the supplying company of the material you want.
Looking ahead . . .
The next issue of impact of science on society will deal with
Managing our fresh water
resources
Authors include: Guillermo J. Cano {Argentina) President, International
Water Resources Association; Maurice E . Albertson (United States)
Centennial Professor, College of Engineering, Colorado State University;
Slaheddine El A m a m i (Tunisia) Director, Centre for Research on Rural
Engineering; Gyorgy Kovács (Hungary) Director, Research Centre for
Water Resources Development.
Vol. 33, N o . 2 (April-June 1983)
Next year is 1984
Vol. 33, N o . 3 (July-September 1983)
Ocean science and technology for
tomorrow
Vol. 33, N o . 4 (October-December 1983)
Towards understanding addiction
Vol. 34, N o . 1 (January-March 1984)
Chemistry of natural products
Vol. 34, N o . 2 (April-June 1984)
Dealing with values in science
To m y National Distributor
(or Unesco ( P U B Sales), 7 place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris, France)
Please enter m y subscription to impact (4 issues per year)
The s u m of
. is enclosed in payment.
Price, postage included: 6 2 French francs (1 year); 1 0 0 French francs (2 years).
For price in your national currency, consult your National Distributor listed at
the back of this issue.
I wish to receive: Q Arabic
•
English
•
French
•
Spanish*
Name
Address
(Flease type or print clearly.)
D N e w subscription
Q Renewal
* Subscriptions should be placed with: Oficina de Educación Iberoamericana, Ciudad
Universitaria, Madrid-3, Spain.
Signature
The International Journal for An Professionals
Concerned with EDUCATION, TRAINING and COMMUNICATION
HI Every Area of Environmental Protection.
Editors
David Hughes-Evans
James LAkJrich
ANNOUNCING A NEW INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL TO NOTE
THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.N. CONFERENCE ON
THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT (Stockholm -1972)
Preparation for the twenty-first century is what
T h e Environmentalist is all about. T h e journal is
being established in response to a two-fold educational need — that of the broad public for a better
understanding of the relationships between sound
resource management and the ability to meet
h u m a n needs; and, even more specifically, the
necessity to upgrade and update the education of
the professionals and decision-makers w h o must
incorporate environmental factors into their
planning and management activities.
The Environmentalist seeks pertinent answers and
solutions from those in education, in government
and in industry on issues such as:
• What innovations should arise from the Stockholm anniversary?
• fs the World Conservation Strategy the answer?
• What are the optimal management of h u m a n ,
natural and other resources?
9 What on-going research is taking place in the
fields of environmental education, training
and communication?
• Where are the successful examples of innovations in training and retraining?
• H o w can the exchange of ideas, information
and experience be facilitated?
• Can the study of the environment reunify the
branches of knowledge and culture?
• What activities is being undertaken b y intergovernmental, governmental and non-governmental
bodies?
•
W h a t are the roles of education and training in
conflict situations?
• W h a t are the environmental problems of the
North-South dialogue?
• W h a t are the n e w educational and training
needs of the third generation environmental
problems?
T h e Environmentalist considers all these in editorial comments, in original papers, and in the
information section. It also publishes reviews and
letters. Trie Environmentalist' will provide the
'cutting edge' of environmental thinking into
environmental communications in terms of formal
training programmes, conferences, seminars and
short courses for practising professionals, decisionmakers and public leaders. It will also provide the
cultural means whereby the broader citizenry
can b e reached.
Subscription information
1982 subscription V o l u m e 2 - 4 issues at the price
of SFrs 150.— for Companies and Institutions
"(approx. equivalent U S $ 8 3 5 0 ) . Personal subscription at the special price of SFrs. 90.—
Detailed Instructions to Authors, free specimen
copies and further information m a y be obtained
from the publisher:
ELSEVIER S E Q U O I A S . A .
RO. Box 851
CH-1001 Lausanne 1
Switzerland
"The Swiss Fane price is definitive. Other prices ere approximate only and subject to exchange rate fluctuations.
A n interdisciplinary
forum for Utopian and
futures-oriented
scholarship and
commentary,
ternative
ures
Alternat!roe
Futures
focuses on these major
areas:
Utopian literature
and thought;
communitarianism and
social experiment;
utopian/dystopian
science fiction; and
nontechnical futures
studies.
Detach and mail to: Alternative Futures, 102 R a c k h a m Building, T h e University
of Michigan, A n n Arbor, Ml 48109.
Please enter m y subscription to Alternative Futures. I've enclosed:
D
$12.50 individual, 1-year
D $35.00 institutional, 1-year
D
$22.50 individual, 2-year
D $62.50 institutional, 2-year
Name
Organization
Address
City.
. State-
.Zip.
Country (if other than U . S . or Canada).
M a k e checks payable to Alternative Futures. Outside U . S . &
Canada, please add $2.50.
ARE YOU STILL READING SOMEONE
ELSE'S COPY OF ISIS?
IF S O , n o w is the time to enter your o w n subscription. Isis, the official
journal of the History of Science Society, is the leading journal in the field
Isis keeps over 3300 subscribers in nearly fifty countries Lip to date on all
developments in the history of science with articles, critiques, d o c u m e n t s
and translations Along with these, its notes and correspondence and n e w s
of the profession provide useful information to professionals, educators,
scholars and graduate students.
Lively essay reviews and over 200 book reviews a year cover every specialty
in the history of science, technology and medicine
In addition to your four quarterly issues of Isis you will also receive:
— Membership in the History of Science Society.
— The annual Critical Bibliography listing over 3500 publications in the history
of science, technology and medicine from the preceding year.
— The Triennial Guide containing directories of m e m b e r s and scholarly programs and information on 90 journals in the field.
- T h e quarterly Newsletter providing current n e w s of the profession,
including employment opportunities and approaching meetings.
ISIS!
Isis Publication Office
University of Pennsylvania
215 South 34th St./D6
Philadelphia. Pa. 19104
Y E S ! Please send m e Isis for the calendar year(s)
$22 for one year ($13 for students).
Check enclosed
Bill m e .
(Issues sent on receipt of payment.)
NAME
ADDRESS
and.
$42 for t w o years ($24 for students).
HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY
OF THE LIFE SCIENCES
S E C T I O N II O F P U B B L I C A Z I O N I D E L L A S T A Z I O N E Z O O L Ó G I C A D I N A P O L I
Editor: M . D . G R M E K , Paris. - Assistant Editor: B . F A N T D H , Roma
Editorial Board: V . CAPPELLETTI, Roma; F. H O L M E S , New Haven; R. O L B Y , Leeds;
B. H O P P E , München; C . CASTELLANI, Milano; S. M I K U L I N S K Y , Moskva; J. R O G E R ,
Paris; G . U S C H M A N N , Halle. Editorial Secretary: J. A . GILDER.
If philosophical reflection can and must guide historical investigation, it is not less true that the philosophy of science can and
must feed itself upon and allow itself to he modelled by historical
development, the social, philosophical and epistemological implications of the life sciences and techniques.
The main concern of the journal is modern western scientific
thought, hut there is no limit regarding chronology, or the scientific nature of the subject or its cultural area. H.P.L.S.
is published
twice yearly in June and December and accepts articles (with English summaries) in all the major European languages. Thefirstvolume of H.P.L.S.
appeared in June, 1979.
Further information concerning editorial policy can be obtained from the
Editorial Secretary: Jean A n n Gilder, Stazione Zoológica, Villa Comunale,
80121 Naples, Italy. 1981 yearly subscription: Italy Lit. 24,000; elsewhere
Lit. 31,500. Subscriptions available from the publisher: Leo S. Olschki,
P . O . B . 66, 50100 Florence, Italy.
CASA EDITRICE L E O S. O L S C H K I - CASELLA P O S T A L E 66 - 50100 FIRENZE
Science
(^Public
ÔOPolicy
THE JOURNAL OF THE
SCIENCE POLICY FOUNDATION
• rasaar^r-^.--.-•-
SCIENCE & PUBLIC POLICY
• provides information o n n a tional policies for science and
technology and their effects
• analyzes the social and political
environments
• examines the role of science
and technology in government,
and industry
• explores various, types ofpublic
participation and their influences on national and international policies
SCIENCE & PUBLIC POLICY brings
together research relevant to policy making
on development, agriculture, energy,
public administration, health service, and
R and D management,
For further information contact
Jan Holloway
IPC Science and Technology Press
Limited, P.O. Box 63, Westbury House,
Bury Street, Guildford, Surrey,
England G U 2 5 B H
Telephone: 0483-31261
Telex 859556 S C I T E C G
TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE
The international quarterly of the Society for the History of Technology,
Technology a n d Culture explores the history of technology from antiquity to the
present day. Written for both the scholar and the general educated public, the
journal is accessible to all persons interested in the impact of technology on social
organization, scientific and intellectual movements, and economic and political
change. New editor in 1982: Robert C. Post.
From swords to solar cookers,
the range of topics encompassed by Technology a n d Culture includes :
philosophy of technology
the state and technology
engineering
technology transfer
conference reports
museum reviews
public attitudes
toward technology
biography
military history
and technology
industrial history
research notes
Featured in each April issue
of thejournal:
the annotated Current Bibliography in the History of Technology, compiled by
Jack G o o d w i n of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries.
20% DISCOUNT
with this coupon
One-year introductory subscription rates:
• Institutions $28.00 O Individuals $18.00
Name
Technology a n d Culture
• Students $14.40
Address
City
State/Country
ZIP
Visa and Master Card accepted. Please mall this coupon with charge card
Information, purchase order, or payment to the University of Chicago Press,
11030 Langley Avenue, Chicago, IL 60628.
.
Impa
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
6/81
Favor d e suscribirme a la revista Ciencia y Desarrollo/^***'
normal:
extranjero:
r-».
UN AÑO
DOS AÑOS
TRES AÑOS ™ ' * * W T T :
D 200 pesos D 410 pesos D 610 pesos jjj, fWf**,n^\
*^'
D 16 Dis.
D 33 Dis.
D 49 Dis.
/, +
/)JtÁ,
Adjunto cheque D
giro postal D
fa*""*^
Nombre
lV»MVDirección.
.Z.P..
Ciudad.
Estado.
.Teléfono
La actualidad de la ciencia y la
tecnología en Ciencia y Desarrollo,
se publica bimestralmente.
Envíe este cupón y cheque o giro
postal a:
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia
y Tecnología,
Insurgentes sur 1814, 8 o Piso.
México 20, D.F.
De venta en tiendas de descuento,
grandes almacenes y librerías.
$ 40.00 pesos.
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnotogta
Dirección de Publicaciones
Unesco publications: national distributors
A L B A N I A : N . Sh. Botimeve Nairn Fiuheri, T I R A N A .
A L G E R I A : Institut pédagogique national, il, rue AliHaddad (ex-rue Zaitcha), A L G E R ; Société nationale
d'édition et de diffusion ( S N E D ) , 3, boulevard Zirout
Voucef, A L G E R ; Office des publications universitaires
( O P U ) , 29, rue Abou-Nouas, Hydra, A L G E R .
A N G O L A : Distribuidora Livros e Publicaçôes, Caixa
Postal 2848, L U A N D A .
A R G E N T I N A : Librería El Correo de la Unesco, E D I L Y R ,
S . R . L . , T u c u m á n 1685,1050 B U E N O S A I R E S .
A U S T R A L I A : Publications: Educational Supplies Pty.
Ltd.,Post Office Box 33, B R O O K V A L B 2100, N . S . W . Periodicals: Dominie Pty. Subscriptions Dept., P . O . Box 33,
B R O O K V A L B 2100, N . S . W . Sub-agent: United Nations
Association of Australia, P . O . Box 175, 5th Floor, A n a
House, 28 Elizabeth Street, M E L B O U R N E 3000; Hunter
Publications, 58A Gipps Street, Collingwood, V I C T O RIA 3066.
A U S T R I A : Buchhandlung Gerold and C o . Graben 31.
A-ion WIEN.
B A N G L A D E S H : Bangladesh Books International Ltd.,
Ittefaq Building, 1 R . K . Mission Road, Hatkhola,
D A C C A 3-
B E L G I U M : Jean D e Lannoy, 202 Avenue du Roi, 1060
B R U X E L L E S . C e p 000-0070823-13.
B E N I N : Librairie nationale, B.P. 294, P O R T O N o v o .
B O L I V I A : Los Amigos del Libro, casilla postal 441s,
L A P A Z ; Avenida de las Heroinas 3712, Casilla 450,
COCHABAMBA.
B R A Z I L : Fundaçao Getúlio Vargas, Serviço de Publicaçôes,
caixa postal 9.052-ZC-02, Praia de Botafogo 188, Rio DB
JANEIRO (GB).
fach 2, D-8034 G B R M E R I N G / M Ü N C H E N . Por scientific maps
only: Geo Center, Postfach 800830, 7000 STUTTGART 80.
For 'The Courier': Mr Herbert Baum, Deutscher UnescoKurier Vertrieb, Besaitstrasse 57, 5300 B O N N 3.
G H A N A : Presbyterian Bookshop Depot L t d . , P . O . Box 195,
A C C R A ; Ghana Book Suppliers Ltd., P . O .
Box 7869,
A C C R A ; T h e University Bookshop of Ghana, A C C R A ; The
University Bookshop of Cape Coast; T h e University
Bookshop of Legon, P . O . Box 1, L E G Ó N .
G R E E C E : International bookshops (Eleftheroudakis, Kauffmann, etc.).
G U A D E L O U P E : Librairie Carnot, 59, rue Barbés,
97100 P O I N T E - À - P I T R E .
G U A T E M A L A : Comisión Guatemalteca de Cooperación
con la Unesco, 3 . ' Avenida 13-30, Zona 1, apartado
postal 244, G U A T E M A L A .
H A I T I : Librairie 'A la Caravelle', 26, rue Roux, P.B. 11 i-B,
PORT-AU-PRINCB.
H O N D U R A S : Librería Navarro, 2.* Avenida n.» 201,
Comayaguela, T E G U C I G A L P A .
H O N G K O N G : Swindon Book C o . , 13-15 Lock Road,
K O W L O O N ; Federal Publications ( H K ) Ltd., 2 D Freder
Centre, 68 Sung W o n g Toi Road, Tokwawan, K O W L O O N ;
Hong Kong Government Information Services, Publications Section, Baskerville House, 22 Ice House Street,
HONG KONG.
H U N G A R Y : Akadémiai Könyvesbolt, Váci u. 22, B U D A PEST V ; A . K . V . Konyvtárosok Boltja, Népkoztarsasag
utja 16, B U D A P E S T V I .
I C E L A N D : Snaebjörn Jonsson & Co., H . F . , Hainantraeti 9,
REYKJAVIK.
I N D I A : Orient Longman Ltd., Kamani M a r g , Ballard
B U L G A R I A : H e m u s , Kantora Literatura, boulevard RouEstate, B O M B A Y 400 038; 17 Chittaranjan Avenue,
sky 6, SoPlJA.
C A L C U T T A 13; 36a Anna Salai, Mount Road, M A D R A S 2;
B U R M A : Trade Corporation no. (9), 550-552 Merchant
B-3/7
Asaf Ali Road, N E W D E L H I I; 80/1 Mahatma
Street, R A N G O O N .
Gandhi Road, B A N G A L O R B - 5 60001; 3-5-820 Hyderguda,
C A N A D A : Renouf Publishing Company Ltd., 2182 St. CaHYDBRABAD-500001.
Sub-depots: Oxford Book & Statherine Street West, M O N T R E A L , Que., H 3 H
1M7tionery C o . , 17 Park Street, C A L C U T T A 700016; Scindia
C H I L E : Bibliocentro Ltda., Constitución n.° 7, C a House,
N
E
W
D
E
L
H
I
I
I O O O I ; Publications Section, M i n silla 13731, S A N T I A G O (21); Librería L a Biblioteca,
istry of Education and Social Welfare, 511, C - W i n g ,
Alejandro I 867, Casilla 5602, S A N T I A G O 2.
Shastri Bhavan, N E W D E L H I I I O O O I .
C H I N A : China National Publications Import and Export
I N D O N E S I A : Bhratara Publishers and Booksellers, 29, Jl.
Corporation, P . O . Box 88, BEIJING.
Oto Iskandardinata i n , JAKARTA; Gramedia Bookshop,
C O L O M B I A : Instituto Colombiano de Cultura, Carrera 3 A
Jl. Gadjah M a d a 109, J A K A R T A ; Indira P . T . , Jl. D r . Sam
N . 0 18/24, B O G O T A .
Ratulangi 37, J A K A R T A P U S A T .
C O N G O : Commission Nationale Congolaise pour l'Unesco,
B.P.
493, BRAZZAVILLE; Librairie Populaire, B . P . 577, I R A N : Iranian National Commission for Unesco, Avenue
Iranchahr Chomali N o . 300, B . P . 1533, T B H R A N ; K h a BRAZZAVILLE (branches in Pointe-Noire, Loubomo, Nkayi,
razmie Publishing and Distribution Co., 28 Vessal Shirazi
Makabana, O w e n d o , Ouesso and Impfondo).
Street, Enghélab Avenue, P . O . Box 314/1486, T E H R A N .
C O S T A R I C A : Librería Trcjos S . A . , apartado 1313, S A N
I R A Q : McKenzie's Bookshop, Al-Rashid Street, B A G H D A D .
JOSÉ.
I R E L A N D : T h e Educational Company of Ireland Ltd.,
C U B A : Ediciones Cubanas, O'Reilly, N.» 407, L A H A B A N A .
Por the 'Unesco Courier' only: Empresa Coprefil, DraBallymount Road, Walkinstown. D U B L I N 12.
gones N . ° 456, el Lealtad y Companario, H A B A N A 2.
I S R A E L : A . B . C . Bookstore L t d . , P . O . Box 1283,71 AUenby
C Y P R U S : ' M A M ' , Archbishop Makarios 3rd Avenue,
Road, T B L A V I V 61000.
P.O.
Box 1722, N I C O S I A .
I T A L Y : Licosa (Librería Commisaionaria Sansoni S.p.A.),
C Z E C H O S L O V A K I A : S N T L , Spalena 51, P R A H A I.
via Lamarmora 45, casella postale 552, 50121 F I R E N Z E
(.Permanent display): Zahranicni literatura, 11 Soukenicka, I V O R Y C O A S T : Librairie des Presses de l'Unesco, C . N .
P R A H A I. For Slovakia only: Alfa Verlag Publishers,
Ivoirienne pour l'Unesco, B.P. 2871, A B I D J A N .
Hurbanova nam. 6, 893 31 BRATISLAVA.
J A M A I C A : Sangster's Book Stores Ltd., P . O . Box 366,
D E N M A R K : Munksgaard Export and Subscription Ser101 Water Lane, K I N G S T O N .
vice, 35 Narre Sugade, D K 1370 C O P E N H A G E N .
J A P A N : Eastern Book Service Inc., Shuhwa Toranomon
D O M I N I C A N R E P U B L I C : Librería Blasco, Avenida B o 3 Bldg., 23-6 Toranomon 3-chome, Minato-ku, T O K Y O
livar, N o . 402, esq. Hermanos Deligne, S A N T O D O M I N G O .
106.
E C U A D O R : Periodicals only: Dinacur Cia. Ltda, Pasaje J O R D A N : Jordan Distribution Agency, P . O .
Box 375,
San Luis, 325 y Matovelle (Santa Prisca), Edificio Checa,
AMMAN.
Ofc.
101, Q U I T O . Books only: Librería Pomaire, A m a z o K E N Y A East African Publishing House, P . O . Box 30571,
nas 863, Q U I T O . All Publications: Casa de la Cultura
NAIROBI.
Ecuatoriana, Núcleo del Guayas, Pedro Moncayo y 9 de
R E P U B L I C O F K O R E A : Korean National Commission for
Octubre, casilla de correos 3542, G U A Y A Q U I L .
Unesco, P . O . Box Central 64, S E O U L .
E G Y P T : Unesco Publications Centre, 1 Talaat Harb Street,
K U W A I T : T h e Kuwait Bookshop Co. L t d . , P . O . Box 2941,
CAIRO.
EL
S A L V A D O R : Librería Cultural Salvadoreña, S . A . ,
Calle Delgado N o . 117, apartado postal 2296, S A N
SALVADOR.
E T H I O P I A : Ethiopian National Agency for Unesco,
Box
2996, A D D I S
P.O.
ABABA.
F I N L A N D : Akateeminen Kirjakauppa, Keskuskatu 1,
SF-00100 H E L S I N K I 10 ; Suomalainen Kirjakauppa O Y ,
Koivuvaarankuja 2, 01640 V A N T A A 64.
F R A N C E : Librairie de l'Unesco, place de Fontenoy,
75700 PARIS, C C P 12598-48.
F R E N C H W E S T I N D I E S : Librairie ' A u Boul Mich',
1, rue Perrinon, and 66, avenue du Parquet, 97200 F O R T D B - F R A N C B (Martinique).
G A B O N : Librairie Sogalivre (Libreville, Port-Gentil and
Franceville).
G E R M A N D E M O C R A T I C REPUBLIC: Buchhaus Leipzig, Postfach 140, 701 LBDTZIG or international bookshops
in the German Democratic Republic.
G E R M A N Y , F E D E R A L REPUBLIC O F : S. Karger
G m b H , Karger Buchhandlung, Angerhofstrasse 9, Post-
KUWAIT.
L E B A N O N : Librairies Antoine, A . Naufal et Frères,
B.P. 656, BBYROUTH.
L E S O T H O : Mazenod Book Centre, P.O.
MAZENOD.
LIBERIA: Cole & Yancy Bookshops Ltd., P.O.
Box 286,
MONROVIA.
LIBYAN A R A B JAMAHIRIYA: Agency for Development
of Publication and Distribution, P . O . Box 34-35, T R I P O L I .
L I E C H T E N S T E I N : Eurocan Trust Reg., P . O . B . 5,
FO-9494 SCBAAN.
L U X E M B O U R G : Librairie Paul Brück, 22, Grande-Rue,
LUXEMBOURG.
M A D A G A S C A R : Commission Nationale de la République
Démocratique de Madagascar pour l'Unesco, Boite postale 331, ANTANANARIVO.
MALAYSIA: Federal Publications Sdn. Bhd.,
Lot 8238 Ja-
lan 222, Petaling Java, SBLANGOR; University of Malaya
Co-operative Bookshop, K U A L A L U M P U R 22-11.
M A L I : Librairie populaire du Mali, B.P. 28, B A M A K O .
M A L T A : Sapienzas, 26 Republic Street, VALLETTA.
M A U R I T A N I A : G R A . L I . C O . M A , i, rue du Souk X ,
Avenue Kennedy, N O U A K C H O T T .
M A U R I T I U S : Nalanda C o . , Ltd., 30 Bourbon Street,
S O U T H A F R I C A : Van Schaik's Bookstore (Pty) Ltd., Libri
Building, Church Street, P . O . Box 724, PRETORIA.
S P A I N : Mundi-Prensa Libros S . A . , apartado 1223, CasPORT-LOUIS.
telló 37, M A D R I D I; Ediciones L I B E R , Apartado 17,
M E X I C O : S A B S A , Insurgentes Sur n." 1032-401, M E X I C O
Magdalena 8, O N D A R R O A (Vizcaya); Donaire, Ronda de
12, D . F . ; Librería El Correo de la Unesco, Actipán 66,
Outeiro, 20, apartado de correos 341, L A C O R U Ñ A ; Libreria
Colonia del Valle. M E X I C O 12, D . F .
Al-Andalus, Roldana, 1 y 3, SEVILLA 4; Libreria Castells,
M O N A C O : British Library, 30, boulevard des Moulins,
Ronda Universidad 13, B A R C B L O N A 7. FOT 'The Courier'
MONTS-CARLO.
only: Editorial Fenicia, Cantelejos 7, 'Riofrio', Puerta de
Hierro, M A D R I D 35.
M O R O C C O : Librairie ' A u x belles images', 282, avenue
M o h a m m e d - V , R A B A T , C . C . P . 68-74. For 'The Courier'
SRI L A N K A : Lake House Bookshop, Sir Chittampalam
(for teachers): Commission nationale marocaine pour
Gardiner Mawata, P . O . Box 244, C O L O M B O 2.
l'Education, la Science et la Culture, 19, rue Oqba,
S U D A N : Al Bashir Bookshop, P . O . Box 1118, K H A R T O U M .
B . P . 420, A G D A L - R A B A T ( C . C . P . 324-45); Librairie des
S U R I N A M E : Suriname National Commission for Unesco,
Écoles, 12, avenue Hassan-II, C A S A B L A N C A .
P . O . Box 2943, P A R A M A R I B O .
M O Z A M B I Q U E : Instituto Nacional do Livro e do Disco
S W E D E N : Publications: A / B C E . Fritzes Kungl. Hovbok( I N L D ) , Avenida 24 de Julho, 1921-r/c e i.° andar,
handel, Regcringsgatan 12, Box 16356, S-103 27 S T O C K MAPUTO.
H O L M . For ' The Courier': Svenska FN-Förbundet, SkolN E T H E R L A N D S : Publications: Keesing Boeken B.V., grând 2 , Box 150 50, S-104 65 S T O C K H O L M (Postgiro
Postbus 1118, 1000 B C , AMSTERDAM. Periodicals: Dek- 18 46 92); Wennergren-Williams A B , Box 30004,
ker & Nordemann N . V . , P . O . Box 197, 1000 A D ,
S-10425 S T O C K H O L M .
AMSTERDAM.
S W I T Z E R L A N D : Europa Verlag, Rämistrasse 5, 8024
N E T H E R L A N D S A N T I L L E S : Van Dorp-Eddine N . V . ,
Z Ü R I C H ; Librairie Payot, 6, rue Grenus, 1211 G E N E V A I I.
P.O. Box 200, Willenstod, C U R U C A O , N . A .
S Y R I A N A R A B R E P U B L I C : Librairie Sayegh, Immeuble
N E W C A L E D O N I A : Reprex SARL, B.P. 1572, N O U M É A .
Diab, rue du Parlement, B . P . 704, D A M A S .
N E W Z E A L A N D : Government Printing Office Bookshops:
T H A I L A N D : Suksapan Panit, Mansion 9, Rajdamnera
Retail Bookshop—25 Rutland Street; Mail orders—85
Avenue, B A N G K O K ; Nibondh & C o . Ltd., 40-42 Charoen
Beach Road.Private Bag C . P . O . , A U C K L A N D . Retail—Ward
Krung Road, Siyaeg Phaya Sri, P . O . Box 402, B A N G K O K ;
Street; Mail orders—P.O. Box 857, H A M I L T O N . Retail
Suksit Siam Company, 171s R a m a IV Road, B A N G K O K .
—Cubacade World Trade Center, Mulgrave Street
T O G O : Librairie Evangelique, B . P . 378, L O M É ; Librairie
(Head Office); Mail orders—Private Bag, W E L L I N G T O N .
du B o n Pasteur, B . P . 1164, L O M É ; Librairie Universitaire,
Retail—159 Hereford Street; Mail orders—Private Bag,
B . P . 3481, L O M É .
CHRISTCHURCH.
Retail—Princes Street; Mail orders
T R I N I D A D A N D T O B A G O : Trinidad and Tobago
— P . O . BOX 1104, DUNEDIN.
National Commission for Unesco, 18 Alexandra Street,
N I C A R A G U A : Libreria Cultural Nicaragüense, calle 15 de
St. Clair, PORT OF SPAIN.
Septiembre y avenida Bolivar, apartado n.° 807, M A N A G U A .
TUNISIA: Société tunisienne de diffusion, 5, avenue de
N I G E R : Librairie Mauclert, B . P . 868, N I A M E Y .
Carthage, TUNIS.
N I G E R I A : T h e University Bookshop of Ife; T h e UniverT U R K E Y : Haset Kitapevi A.S., Istiklâl Caddesi, No. 469,
sity Bookshop of Ibadan, P . O . Box 286; T h e University
Posta Kutusu 219, Beyoglu, ISTANBUL.
Bookshop of Nsukka; T h e University Bookshop of Lagos;
U G A N D A : Uganda Bookshop, P.O. Box 7145, K A M P A L A .
The A h m a d u Bello University Bookshop of Zaria.
N O R W A Y : Publications: Johan Grundt T a n u m , Karl U R U G U A Y : Edilyr Uruguaya, S.A., Maldonado 1092,
MONTEVIDEO.
Johans Gate 41/43, O S L O X , Universitets Bokhandelen,
U S S R : Mezhdunarodnaja Kniga, M O S K V A G-200.
Universitetssentret, P . O . B . 307, Blindem, O S L O 3.
H . M . Stationery Office, P . O .
POT 'The Courier': A / S Narvesens Litteraturjeneste, U N I T E D K I N G D O M :
Box 569, L O N D O N S E I 9 N H ; Government Bookshops:
Box 6125, O S L O 6.
London, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, EdinP A K I S T A N : Mirza Book Agency, 6s Shahrah Quaidburgh, Manchester. For scientific maps only: McCarta
i-Azam, P . O . Box 729 L A H O R E 3.
Ltd, 122 King's Cross Road, L O N D O N W C I X 9DS.
P A N A M A : Distribuidora Cultura Internacional, AparU N I T E D REPUBLIC O F C A M E R O O N : Le Secrétaire
tado 7571, Zona 5, P A N A M Á .
général
de la Commission nationale de la République-Unie
P A R A G U A Y : Agencia de Diarios y Revistas, Sra. Nelly de
du Cameroun pour l'Unesco, B . P . 1600, Y A O U N D E ;
Garda Astillero, Pte. Franco 580, A S U N C I Ó N .
Librairie
des Éditions Clé, B . P . 1501, Y A O U N D E ; Librairie
P E R U : Libreria Studium, Plaza Francia 1164,^ AparSt Paul, B . P . 763, Y A O U N D E ; Librairie aux Messageries,
tado 2139, L I M A .
avenue de la Liberté, B . P . 5921, D O U A L A ; Librairie aux
P H I L I P P I N E S : The M o d e m Book C o . , Inc., 9 « Rizal
Frères Réunis, B . P . 5346, D O U A L A .
Avenue, P . O . Box 632, M A N I L A D - 4 0 4 .
U N I T E D R E P U B L I C O F T A N Z A N I A : Dar es Salaam
P O L A N D : O R P A N - I m p o r t , Palac Kultury, 00-901 W A R Bookshop,
P . O . Box 9030, D A X BS S A L A A M .
S Z A W A ; Ars Polona-Ruch, Krakowskie Przedmiescie N o . 7,
U N I T E D S T A T E S O F A M E R I C A : Unipub, 345 Park
00-068 W A R S Z A W A .
Avenue South, N E W Y O R K , N Y 10010.
P O R T U G A L : Dias & Andrade Ltd»., Livraria Portugal,
U P P E R V O L T A : Librairie Artie, B . P . 64, O U A G A D O U G O U ;
rua do Carmo 70, L I S B O A .
Librairie Catholique 'Jeunesse d'Afrique', O U A G A D O U G O U .
P U E R T O R I C O : Libreria A l m a Mater, Cabrera 867, Rio
U R U G U A Y : Editorial Losada Uruguay, S . A . , MaldonaPiedras, P U E R T O R I C O 00925.
do
1092,
MONTEVIDBO.
R O M A N I A : I L E X I M , Export-Import, 3 Galea '13 D e V E N E Z U E L A : Librería del Este, A v . Francisco de Mirancembrie', P . O . Box 1-136/1-137, B U C H A R E S T .
da, 52, Edificio Galipán, Apartado 60337, C A R A C A S ;
S E N E G A L : Librairie Clairafrique, B . P . 2005, D A K A R ;
La Muralla Distribuciones, S . A . , 4.*, Avenida entre 3.*
Librairie des 4 Vents, 91, rue Blanchot, B . P . 1820, D A K A R .
y 4.* transversal, 'Quinta Irenalis' Los Palos Grandes,
S E Y C H E L L E S : N e w Service Ltd., Kingsgate House,
C A R A C A S 106.
P . O . Box 131, M A H É ; National Bookshop, P . O . Box 48,
Y U G O S L A V I A : Jugoslovenska Knjiga, Trg Republike 5/8,
MAHE.
P
. O . Box 36, 11-001 B E O G R A D ; Drzavna Zalozba SloveS I E R R A L E O N E : Fourah Bay College, Njala University
nije, Titova C . 25, P . O . B . , 50-1, 61-000 L J U B L J A N A .
and Sierra Leone Diocesan Bookshops, F R E E T O W N .
Z A I R E : Librairie du C I D E P , B . P . 2307, K I N S H A S A ; C o m S I N G A P O R E : Federal Publications (S) Pte. Ltd., N o . 1
mission nationale zaïroise pour l'Unesco, Commissariat
N e w Industrial Road, off Upper Paya Lebar Road,
d'État chargé de l'Éducation nationale, B . P . 32, K I N S H A S A .
S I N G A P O R E 19.
Z
I
M B A B W E : Textbook Sales ( P V T ) Ltd., 67 Union
S O M A L I A : M o d e m Book Shop and General, P . O . Box 951,
Avenue, H A R A R E .
MOGADISCIO.
UNESCO BOOK COUPONS
Unesco Book Coupons can be used to purchase all books and periodicals of an educational, scientific or cultural
character. For full information please write to: Unesco Coupon Office, 7 place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris (France)
[97]