Functionalism on Computer Mouse Essay

The view, that the physical realization of a well-designed component is not, in some sense, its quintessence. Rather, what makes a functional component the kind it, is described in terms of its role in relating inputs to outputs and its relations to other functional components. If you see a machine that you’ve never seen before, you might ask: â€Å"What is that machine? What is its principle? What is it for? † In poising those questions, you are asking for an elucidation of the function that the machine serves. In many contexts, when we throw questions like â€Å"What is it? † what we ultimately are asking for is a version of what it does. As a theory of mind, functionalism is quite appealing. It is based in mathematical proof and provides a means of constructing analogies to guide our understanding of the mind. Ned Block (1980) classifies three senses of functionalism. The first is simple decompositional functionalism. ‘Functionalism’ in this way points to a research strategy that relies on the decomposition of a system into its components; the whole system is then explained in terms of these functional parts. Second, computation-representation functionalism is a unique case of decompositional functionalism which depends profoundly on the ‘computer-as-mind’ correlation. Psychological explanation under computation-representation functionalism is â€Å"akin to providing a computer program for the mind† (Block 1980, p. 171). So, these mental processes are viewed as being decomposable to a point where they can be conceived of as processes which are as simple as those of a digital computer. Last but not least, Block identifies metaphysical functionalism. This type of functionalism is a theory of mind that hypothesizes that mental states simply are efficient states. The metaphysical functionalist asserts that mental states are the forms of mental state they are because of the causal relations between inputs, outputs and other mental (i. e. functional) states of the system, as in the Turing machine. The physical realization of the set of functions which implement a mind are irrelevant to what makes something a mind – it’s the functional relations that count. Functionalism, briefly, is a theory which considers mental states to be causally related, both to behavior and to other mental states. The question of how a value can be added to a product keeps the manufacturers quite confused always. How its functions satisfy all the possible needs of all the customers from the product is a topic for research for the companies which emphasizes on the theory of functionalism. Things have been the principal topic of design discourse since the early nineteenth century. Debates developed around the integrity of materials, the refinements of form, and craft versus mass production, and the relation between form and function. To the degree that the discourse about things has dominated design thinking, insufficient attention has been paid to the relation things and experience of the users (Margolin 2002, p. 38). Every industrial product has some specific purposes. The design of the products must be conformed in the best possible way to the expectations that result from the function the product fulfills. It can be seen in the modern products that rigid functionalism of the past has been discredited. The range of people’s need is often greater than designers are eager, or something competent to accept. Whenever a product is designed a significant factor comes up and that is to omit the unimportant to carve out the important. The time is knocking on the door which compel us to discover our environment anew and return to the simple basic aspects, for example, to items that have unconstructed obvious-seeming functionalism in both the physical and the psychological sense. That’s why products should be well designed and as neutral and open as possible, leaving space for self-expression in using them (Rams 1989, p. 111). Good design can also be very little for various reasons. The design of a computer mouse also happened to be on the same line. This part of computer hardware connects to your computer to assist you manage cursor movement and pointing ability on the PC screen. A computer mouse makes navigation simple by allowing you to freely move your cursor around your screen. This allows you to perform functions of your computer with ease. Mouse is known for the ease they give point and click navigation. They are also identified for how good they work with all the different types of computers on the market today; the technology is so cross-system compatible that it become rare to see any problem when you decide to go from one type of mouse to another on your system. Computers are used by more and more people every day for use at home and at the office. Modern desktop computers offer users with user-input mechanisms that are well-matched for the applications that run on these computers. The use of a hand operated pointing device for use with a computer and its presentation has become almost universal. In computer science mouse is the jargon use to refer to a pointing device which usually slid along a flat surface to create x and y output signals as a result of said movement, the signals generally cause the cursor on the connected computer screen to move and allows the user to point to objects on the screen. A computer mouse is a handheld device that a user slides over a suitable surface causing the cursor on a computer screen to move in a direction determined by the motion of the device. The mouse is a hand-held device that functions on a flat surface which, in tandem with the necessary computer hardware and software, permits the user to manage movement of a cursor or pointer on the display. Computer mouse are often referred to as cursor positioning devices or cursor control devices, although mouse are used to perform many other functions, such as to open and drop documents, re-size and move windows, drag , menu items in a pull-down menu, select icons, text, launch applications and others. Computer mouse can be found in a various types of physical embodiments. Normally a mouse consist of a body that serves as a grip for the user’s hand and as a configuration for mounting a movement sensing system and two or more mouse buttons for the choice of computer functions. A computer mouse is ergonomically designed so that a user’s hand fits comfortably around the device. The computer mouse may be deemed as having a bottom surface which is in contact with a work surface such as a mouse pad when in use, and an upper surface which includes one or more pressure-sensitive switches for controlling computer operations when operated. Computer mouse are available with electro-mechanical, opto-mechanical, or optical movement sensing systems. Traditionally, a computer mouse is connected to a computer system by a cable for passing on signal/power there between. The bodily connection of the mouse to the host computer by the cable inopportunely limits free movement of the mouse and may result undesirable movement sometimes. Constant bending or twisting of the cable may effect further deterioration thereof so as to effect in detachment or inappropriate contact of connectors at reverse ends of the cable. Wireless computer mouse have been developed in the recent time to do away with the need for a cord, and to make it simpler for a user to move the mouse around without having to drag a cord. A cable less mouse that corresponds with a computer system through electromagnetic signals for data transmission solves the problem. The wireless computer mouse is commonly energized by battery and corresponds by means of infrared transmission or radio frequency transmission which possible the wireless operation. In general, proponents of various forms of functionalism make the claim that the physical realization of a given function is not, in some sense, its essence. Metaphysical functionalism identifies causal structures with mental states which are realizable by â€Å"a vast variety of physical systems† (Block 1980, p. 173). But once we have an implementable easiest function, there are no more queries as to what functions can be comprehended by that performance, dissimilarly in the case of a theoretical categorization. Put in different words, it is in no way clear that we have any reliable way of restraining the possible functions of a system without mention to an underlying physical mechanism which also applies in the case of Computer Mouse. A computer user manipulates a pointing device to change the position of a cursor or other object on a computer display, or to select objects on the display. The physical movement of the pointing device results in a similar movement of the cursor and/or object on the display. However no doubt, that the discoveries in the field of computing has changed our lives and effecting the discourse of history in many ways. Today the life has become so easy to lead with the help of these technological advancements and that has resulted from the extensive research in the field of functionalism. But the question remains that whether the idea of functionalism will be conquered by something else, whether a saturation period will strike in our life, or we will continue to witness the victory march of functionalism like this towards the path of future. Works Cited 1. Margolin, Victor. â€Å"The Experience of Products. † The Politics of the Artificial. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2002, pp-38-59 2. Rams, Dieter. â€Å"Omit the Unimportant. † Design Discourse, edited by Victor Margolin. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989, pp-111-113 3. Block, N. â€Å"Introduction: what is functionalism? † Readings in philosophy of psychology. Ed. N. Block. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1980. 1: 171-184