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HCI Redux pp 131–149Cite as

Making-Believe with Technology

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Part of the book series: Human–Computer Interaction Series ((HCIS))

Abstract

In this chapter we present the proposal that make-believe has an important though unrecognised role in human-computer interaction. We argue that make-believe is a form of thinking with things (as discussed in Chap. 5) but here the product of this activity is not the completion of a task but the creation of fictional, possible or “whatif” worlds. These possible worlds are extremely useful as they allow us to explore ideas without committing to them. So, we create fictional worlds every time we visualise or imagine how a new cell phone or “app” might look or behave long before we have written a line of code.

We make-believe when we treat the user interface of our personal computers as a “desktop” or attribute a personality and temperament to a robot vacuum cleaner. We are also making-believe when we “kill” aliens with our space marine buddies. Make-believe is the hidden engine which powers many of our experience with digital technology.

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  1. School of Computing, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK

    Phil Turner

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Turner, P. (2016). Making-Believe with Technology. In: HCI Redux. Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42235-0_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42235-0_8

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-42233-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-42235-0

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