Knowledge in the Head
and in the World

Not all knowledge required for precise behavior has to be in the head.

It can be distributed -
partly in the head,
partly in the world, and
partly in the constraints of the world.

- The Design of Everyday Things

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Precise behavior can emerge
from imprecise knowledge for
four reasons:

Knowledge is both in the head and in the world.

Behaviour is determined by combining the knowledge
in the head with that
in the world.

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Great precision is not required.

Perfect behaviour results if the combined knowledge in the
head and in the world is
sufficient to distinguish
an appropriate choice from all others.

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Natural constraints exist in the world.
Each object has physical features that limits its relationship with other objects,
the operations that can be performed on it,
and so on.

Knowledge of cultural constraints and convention exists in the head.

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Because behavior can be guided by the combination of internal and external knowledge and constraints,

people can minimize the amount of material they must learn,

as well as the completeness, precision, accuracy,
or depth of the learning.

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