Ergonomics of Thought

The definition of ergonomics, the science that associates humans and work, setting the rules that govern this relationship with regard to efficacy and efficiency, can be extended to mean a work on humans, starting from the transformation that individuals can perform on themselves to think ergonomically, i.e., appropriate to the existential circumstances generated by the demands of human/context adaptation. Ergonomics involves humans as a whole: from sensory experience to self-perception, and even the posture required for certain types of work. Just as there is a sensory consciousness that makes us aware of our position in space, there is also a consciousness of the relationship we may form with the contexts in which we live and move. Ergonomics of thought may thus offer a way to reconsider the harmonic relationship between people and their interiority, as well as their productive and social functions.

If there is an interpretation of what is ergonometrically correct (to alleviate and optimize working life in terms of both productivity and quality of work), an aesthetic and ethical framework of the subject leads us to consider what it means to conceive every project with an ergonomic logic, founded on a theory that promotes aesthetic education as well as cleanliness and essentiality of operation. Such concept many conflict with consumer- and competition-based planning and production. Due to design discrepancy, special attention should be paid to social policies promoting accessibility and elimination of architectural, cultural, and sensory barriers. Sidestepping at this point the sociological consideration of the possible impact of ergonomics (if taken to mean a science seeking to control production discrepancies) and instead focus on the communicative and educational aspects of the subject, ergonomics should be presented and described as a holistic science that correlates various but not clearly distinct disciplines. The mind’s plasticity originates from a link between body and mind, and implies constant experiential learning in multiple human contexts. The repetition of sensorimotor experiences is crucial in both nondisabled people as well as in the blind and in people with multi-sensory impairment. In situations of sensory deprivation, it is therefore indispensable to work with cognitive reinforcements, whereas in conditions of rational hypercontrol and of obsessive fixation (a condition that may affect every human being in certain critical stages of life), it is essential to provide experiences concerning awareness of states of being. In this condition, there appear existential structures that are also a projection of our psychic state. Being active and reflective bodies means being inclined to precise timeliness of our actions, thereby reducing the margin of error sometimes provoked by haste.

Previous | Next