Leonardo's Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies. . - Where the Wonder? - book review

Architectural Review, The, Feb, 2003 by Dean Hawkes

By Ben Shneiderman. London: MIT Press. 2002. [pounds sterling]16.50

When I was a student in the 1950s I fixed my drawing paper to my board with drawing pins -- draughting tape had not been invented -- and I drew with either a newly sharpened pencil or a ruling pen. As a research student in the 1960s I made a small contribution to the beginnings of computer applications in architecture by writing software -- in Fortran IV -- and submitting it on punched paper tape to a mainframe computer that occupied an entire building. Now in my academic work and my practice I make widespread use of computer technologies. In addition to the obvious benefits of CAD draughting, I make daily use of e-mail and the Internet to communicate with clients, colleagues, consultants, contractors, local authorities and students and I access Building Regulations, technical information, make bibliographical searches and download images. My desktop and laptop computers are many times more powerful than the 1960s mainframe that supported the research activity of an entire university. This is all commonplace; we are emphatically in the 'computer age'.

Shneiderman is a distinguished computer scientist and I approached his book in the hope that it would offer rich insights into the future of computers. Sadly, I have to report that I am disappointed. The principal thesis is that there has to be a shift from the 'old computing', which was about what computers could do, to the 'new computing', which is about what users can do. This might be an issue in the enclaves of computer science, and I admit that there are occasions when I struggle to use some piece of software or other, but the ubiquity of computers in many walks of life suggests that the battle is substantially won. From an architect's point of view, the poverty of the argument is most obviously revealed in a chapter called 'Mega-creativity'. Here an account of a 'future' architectural design process reveals minimal understanding of the nature of architectural practice and the nature and extent of current computer applications in the field. Its naivete is shocking and undermines confidence in the entire project.

Leonardo's Laptop is a wonderful title that conjures up all sorts of speculations about the contents of the book. Is there some deep metaphor? Will we find a profound symbiosis between the Renaissance and the digital worlds? Will we be offered new insights into Leonardo and his work? Again there is disappointment. All we are given is trite speculation. 'The Renaissance integration of disciplines that Leonardo da Vinci exemplified could guide us in repairing the split in our modern world. Leonardo integrated engineering with human values. He blended science and art ... Leonardo-like thinking could help users and technology developers to envision the next generation of information and communication technologies.' Enough said.