cherubini@COOKIE.DEC.COM (RALPH CHERUBINI CX01-2/N22) (07/21/86)
Response to 14 Jul "Architectures for interactive systems?" For a very provocative couple of hours relating to modes of interaction, user models, contexts...I suggest people get a copy of the videotape of the movie "Being There". I have found it very suggestive, based as it is on a central character who has a very limited repertoire of responses. I think there is a great deal to be learned from the models of interactions which are both explicit and implicit in the film. I'd be interested to hear reactions. Ralph Cherubini Digital Equipment Corporation [For those who haven't seen it, Being There stars Peter Sellers as a retarded man who is forced into the world by the death of the wealthy man who had sheltered him. He enters the world full-grown, with no traceable past, dressed in expensive clothes, and interested in little except gardening and watching television. His great talent is that he listens very intently, with no hidden agenda of things he'd like to say or places he'd rather be -- hence the title. People mistake his laconic replies, particularly his references to gardening, as deep philosophical thought -- as with the Eliza/Doctor program. He finds shelter with a millionaire, a political "king-maker", who introduces Sellers to all the right people and fosters this image of precious eccentricity and deep insight. The few who realize Seller's true nature are either unable or unwilling to break the illusion. -- KIL]