Description
Book SynopsisWhenever you get dressed, carry objects, write, draw, or gesture, you express knowledge about how to get things done with your hands. Ironically, that knowledge is often difficult to express. Typically you can''t say what you know. Still, it would be enormously useful to identify the knowledge underlying manual control. The design of equipment and transportation systems might better anticipate the abilities and limitations of users, and methods of teaching and rehabilitating skills might improve. This book, the first on the cognitive psychology of manual control, uncovers the hidden knowledge that hands express. Organized around key topics in this emerging area, including the role of the will in manual control, illusions concerning hand position sense, and the coordination of manual actions with others, Knowing Hands explains the planning and control of manual actions in everyday life.
Trade Review'Rosenbaum's argument that hand actions reflect tremendous knowledge is both compelling and important. Moreover, there may be no person better suited in either expertise or style to write such a book. It is clear, accessible, and often quite amusing. It reads as if it were being narrated with great enthusiasm.' Jeffrey B. Wagman, Illinois State University
'What does the brain do? As noted in 1899, the brain controls action. Rosenbaum has elucidated this important idea through the study of manual control. The hands are a great window into the brain. Rosenbaum is a great storyteller, writer and cognitive scientist, par excellence. The book will serve as a great resource for the student and professor.' Howard N. Zelaznik, Purdue University, Indiana
'I recommend Knowing Hands for those interested in the psychology of manual control or in more broad areas of cognition. It is a well-organized, easily comprehended, and fun read.' Christopher A. Was, PsychCRITICS
'Rosenbaum's Knowing Hands provides a first-of-its-kind overview of the cognitive psychology of the planning and control of daily manual actions with hands … for those students and faculty who are interested in cognitive psychology, perception, artificial intelligence, and clinical Neuroscience.' CHOICE
Table of ContentsPreface ; 1. Introducing hands; 2. Building hands; 3. Energizing hands; 4. Willing hands; 5. Seeing hands; 6. Hearing hands; 7. Feeling hands; 8. Joining hands; 9. Extending hands; Notes; References; Index.