The Psychology of Communication by George A. Miller, and: The Psychology of Human Communication by John Parry, and: Science, Art and Communication by John R. Pierce (review)

268 Books professionalism, or as Macleod states it, the 'modern concept of architect as disinterested consultant, safeguarding the interests of client and builder equally but attached to neither, ...' (p. 123). In a time when the now traditional methods of architectural education and the responsibilities of the architect are being questioned and re-evaluated, it is particularly interesting to understand the history of these two aspects of the profession. Macleod's book contributes significantly to this understanding. The illustrations are adequate in quality and well chosen. Macleod makes good use of them in those passages where he relates the translation of architectural ideology into actual building style and practice . The scholarly apparatus ofthe book is less than adequate. More footnotes are needed to precisely identify the sources of the quotations. Curiously, for a book so dependent on written sources, there is no bibliography. Macleod has written an informative and readable book. It is to his credit that he has managed to summarize meaningfully the vast architectural literature of Victorian and Edwardian England in 127 pages of text. It will serve the advanced student as a convenient resume. It will be more useful to the novice as an excellent introduction to a fascinating and important period of architectural history. The Psychology of Communication. Seven Essays. George A. Miller. Penguin Books, London, 1968. 192 pp., illus. £0.30. The Psychology of Human Communication. John Parry. Univ. of London Press, London, 1967. 245 pp., illus. £1.25. Science, Art and Communication. John R. Pierce. Clarkson & Potter, New York, 1968. 174 pp., $6.00. Reviewed by: Herbert W. Franke* These three books are concerned with the same subject: Communication. Parry describes the basic process, the flow of a message through a communication channel, as follows: Input-+Coding-+Channel-+Decoding-+Output t Noise And he also asks the following basic questions: 1. How accurately can symbols be transmitted? 2. How accurately do transmittedsymbols convey the intended meaning? 3. How effectively does the received meaning influence conduct in the way desired? Communication is an essential part of many systems, including technological, biological, sociological and cultural systems. Artists in the cultural system transmit messages by a process shown in the following diagram: environment -\, . .. ( artist) k f cntIcism. wor 0 art VIewer * D-8191 Puppling Nr. 40, near Munich, Fed. Rep. of Germany. Analysis of this process can help us to understand some ofthe typical characteristics ofart, for instance, its relationship to the process of learning and its effect on human emotions. An artist should, therefore , have at least a general understanding of communication theory and these three books will help him obtain it. The book by Pierce is a collection of essays. A considerable amount of discussion is given to communication systems using Earth satellites. More general philosophical questions are taken up in the chapters on 'The Social Uses of Science', 'Freedom in Research', and 'Discovery, Invention and Society'. About 40 pages are dedicated to the subject of art. A book treating so many different subjects might lead one to think that it cannot possibly hold together. However, it is written in a very clear and understandable style and its philosophical considerations offer a most valuable contribution towards the solution of important problems arising from the impact of technology upon mankind. Miller presents a series of essays that have one thing in common: the processing of information by or between human beings. Essays are entitled: 'Information and Memory', 'Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information', 'Concerning Psychical Research', 'The Psycholinguists', 'Computers , Communication and Cognition', and 'Project Grammarama'. In the essay, 'Can Machines Think?' he discusses the stimulating question: 'Which analogies exist between the computer and the brain?' The author writes in a very informal manner and, thus, gives the reader a most sympathetic presentation of these fascinating problems. Parry's book follows a cohesive plan from beginning to end. Therefore, it has the advantage of being a straight forward, logical and consistent discussion. In four parts, it treats 'Types of Information ', 'Barriers to Human Communication', 'Communication Problems in Complex Activities' and 'Communication as an Area of Psychological Research'. Parry succeeds in describing the main features of information theory and information psychology in the first third of the...