The Generation of Standards of Form Within Communication Systems Over Different Timespans

If we consider the particular moment that an individual sits behind the wheel of an automobile for the first time, we can formulate this scenario in the context of three very different timespans: historical, microgenetic and ontogenetic. As this novice sits behind the wheel, around him a "history of the highway" continues along its own evolutionary trajectory where people, terrain and vehicles are co-constructing a system of transportation that reflects the integration ofpsychological, environmental and technological demands. While this novice may be merely a "blip " on a timeline, the fact that he has engaged in the act of driving at that moment underwrites him as a contributor to the collective behavior of driving. Although this may be his first time behind the wheel, the novice driver is not totally ignorant. He brings to this scenario knowledge that he has acquired from years as an automobile passenger observing experienced drivers and paying attention to the interaction between cars and the road. "Rules of the road" (such as a 55 m.p.h. speed limit on certain stretches of highway or red octagonal signs with the letters S-T-O-P signaling drivers to cause their vehicle to stop moving) are not necessarily pieces of information that this novice learned from the Motor Vehicle Code. Rather, these are the kinds of standards that the novice acquired simply as a participant in a driving culture. While history contributes to the driver's experience, at the same time the driver himself is a part of the history in the making. Yet history is not enough. When we consider this scenario from the driver's own perspective, using timespans that frame his "learning-todrive" experience directly, we are likely to characterize the learning process quite differently. For example, we would all agree that this