IEEE Software - The Pragmatic Designer: Programming as Extended Cognition

This column was published in IEEE Software, The Pragmatic Designer column, September-October 2025, Vol 42, number 5. ABSTRACT: Programming is an example of extended cognition: A developer’s ability to program is enhanced by source code that is a suitable external representation and by tools to manipulate it. When structures are aligned between mind and code, they can be swapped in and out like…