Seeking chances through interface design the role of abduction

In this paper we plan to explore the notion of cognitive chance taking advantage of an analysis of the concept of interface. The notion of interface, especially studied in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI), can be of help in shedding light on how to design cognitive artifacts able to shape and extend pre-existing cognitive capabilities - and even able to unearth new ones. The cognitive dimension of interfaces was considered in connection with the notion of cognitive niche. From a theoretical perspective, an interface is a cognitive niche insofar as it selects those aspects of the environment relevant to carry out certain cognitive tasks. In dealing with interface design, we put forward an alternative conception of affordance based on the notion of abduction. We argue that an efficient interface can be considered as a set of affordances: it displays as much as possible those signs from which one can correctly infer what to do next.