This paper presents writing as an extended cognitive system comprised of brain, body, and the material form that is writing. Part I introduces the theoretical framework used for the analysis, Material Engagement Theory (MET), and the initial insights into writing systems gained by applying MET to Mesopotamian artifacts for numbers and writing. Part II discusses how writing as a material form has changed over time and why this material change reflects, accumulates, and distributes change in the behaviors and brains of generations of writers. Part III explains why forms of writing used today are a visible form of language in being comprised of contrastive graphic features. Part IV argues against the idea that writing should be excluded from being considered as an extended cognitive system. On the contrary, considering writing from this perspective can provide new insights into the ways we use material forms—not just in writing but more broadly—to change our behaviors and brains, and their roles in intensifying and perpetuating those changes.

本文将写作视为一个扩展的认知系统，由大脑、身体和写作的物质形式组成。第一部分介绍了用于分析的理论框架，即材料参与理论 (MET)，以及通过将 MET 应用于美索不达米亚文物的数字和书写而获得的对书写系统的初步见解。第二部分讨论写作作为一种物质形式如何随着时间的推移而发生变化，以及为什么这种物质变化反映、积累和分配了几代作家的行为和大脑的变化。第三部分解释了为什么当今使用的书写形式是由对比图形特征组成的可见语言形式。第四部分反对写作不应被视为扩展认知系统的观点。相反，从这个角度考虑写作可以为我们如何使用物质形式（不仅是在写作中，而且更广泛地）提供新的见解，以改变我们的行为和大脑，以及它们在强化和延续这些变化中的作用。