The Design of Everyday Things
By: Donald A. Norman
Chapter 2I have always tried to explain how a new object works in my head on my own and without any conceptual models or manual. Many of the times my mental conceptual model is not accurate, but that first idea I get is the one that sticks. If I am not corrected I begin to think my own model is the actual model. A good example is the microwave oven. I may be an engineer, but I still do not fully know exactly how microwaves heat up my food. I have an idea, but I know it is wrong. How random chance is handled by the mind is very interesting. Dr. Norman explained that most of the times when coincidences happen people do not see them as coincidences until they keep happening at seemingly random times. That first few times something happens by chance I am always thinking about what I was doing just before, and I try to tether my actions as the cause of the coincidence no matter how implausible it may be. The mind is always jumping for an explanation for every unknown situation or object we come in contact with. It would be amazing if we could predict why the mind does this.
No comments:
Post a Comment