It ought to be simple like silence (on Technology Quietly Stated)
Technology, and its promise of simplicity, has been getting the better of me for the better part of my life. As gadgets have gotten smaller, their makers have turned to the menu to play the part of things like buttons and knobs. Menus really do a number on my brain. Selecting the correct combination to make a gizmo do what I want is hardly my strong suit. Manuals do not help too much because they run counter to the way I learn. I learn by watching and doing.
Some manuals have plenty of illustrations to help us on our way. Like cave paintings, they are designed to communicate ideas without words. I get by with the picture book variety of manual fairly well but still find them no substitute for watching someone take hold of a knob and turn.
It has been really something to watch the reversal of roles technology has brought about. Kids are great at adapting to and adopting new technology. They seem to understand it on a primal level and have become little teachers who show adults the way. Each generation takes their deep understanding of such things to new heights as they grow up to invent even newer technologies.
If I could offer any advice to the makers of new things it would be that they ought to be simple like silence. Not silence as in the abscence of sound but as in a silence that makes sense. This may be harder and harder to achieve as the world becomes an ever nosier place. It has certainly become harder to focus on silence but I think, especially when it comes to new technology, it is very important that we do.
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b
Well put! My kind of thinking – what sort of feeling does an encounter (could be a manual) leave you with – noise, confusion, frustration? Or clarity, intuition and general well-being? Or, as you put it, the soothing sound of silence.
I myself have no problem navigating menus or a set of directions, but very few are ordered in a manner which promotes success. It is a rare moment when the light shines through the verbiage and the assumptions. Mike gave some good examples – we need more of that! -
@ Mike
Thanks man, I laughed out loud at your improvisation of a kid’s explanation. I don’t own an Ipod but my wife had hers up and running in no time and now moves like lightening. Oddly, I just had my first real GPS experience today and it was pretty satisfying. I agree that it is a marvel when a piece of technology gets it right but I must admit I still swoon whenever I see a Bakelite knob. :-)
@ jb on his comment to Mike
Partially this post came about because I have been moving into a new laptop but it was directly inspired by an attempt I made this morning to record episode 4 of the Sounding Board. Last night I was able to migrate the audio software to the new computer and this morning, pushing my deadline, I got up at 4:30 with a plan to record outside in the early morning silence. I took the Marantz recorder outside with me and found its memory was full. Normally, I manage the files on the card through a USB cable and for the life of me I cannot figure out how to delete a file directly on the thing. I know I have deleted files before but the interface consists of about six buttons and relies on the user to press the right combination of buttons to make things happen. To make a long story short my house, and the road in front of it, started waking up before I got anywhere with the recording.
@ Rich
It is amazing how the feelings we get from an experience stick with us well beyond the moment. Sometimes these impressions can be erased by the clouds parting and letting in the warm rays of understanding but other times we are simply left with a flashbulb moment of frustration. Have a quiet night.
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b,
Nice post and a theme common to many, more so in recent years.
It’s ironic. Having come from a place where engineering regularly wrestled with intricacies of designing for simplicity I sympathize with R & D teams and marvel at how often they get things right. An iPod is a great example of tremendous capability in miniature and programmed to operate intuitively, GPS another. Beacons, perhaps, for teams designing future generation devices that may confuse our kids…providing them the opportunity to rely upon their children for tutorials:-)
All that said, I agree that gadgetry can complicate life, especially when learning the ropes. Like you, I am fortunate to have youngsters who show me the way and I’m painfully familiar with that knowing look…expressing something like : “Aw, jeez, dad, why do you make it so difficult. Just scroll here, press this, select that and hit the return key?”
Cheers,
Mike