Microblogs #8 - Things that Make us Smart

References:
Title: Things that Make us Smart
Author: Donald Norman
Editor:Bill Patrick, 1993

Chapter #1:
Summary:
In this chapter, Norman talks about how technology is both helping and hindering us. He then talks about how he thinks this could be changed if we shifted from technology-centered design to human-centered design. Finally, he discusses two different thinking modes for people, and how technology can help and hinder them.

Discussion:
I don't think that this chapter was very exciting, but it does a good job of setting the stage for the chapters to come. I did find the descriptions of modes of the mind interesting though, and I am curious if he is going to describe more of them later.


Chapter #2:
Summary:
In this chapter, Norman goes into more detail about the experiential and reflective states of the mind, and how technology lures us into these states. He also talks about the three levels of learning: accretion, tuning, and restructuring, and how many new-age education methods help very little with any of these learning types.

Discussion:
I thought this chapter was interesting mostly because of the discussion of optimal flow. I have noticed before that I go into states of complete focus in situations from programming to video games. I wish after reading about it that people knew more about getting into and out of this state, since I would love to go into a Zen trance on command.


Chapter #3:
Summary:
In this chapter, Norman discusses the power of representation -- that is, how tasks can be made easier or more difficult by changing how we look at them. From different types of numerals to different color usages in graphs, the way we display information can be almost as important as the information itself, since it can affect whether we look at it in an experiential or reflective mindset.

Discussion:
This chapter was interesting because of how obvious it quickly became as he went through each example that ordering information right is important. My personal favorite was the tic-tac-toe example, since it showed a method of representing the board on a computer that I had never thought about before.


Chapter #4:
Summary:
In this chapter, Norman describes how what object we choose for assistance can help or hinder our task. From newspaper versus television to digital versus analog, the correct choice of entertainment or watch can make all the difference with how enjoyable we find the experience.

Discussion:
This chapter was good because we finally got our feet wet with some design concepts. The discussion about how computer interfaces that succeed give the best representation for the task was the most helpful part.