Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] Knobs / widget design + some OT stuff
From: Fons Adriaensen (fons.adriaensen_AT_skynet.be)
Date: Mon Jun 28 2004 - 02:22:05 EEST
On Sat, Jun 26, 2004 at 09:58:19AM +0200, Thorsten Wilms wrote:
> With regards to widgets, I stated that requiring the user
> to read documetation in order to use a widget is not an
> option. It was especialy about visualizing / hinting at
> functionality. The fan-sliders without the fan graphics would
> give no hint at their special behaviour at all.
Yes, even if a are a good idea, that's a weak point. I see
no easy solution for that, except by providing some form
of documentation, be it a text in a status line, a 'tip of
the day' in popup, or a manual.
> The user doesn't see anything of it, can hardly expect there's
> something hidden, has no reason to even look at documentation.
Curiosity ? It only kills cats, and then only occasionally.
> > If there *is* some documentation, I see no good reason why it
> > shouldn't be read. Unless the user thinks of himself that he's
> > so bright that he will understand everything instantly. Educated
> > people usually are a bit more modest, and don't mind some effort
> > in order to learn something.
>
> What would be so bad about an app providing such good usability
> that users of average brightness can understand everything (not
> necessarily instantly, but still in short time by themselves)?
Nothing. It's just not always possible.
> Educated people like to spend some time reading documentation
> instead of using stuff right away?
If a manual is well written and explains both the concepts behind
an application and it's modus operandi, the answer is probably
'yes'. At least I do.
There have been some references, both direct and less direct, to
my 'strange elitism'. I want to put this straight, once and for
all, even if is quite OT.
Let me start with an example that will put us right at the heart
of the matters that I'd like to explore. A few weeks ago I bumped
into a journalist I used to know when I was working for public
broadcasting years ago. Meanwhile he has become one of the editors
of the most popular TV news show here in rainy Belgium. We had
a drink, and this is part of our conversation:
"... whenever we invite someone into the news studio, he has to
make his point in 12 seconds. If I know he can't, I will not even
consider him." Why not ? "Beacause it's bad TV, and our market
share will go down. Our viewers just don't want to concentrate on
any issue, they want to be entertained. Anyway that's what our
advertisers tell us: we want the largest segment, which are the
people who don't want to think or do any other mental effort."
This is just one of the many things I learned over the last years,
and which all point into the same direction: the main social
dividing line in most western societies these days is one that
reflects education levels. It determines lifestyle, consumption
patterns and political preferences, and it is much more influential
than financial status or the old social classes.
There is in the western world a growing number of people who just
want to be taken care of in all respects, be it material or
spiritual. For this group, everything has to be *easy*. They will
refuse any mental effort, are unable to concentrate on anything
for more than 12 seconds, and will certainly not read a manual.
They will also (as one Belgian politician recently stated, and
that made him very popular) see 'intellectuals' as the root of
everything that goes wrong in the world. They will never accept any
personal responsability - if I burn my lips drinking a coffee that
was served hot, I just sue the bar owner or rearrange his face,
if I get blocked in a traffic jam that's the fault of all these
other people who can't drive and should take the bus, if I lose
my job that's because of the moslim immigrants.
I will not speculate about the causes for this. A more interesting
question is the classic 'cui prodest' - who is likely to profit
from this ? The commercial world is one - easy money can be made
from ignorant consumers that just want their impulsive needs to be
satisfied instantly. Politcians are another - in a democracy a lot
of power can had by just telling people what they like to hear, no
matter how idiot their ideas are, and that can be done in 12 seconds.
Both these parties have a short term interest in stimulating a
tendency to dumb down society as a whole, and short term interests
is all the care about.
More and more, as an 'intellectual' I find myself in a position that
comes down to this: either you budge and dumb down, or you'll be
excluded. This is just one step from what happened during the Nazi
regime, the 'Cultural Revolution', or the Pol Pot government, where
everyone who dared to think was just eleminated.
As someone who has had the privilege of some education, I wil not
look down on those that have been less lucky, and I am quite capable
of loving and respecting any person for his human qualities - these
have nothing to do with formal education. But I *will* look down on
those that give up their basic human dignity - the possibility to
learn, explore, advance, change your mind, move your limits, to be
free - in exchange for easy comfort and instant satisfaction, while
three quarters of the world's population is in dire need of better
education and *is* willing to invest some effort. If someone wants
to call me 'elitist' for that, please go ahead.
Going back to our original point: if a user is too lazy to read
a manual, I can't be bothered with his problem. And if someone
proclaims that aversion to reading documentation is 'normal', I
will disagree, and now you all know why.
-- FA
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