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Usability Potpourri One
How far did the gecko guide us last time?
Brain is a fantastic device. Mmkay.
It is the so-far best evolutively bred thinking and innovation machine.
And even if it would not be, worry not! You and me, we have this thing called Internet and the apps to help us get by even better.
When I started reading neuroscience primer, a rather extensive course as part of the Computer science curriculum I truly was fascinated with the kind of mechanisms and the sheer amount of stuff that goes on in our brain.
We combine various areas together fluently, in every action we take; seeing and understanding our field of vision, is about interpreting the shapes what we see. The visual cortex takes up quite a big part of the brain, and it means that this is a prime sense that we need in everyday life.
Recognizing the food we eat, reading texts — in its entirety; seeing the moods of others around us. Moods are interpreted largely by vision. The face of another person is something that gives us most clues as to what others think, and what their possible intent in the situation, is.
Our brain in fact cannot stop processing. It’s a “computer” that is always-on. When we sleep, we often dream. Dreams may have a role in keeping us in a simulation mode, even learning and practising in there. Sleep serves a crucial purpose; it keeps our memories intact, coherent, and without sleep, we would soon be feeling deprived and our intellect would seem to go down the drain.
One of the biggest benefits in how our brains work is that the mechanisms are well synchronized. Feeling, seeing, and hearing are combined into a meaningful entity that gives rise to our experiences. The guide being our own thoughts and pain, for example, we can shape and anticipate soon and steer away from negative experiences. Thus we learn, and adapt.
Adapting happens in all sort of ways.
UX designers and industrial designers understand this constant adoption, and know how designs can sometimes be hard to nail down to make a certain wanted behavioral change. It is because we are short-cutters; optimizers, and also very intelligent, curious beings: what the designer has thought as our trail, may not be the one we perceive…
