Book Reading #52: Living With Complexity

Chapter 3
Summary
In chapter 3 Norman discusses how things get more complicated as the number of items increases. He provides remembering passwords as an example, and explains how we cope by putting the information in the world (pasting the passwords to the monitor or under the keyboard). He discusses the “scaling problem,” something that works well with only a few cases, but often fails as the number grows. He mentions how in an ideal world we would not need signs and how too much information makes things complicated. He concludes by discussing the benefits of forcing functions and provides examples through a discussion on toilet paper.

Discussion
Something I thought of while reading this chapter was how once when I was driving in a construction area, there was a sign on the left side of the road that read, “Left lane closed,” but on the right side of the road read a sign, “Right lane closed.” There were only two lanes and the cars were bumper-to-bumper. While I’m sure there would still be traffic regardless, I think things would have ran more smoothly if the signs had been accurate. Only the people who put the signs up knew which one was correct. (I think the left lane was the lane that was truly closed.)

Chapter 4
Summary
Chapter 4 focuses on social signifiers, indicators in the environment that allow people to navigate in otherwise complex and confusing environments. These signifiers are referred to as “perceived affordances” by some. Norman also discusses culture as another source of complexity and uses salt and pepper shakers as an example. Norman writes about the importance of signifiers and how they provide valuable cues as to the nature of the world and how people should act.

Discussion
In discussing signifiers, Norman mentions traffic and how people tend to interpret it as there being an accident up ahead when sometimes there is not. This happens so much in Houston (and likely in all other major cities). Whether it be a fire or an accident on another part of the highway, people tend to slow down. I often remember thinking that there must be an accident only to find that eventually the traffic lightens up and I never actually see the cause for the slow down.