curt@cynic.wimsey.bc.ca (Curt Sampson) (04/08/91)
Doug Gwyn wrote: > The idea that an arbitrary naive human should be able to properly use > a given tool without training or understanding is even more wrong for > computing than it is for other tools. I agree completely. A computer is possibly the most sophisticated tool ever invented by man. It seems to me that it's acceptable to take several weeks to learn how to drive a car, but many people belive that one should be able to start using a computer right away. Unfortunately, a computer requires some preparation and some work before it can be effectively used. I am reminded of a company that I used to do some consulting work for. The managers figured that compters in the office were a great thing, and they wanted to buy several more. When I tried to actually find out what they wanted to use them *for* it was very difficult to get a clear answer. They knew that they wanted to apply computers to their tasks, but didn't know what tasks they wanted to accomplish, much less whether or not they needed a computer to do it with. At one point they managed to get ahold of a copy of MacProject, thinking that it would manage their projects for them. The first thing they did, of course, was boot it up and start playing. I tried to explain to them that there are many hours, if not days, of work involved in defining even a small project before you touch MacProject, but the message didn't get though. After all, spending time generating data worth putting in to a computer just doesn't give you instant gratification, does it? Design decisions can affect the ease of use of computers in unforseen ways, too. I can put together batch files on an "unfriendly" MS-DOS or Unix machine that will enable somebody to send a fax to everyone on a mailing list quickly and easily. On the "easy to use" Mac without that horrible unfriendly command line interface, I end up having to spend far longer training people to deal with the various options of the fax program directly. Let's face it: if you want sophistication and power, you're going to end up with a significant learning curve. Much of that learning curve will be for the job itself. Adding pull-down menus to a desktop publishing package will not help the user if s/he doesn't know what leading or kerning is. If you don't know how to do a job, a computer can't do it for you. I've directed followups to comp.society, since this has little to do with Unix wizardry. Curt Sampson