14 Principles of Polite Apps.. Cooper's advice. The tao of design. [a klog apart]

humans have special instincts that tell them how to behave around other sentient beings, and as soon as any object exhibits sufficient cognitive friction, those instincts kick in and we react as though we were interacting with another sentient human being. This reaction is unconscious and unavoidable, and it applies to everyone. With profound and amusing irony, Nass and Reeves used many computer science grad students, skilled enough to have coded the test programs themselves, as test subjects. These subjects were highly educated, mature, rational individuals, and they all strongly denied being emotionally affected by cognitive friction, even though the objective evidence was incontrovertible.

There are certainly many days when I know that my PC is mad at me and treats me accordingly. And all of my software comes equipped with critical need detectors.

Both this article and the original Nass and Reeves book, The Media Equation, are worth reading.

4:20:31 PM •  • comment  

Architects and Planners Want Ownership of Designs. This article provides dry but interesting reading for those who need to draft contracts for services and design work. [blog cognosco v 0.1]

Well worth taking a look at if you make your living from your ideas.

4:06:10 PM •  • comment