Book Reading #7: Opening Skinner's Box Microblog

Reference Information

   Title: Opening Skinner's Box

   Author: Lauren Slater

   Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company (2008)

Chapter 1: Opening Skinner's Box (26 Pages)

Summary

This chapter is mainly focused on B.F. Skinner and his work. It also discusses some of the impacts his research had on other works and what he extrapolated from his data. Skinner was heavily influenced by Pavlov. Pavlov was able to condition a reflex; Skinner wanted to take it a step further. He was able to do things like teach a rat to press a lever to receive food and teach a pig to vacuum. From his studies, he came to a conclusion that there is no such thing as "free will". We operant on cues and conditioning. The professor she talks to about this is very upset and fiercely disagrees.

Discussion

I'm intrigued to read more about B.F. Skinner. I find his work to be quite interesting. I have a dog so i'm well aware of what "conditioning" is. I'm wondering why we are reading this for CHI. What ways are humans conditioned in respect to using computers? Are things like slot machines a form of operant conditioning?

Book Reading #6: Coming of Age in Samoa Microblog

Reference Information

   Title: Coming of Age in Samoa

   Author: Margaret Mead

   Editors: Williams Morrow and Company (1928)

Chapter 2: A Day in Samoa (6 Pages)

Summary

As the title of the chapter would have you believe, chapter 2 is Mead describing a typical day in Samoa. In the morning, men go to work, boys go fishing and girls giggle and stay around the village. The evening is a time for lightness; a lot of them enjoy dancing and going around to the other villages. The Samoans (like many indigenous people) are very superstitious. She talks about superstitions they have regarding ghosts and how women pour water on fish that the men bring back to wash away their taboos.

Discussion

What I found interesting was the order in which they eat: head of the household, women and children, and then the boys. I would've thought that in this culture it would be males first and then females. 

Appendix II: Methodology of this Survey (7 Pages)

Summary

Mead explains her methodology she used for studying the Samoan girls and the key areas she focused on. She spent 6 months in Samoa and studied 68 girls between ages 9 and 20. She talks about some of the things she chose to do including makeshift intelligence tests and things like that.

Discussion

Her methodology was interesting; I am very interested in seeing what conclusions she comes up with. I've read about her study she did in Papa New Guinea which was also very interesting.

Appendix V: Materials Upon Which the Analysis is Based (13 Pages)

Summary

Mead shows her findings in tabular format. She records a lot of personal information from each of the girls including things such as sexual experience and family history. The ages were approximated as there was no real record of how old the girls were.

Discussion

This was an interesting chapter to read so early on in our study of this book. I think it tells me a little more as to what I can expect from this work and the type of questions Mead is going to ask of the women in Samoa.

Book Reading #5: Design of Everyday Things Microblog

Reference Information

   Title: Design of Everyday Things

   Author: Donald Norman

   Publisher: Basic Books (2002)

Chapter 2: The Psychology of Everyday Actions (20 Pages)

Summary

Chapter 2 discusses why people blame themselves for their inability to make something work. Norman says that this is typically because of the poor design of the product. He gives several examples such as similar locations on a keyboard and a situation in which a man interacts with a poorly designed alarm clock. He also goes on to talk about the seven stages of action: forming the goal, forming the intention, specifying an action, executing the action, perceiving the state of the world, interpreting the state of the world and evaluating the outcome. He poses questions the reader should ask when designing something.

Discussion

Like the first chapter, I found this one to be equally interesting. I enjoy the way he writes and the insight he gives. The examples he provides add a lot to the value of his arguments, even though they are anecdotal.

Paper Reading #4: Cross Currents: Water Scarcity and Sustainable CHI

Comments
http://stuartjchi.blogspot.com/2011/01/paper-reading-4-cross-currents-water.html 
http://vincehci.blogspot.com/2011/01/paper-reading-4-cross-currents.html 

Reference Information

   Title: Cross Currents: water Scarcity and Sustainable CHI

   Author: Tad Hirsch

   Publisher: CHI 2010: Imagine all the People, April 10-15, 2010

Summary

Water shortages is one of the many issues the world faces. It is estimated that approximately 1 in 8 people currently lack access to safe water. It is estimated that 2 of 3 people could be living under "water stress" by 2025. The researchers sought to understand what "sustainability" means and how water (and anything that is a precious resource) is conserved today. The site that they study is central New Mexico, an area bounded by Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and Santa Fe.
They held structured and unstructured interviews with government, industry, agricultural and residential individuals. They found that there was a variety of conservation practices, from low-flow toilets and efficient appliances to extensive irrigation systems. While everyone was aware that conservation was necessary, many expressed that there were ways they could do more (upgrade appliances). Cost was generally not a factor when it came to motivation as to why they conserve. Many cited "it was the right thing to do" and that "we live in a desert". This is not to say that economics did not play a factor, but that rather, it may not be a particularly large factor.


They found the biggest challenge to be allocation. Water to places like farms and factories are based on a "use it or lose it" type principle. This typically discourages conservation as people want to get as much for their money. Now that they have gone to a "modern economy" based on casinos and serves, they have shifted to maintaining things like soccer fields and golf courses. The researchers find "sustainability" to be a very elusive concept. Government officials in NM feel like their 40 year plan is good, but many feel that this time frame is laughably short.


Discussion
Similar to last week's article, i'm not sure what this had to do with CHI. This seemed more like a societal or public policy study than anything. They caution designers to think of conservation as shaped by a variety of factors including identity, value and social norms. Sustainability is not a one-size-fits-all type endeavor. Sustainability is much more than just consuming fewer resources; it is about changing entire systems from individuals to institutions. Again, I feel that this work would be much more beneficial to those creating public policy.

Book Reading #4: HCI Remixed Microblog

Reference Information

   Title: HCI Remixed: Reflections on Works That Have Influenced the HCI Community

   Editors: Thomas Erickson, David W. McDonald

Chapter 24: A Stimulated Listening Typewriter: John Gould Plays Wizard of Oz (5 Pages)

Summary

The author is interested in speech recognition technology and a paper by John Gould is what really stimulated his interest. Gould evaluated recognizers using the "Wizard of Oz" method. A subject spoke into a microphone and a skilled typist typed what the subject said with an algorithm intervening in between. Because words are sometimes slurred and are not discrete, discrete speech was simulated by pausing the subject's audio for a few seconds every time the typist entered a word.

Discussion

I'm not sure I understand what the "Wizard of Oz" method is supposed to do but it's apparently very highly praised. The amount of research that Gould did in gathering his data seems to be the most impressive thing about this article.

Chapter 25: Seeing the Hole in Space (5 Pages)

Summary

A researcher and his team at Xerox PARC checked out a project called "Hole in Space". They were stunned by what they saw. It was basically video conferencing across cities. A "hole" was opened on the sidewalk between New York and Los Angeles. Passerbys could communicate with people across the way.

Discussion

I didn't understand the "human relations as an art medium" part of the story. I understand that what Kit and Sherrie tried to do was break down alienation but I didn't see how that related to art mediums.

Chapter 26: Edward Tufte's 1 + 1 = 3 (6 Pages)

Summary

Tufte's theory is essentially that two black lines placed parallel to each other actually produce a third white line in between. The author relates this theory to his experience with the OPEN/CLOSE buttons in an elevator. In his experience, he found that two identical buttons created cognitive confusion. The "third" button was his mind trying to figure out which one to press.

Discussion

This article reminds me of "The Design of Everyday Things". It was probably the easiest article to follow that i've read so far. I really like his redesign.

Chapter 27: Typographic Space: A Fusion of Design and Technology (5 Pages)

Summary

The author talks about Typographic Space, which essentially allows typographers to design typography in a three-dimensional space. They looked into dynamically manipulating text and the effect that it had on the user. The presentation was able to convey emotional messages.

Discussion

I've always been pretty interested in typography. I have a Mac and I think that the typography choices made in the OS are awesome. As a designer, one definitely has to consider the emotional aspects of any product. In terms of Android vs. iOS, I feel like a lot of women are turned off by Android do to all the robots and "nerd" marketing. Maybe that's what they're going for, though. It seems silly to me.

Chapter 28: Making Sense of Sense Making (5 Pages)

Summary

The author (pre-web) talks about memory prosthesis and sense making. Kidd argues that we are inundated and keep large amounts of data but typically hardly ever use it. We store them in folders which force us to classify our data. Over time, classifications can change and things end up getting put where they shouldn't be and we will never find them again. Sense making refers to AI data management. She argues that AI will not help us.

Discussion

I'm not sure that I encounter the problem Kidd has with organizing data. Granted, I may never need to look at some of it ever again, but I realize its there if I do need it. I don't know that this "problem" can ever really be solved or if it is even a problem at all. Perhaps we need a pensieve like in Harry Potter to retain our memories?

Chapter 34: Revisiting an Ethnocritical Approach to HCI: Verbal Privilege and Translation (4 Pages)

Summary

The author read Arthur Krupat's book about the Ethnography of Native Americans and found many similarities to his HCI work. They both encounter the same problems and have surprisingly similar solutions.

Discussion

I found the author's approach to bettering his understanding of HCI principles as inspiring. He obviously understands the necessity of understanding the anthropological aspects of human understanding.

Paper Reading #3: Multi-Lifespan Information System Design in Post-Conflict Societies: An Evolving Project in Rwanda (19)

Comments

http://stuartjchi.blogspot.com/2011/01/paper-reading-3-multi-lifespan.html
http://aaronkirkes-chi.blogspot.com/2011/01/paper-reading-3-19-multi-lifespan.html

Reference Information

   Title: Multi-Lifespan Information System Design in Post-Conflict Societies: An Evolving Project in Rwanda

   Author: Batya Friedman

   Publisher: CHI 2010: Imagine all the People, April 10-15, 2010

Summary

In 1994, around 800,000 Rwandans were killed that belonged to an ethnic minority by a neighboring Rwandan majority group. This obviously created a great deal of stress on the country's ethnic, political and societal groups. Today, the country is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa and is politically stable.


Following the genocide, the UN Security Council in cooperation with the Rwandan government established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). ICTR was in charge of prosecuting those that masterminded the genocide. After 15 years, they are finally coming to a close. The team of researchers wanted to preserve the experiences and insights of those that served the ICTR during this time (judges, prosecutors, lawyers, investigators, etc). They recorded 49 videos in all.


Those affected by armed conflicts rely heavily on information systems post-conflict in order to restore civility and access critical information. The researchers hoped to be able to use their HCI knowledge to help build this infrastructure. They had to provide a method for distributing the information in a way that was accessible to as many people as possible. Rwanda's technical infrastructure wasn't great. Radio was the most pervasive communication medium, with widespread cell phone use in both rural and urban areas. There was limited power and Internet access in many villages. The team was able to provide 4 prototypes: 1) video clips on DVD, 2) video clips served locally from a website, 3) audio clips delivered to cell phones, and 4) quote cards: cards printed with a quote from the video clip.

Discussion

I guess this relates to HCI in that they had to figure out a way to distribute the materials in a way that was accessible to as many people as possible. I didn't find anything truly ground-breaking or exciting about their work, however. There wasn't some big culture gap that prevented access or anything like that; it was simply that the infrastructure was so bad. I feel like they could have just uploaded them to a youtube-like site devoted to the ICTR and published a book with all of the interviews, perhaps distributed freely. I'm not sure how many people are going to request audio clips through SMS or read printed quote cards.

Image: http://www.roxilla.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/rwanda.jpg

Brainstorming: Ethnography Ideas

1. Preferred smartphone operating system.
2. Note-taking medium: paper, laptop, other, none.
3. Ping pong paddle grip (shakehand or penhold) correlation with ethnicity?
4. What homeless people use to carry their stuff.

Book Reading #3: HCI Remixed Microblog

Reference Information

   Title: HCI Remixed: Reflections on Works That Have Influenced the HCI Community

   Editors: Thomas Erickson, David W. McDonald

Chapter 1: My Vision Isn't My Vision: Making a Career Out of Getting Back to Where I Started (6 Pages)
Summary

In this article, William Buxton discusses one of the first computer music systems. The system was quite ahead of its time and had a relatively large amount of different input mediums. He reveals that the real objective of the designers was to study HCI, not make music. 
Discussion

I found it odd that they created such a complex system to study HCI, but given Buxton's reasoning, I guess it made sense. The author gives very high praise for the work in saying, "any graphics or HCI student who has come out of the University of Toronto, this work is a significant part of their heritage--whether they know it or not."


Chapter 4: Drawing on SketchPad: Reflections on Computer Science and HCI (5 Pages)
Summary
Joseph Konstan argues that computer science and HCI are very much interwoven. He says that it is "critical to keep a presence of HCI within computer science--critical to both HCI and computer science." He uses SketchPad as his example in this piece. He is impressed by its ability to advance new algorithms and such as designers look to better create touch screen software.
Discussion
I like when he says, "how often are we handicapping ourselves by accepting whatever today's desktop computer has to offer?" The tablet PC has never really caught on, mostly because people don't want to use a desktop OS with a touchscreen. I feel like the introduction of the iPad, much like the iPhone, is going to open up a whole new product category and a very exciting time for consumer electronics.


Chapter 5: The Mouse, the Demo, and the Big Idea (5 Pages)
Summary
Wendy Ju discusses HCI's demo culture and the word that is so associated with it, "hype".She talks about the "Engelbart video", a video about the creation of the mouse. This demo became known as "The Mother of All Demos". She realizes that a great demonstration is "not hype, but proof."
Discussion
I like that the article discussed that while generating hype in a product is important, it actually has to do something. I see a lot of hyped up products fall by the waste-side because they only imitate other products with very little innovation of their own.


Chapter 18: Observing Collaboration: Group-Centered Design (7 Pages)
Summary 
Saul Greenberg discusses the origin of Groupware and the limitations of online collaborative efforts. He demonstrates why a shared space online is not enough for good collaboration to occur. He goes on to talk about the efficacy of human type interactions (gesturing and writing) that are essential to the "experience".
Discussion

This paper was interesting because I have experienced these sort of limitations firsthand. It also might be able to explain why people "meet to decide when next to meet".


Chapter 20: Taking Articulation Work Seriously (5 Pages)
Summary
Geraldine Fitzpatrick talks about the field of CSCW, computer-supported cooperative work. He stresses the importance of "articulation work". Articulation work mediates and manages everyone's activities. For example, it could be important in "allocating tasks, distributing resources, scheduling activities and so on." 
Discussion
I found this paper to be very confusing at times. There were so many quoted and italicized words that I was beginning not know what the author was talking about. 


Chapter 23: Video, Toys, and Beyond Being There (6 Pages)
Summary
Brian Smith talks about the differences between "being there" and "beyond being there". "Being there" is essentially communication between people who aren't in close proximity but is good enough. The example he uses is communication between a grandmother in chemotherapy talking to her granddaughter over a computer screen. "Beyond being there" essentially takes face to face communication to another level; technology aids the communication, not hampers it. 
Discussion
He had a fantastic analogy: a shoe is something that you don't necessarily need, but you would not prefer to go without it when possible. I imagine that it would be quite difficult as an HCI researcher to develop "beyond being there" type communications. The article talks about creating "emotional experiences" as part of key design nowadays. I see that in devices such as the iPhone. I feel like Apple really sells an experience, not just a product.
I was recently watching Mad Men, a show about advertising executives in the 1960's and this bit about an "emotional experience came up". The agency had to make an ad for a Kodak slide projector. Kodak wanted words like "research and development" and such but Sterling Cooper went a completely different direction; they focused on the memories that the machine would conjure. Nostalgia is far more powerful than fancy words.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRDUFpsHus

Paper Reading #2: Exploring Integration and Attribution in Online Creative Collaboration (18)

Comments

http://stuartjchi.blogspot.com/2011/01/reading-2-edits-credits-exploring_24.html

http://ryankerbow.blogspot.com/2011/01/reading-2-edits-credits-exploring.html

Reference Information

   Title: Edits & Credits: Exploring Integration and Attribution in Online Creative Collaboration

   Author: Kurt Luther

   Publisher: CHI 2010: Imagine all the People, April 10-15, 2010.

Summary

There are many online communities that use "attribution" to survive. Attribution allows "online reputations to be formed" and serves to "motivate many contributions to online creative collaboration". People spend their free time editing freely accessed projects such as Wikipedia and Linux for a variety of reasons including political motivations, altruism or most commonly, to increase "one's status within a community". The system is set up in such a way that each person's reputation is consistent with their their persistent identity, a name that typically keeps track of all of that person's contributions.
The study considers Newgrounds, a large flash animation portal with over 1.8 million registered members and over 160,000 uploaded animated movies and games. A popular way these movies/games are created are through a "collab", a collaborative animation project. A collab typically consists of one or two leaders and up to 50 or more artists.

There are many challenges faced by this sort of collaboration style, most dealt with by the collab leader. With so many viewpoints and ideas circulating around, it can be hard to integrate everyone's contributions. A balance must be struck between quality and inclusion. Attribution (coauthorship) can also be difficult because Newgrounds has a "multi-author system" (MAS) that only allows for 10 contributors to be given credit. Contribution is based on a criteria that the author must go through in deciding his coauthors.
Luther goes on to discuss the importance of integration and attribution in the collaborative process. There must be a simultaneous editing and crediting process, as he calls, "cr-editing".

Discussion

I found this article to be quite interesting, although I do not participate in any forums or communities such as this one. I'm sure many of my classmates do, however. I did find it interesting that a lot of what motivates people to participate is acceptance within a community. This social hunger to be either accepted or seen as cool (smart, whatever) is interesting to see.

Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/11/Newgrounds.jpg/200px-Newgrounds.jpg

Reading #2: On Computers

Comments

http://shennessy11.blogspot.com/2011/01/on-computers.html
http://zmhenkel-chi2010.blogspot.com/2011/01/on-computers.html

Reference Information

   Title: The Complete Works of Aristotle
   Author: Aristotle
   Editor: Jonathan Barnes

Summary

Firstly the authenticity of the work is seriously doubted. A pair of asterisks in the title (as this has), indicates "that its spuriousness has never been seriously contested". That being said, I am going to assume that Aristotle did indeed write this.
I believe that Aristotle is attempting to explain the presence of a "soul" in plants. He believes that if something takes in food, it desires food. It feels pleasure when full and pain when hungry. That does not occur without a sensation. After explaining his opinion on the soul of plants, he tries to contrast the traits shared by a human and a plant. He spends many pages describing many different plants.

Discussion

The assignment is to "creatively" blog on this piece, so I am going to try and relate Aristotle's exemplification of plants to my representation of a computer.
A computer and human differ in many ways, namely, in motivation. We are driven by irrational thoughts and desires--a computer acts rationally and logically.
We are the same in how we function, though. A computer cannot function without a power source. We cannot function without food. "You are what you eat" is a popular saying. A computer is only as good as its parts. Our body is made up of millions of electrical signals and impulses--each determining what our body needs and how we should react to the environment. A computer is similar to this in that it assess the environment (ex. heat of the CPU) and adjusts accordingly.


Image: http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/02309/Photosynthesis_2_files/image004.jpg

Reading #1: Chinese Room

Comments

http://zmhenkel-chi2010.blogspot.com/2011/01/chinese-room-blog.html
http://chiblog.sjmorrow.com/2011/01/reading-2-chinese-room.html 

Reference Information

   Title: Minds, Brains, and Programs
   Author: John R. Searle
   Publisher: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (1980)

Summary

"The Chinese Room" is a thought experiment performed by the author, John Searle. The premise is that research has created a computer that behaves as if it understands Chinese. It takes Chinese characters as input and follows a series of steps that produce Chinese characters as output. Searle assumes that it passes the Turing Test; the program can convince a Chinese speaker that he/she is talking to another Chinese speaker.
Searle asks: does the machine really understand Chinese or is it simulating the ability to understand? Searle calls understanding "strong AI" and simulating "weak AI".
He then supposes that he is in a room with the computer. Chinese characters are given to him, he runs the program and produces a Chinese character response. If the computer passed the Turing Test this way, so should he, he assumes. He does "speak a word of Chinese" yet, he can make someone believe he does. Since he himself does not understand Chinese, he assumes the computer does not understand Chinese either.

Discussion

I disagree with Searle. If a computer can convince a Chinese speaker that they are talking to another Chinese speaker, how is it that the computer does not understand Chinese? One can make the argument that someone had to program it all in--but isn't that essentially the process of learning? There may be times perhaps that a computer could not decipher the true intended meaning of a speaker, but you could argue that that sort of miscommunication happens all the time.
Perhaps it may be important to define what "understand" means in this context. Does it mean that the computer should be able to interpret words and give a logical response, or does it mean that the computer should be able to interpret words from an emotional standpoint? Humans are incredibly emotional and irrational. How would it respond to: "all these blogs will be the death of me!" Will it take it literally or figuratively?


Image: http://anita2506.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/wall-e-eve.jpg

Paper Reading #1: Only One Fitts' Law Formula - Please! (17)

Comments
http://stuartjchi.blogspot.com/2011/01/conference-paper-17-only-one-fitts-law.html
http://tamucsce436-2011a.blogspot.com/2011/01/reading-1-only-one-fitts-law-formula.html



Reference Information
   Title: Only One Fitts' Law Formula - Please!
   Author: Heiko Drewes
   Publisher: CHI EA '10, April 10-15, 2010


Summary

The HCI community uses many different formulas for Fitts' Law. Usually when formulas have different variations, they are derived from different assumptions. In the case of Fitts' Law, the different formulas are derived from the same assumption, consequently, there must be something wrong with most if not all the derivations.
Fitts' Law essentially models a relation for the average time it takes to point at a target that is a given size and distance away. The model shows that the farther away or smaller a button is, the longer time it takes to click it. This form of pointing is very important to the field of HCI because it is a very frequent action that users perform when interacting with computers.
The author states that there are a "high number of publications" in regards to FItts' Law, and it seems that "the big amount of research papers contribute more to confusion than to a clarification of the topic". The discrepancies can be traced back to misunderstanding and conveniently tweaking certain variables as to show correlation when one may not exist. Since Fitts' Law is one of the very few quantifiable pieces of data in the field of HCI, it would be good for everyone to use the same formula.
The author goes on to say that while Fitts' Law is important in that it can model the system, in reality, button placement is kind of common sense. Buttons should not be too small or too big. "The task of HCI is to find a good balance and this can already be achieved with common sense."


Discussion
I found this article to be very telling of the state of HCI. It seems that there is no true standard when it comes to Fitts' Law if there are so many variations and justifications for such discrepancies. I like how the author stated that if they [the community] were to truly acknowledge what is right and wrong, it would render huge amounts of HCI research "obsolete." Instead, Drewes proposes that HCI be treated as an art. The community would "live with contradictions and more than one truth." Art cannot be quantified, and HCI could go that route. However, if it wants to be considered a science, it must be held to certain scientific standards.
I felt like there were a lot of technical terms in this paper that were never defined, lending to my confusion when it came to formulas and such. I never figured out what an "ID" was.


Image: http://www.clker.com/clipart-1795.html

Book Reading #2: Coming of Age in Samoa Microblog

Reference Information
   Title: Coming of Age in Samoa
   Author: Margaret Mead
   Editors: Williams Morrow and Company (1928)


Chapter 1: Introduction (13 Pages)

Summary

The author provides the basic argument for choosing Samoa as the subject of her Ethnography. She feels that the primitive nature of the civilization allows her to pay greater attention to detail. Mead discusses several techniques she uses to draw conclusions about how each child grows and responds to their surroundings. 

Discussion

I find it interesting that Mead chose Samoa, a culture so vastly different from our own. She chose to concentrate on adolescent girls in Samoa, as that would allow her greater intimacy. This was probably a good idea because it would allow her to eliminate a few external variables in her study.

A Samoan hut, as described by Mead

Image: http://www.puretravel.com/Guide/Oceania/Polynesia

Book Reading #1: Design of Everyday Things Microblog

Reference Information
   Title: Design of Everyday Things
   Author: Donald Norman
   Publisher: Basic Books (2002)


Chapter 1: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things (33 Pages)
Summary

Obviously a poor design choice.

Norman begins by discussing the frustrations of everyday life. The frustrations he's referring to are the frustrations caused by poorly designed objects--objects that give no visible clues (or false clues) as to how they operate. He cites things such as doors, telephones, the Leitz slide projector and a washer dryer. Users need help and good design gives visual indications as to how the product should be used or how it works.
There also exists a psychology of materials used (the British Rail... glass vs. plywood).
He goes on to describe the importance of conceptual models (a model that allows us to predict the effects of our actions) and mapping ("a technical term meaning the relationship between two things").
Discussion
I found this to be a very insightful chapter. Obviously it is not obvious that a product should be designed with the end user in mind. If one designs the product in such a way that helps the user understand the role and function of the product, its value goes up tremendously. Creating things such as a conceptual model or a mapping can really help me to see how all the parts of a whole come together logically. 


Image: http://www.myspaceantics.com/image-poor-bathroom-design.jpg.html

Introduction

Chris Kam
chrisk1250@gmail.com
4th year Senior


Why are you taking this class?
It fits in the 12:45PM to 2PM timeslot perfectly.
What experience do you bring to this class?
More or less the same stuff everyone else brings. Excellent ping pong skills?
What do you expect to be doing in 10 years?
Creating something awesome somewhere for some company.
What do you think will be the next biggest technological advancement in computer science?
Smartphones becoming as or more prevalent than "dumb" phones.
If you could travel back in time, who would you meet and why?
Randy Pausch. "The Last Lecture" had me on my knees.
What is your favorite style of mustache and why?
None?
If you could be fluent in any foreign language that you're not already fluent in, which one would it be and why?
Chinese. They're going to be the next super power.
Give some interesting fact about yourself.
My entire family has a Mac but my dad works for Hewlett Packard.