Book Reading #52 - Living With Complexity

Reference Information

Title: Living With Complexity

Author: Donald Norman

Publisher: 2010 Basic Books

Summary:

Chapter 3: How Simple Things Can Complicate Our Mind

In this chapter, the author mentions that things don't necessarily have to be complicated to be confusing; even simple things can be confusing. Norman mentions that the complexity can be due to the vast amount of information that we are required to remember, for example, numerous passwords that we are required to remember. Sometimes, putting this information out in the world helps in reducing the complexity, for example, reminders and sticky notes. Lastly, the author mentions that it's important to make use of forcing functions to constrain the choices and the amount of information, thus reducing the complexity.

Chapter 4: Social Signifiers

In this chapter, Norman talks about social signifiers which he defines as "indicators in the environment that allow people to navigate in otherwise complex and confusing environments". These are cues provided by the actions of other people. These signifiers are similar to the notion of affordances. Thus, intelligent designs provide signifiers that suggest the appropriate use of the device.

Discussion:

I agree with the author when he says - as the amount of information increases, the task becomes confusing. This is true because we have a very limited short term memory. This is where tools like pencil and paper come in handy. Information can be stored and retrieved using these tools, which have enhanced human knowledge. Also, we already know how important it is to have appropriate forcing functions. These functions force the user to perform an action in the right direction. Social signifiers, social cuing or affordances are also extremely important to come up with an intelligent design. This was proved using many examples in the Design of Everyday Things book.