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We must accept that we are human and we make mistakes because our body has unique limits. We are limited in our cognitive processing abilities constrained by capacity and time. We have physical limits such as endurance and strength. We have ergonomic limits such as reach and rotation. We have perceptive limits in what certain electromagnetic and mechanical wavelengths we can detect and filter. We must accept that we are human and we make mistakes because our body has unique limits. We are limited in our cognitive processing abilities constrained by capacity and duration. We have physical limits such as endurance and strength. We have ergonomic limits such as reach and rotation. We have perceptive limits in what certain electromagnetic and mechanical wavelengths we can detect and filter.

The lights in the theater dim. Voices die down. All eyes now stare at the giant illuminated screen and silence overtakes the room. Projecting now, the movie begins. Beginning from high above a city, the audiences’ view mimics the flight of a bird. Slowly, as the view trickles down below the clouds, a row of houses appear. Dropping lower, the view focuses to one house in particular. We enter the house, it’s dark, old, and abandoned. Slower now, the camera leads us down the stairs to the basement. The audience is coaxed into believing something isn’t quite right. Attention is focused on the closed closet door, now bringing and increase in fear and tension. Something terrible is about to happen; the audience waits. The camera leads the audience closer to the door. Closer. Closer. Closer. Not a sound to be heard now. Then it happens! The sound of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” chimes loudly breaking everyone’s concentration. Heads turn and eyes seek to identify the location of the sound and culprit. The patron embarrassingly finds her mobile phone and switches it off. Yes, it’s annoying when someone forgets to turn off their phone. But hey, people make mistakes. Mistakes happen everyday in our lives. Some mistakes go unnoticed, while others can be quite catastrophic. Some mistakes are caused by us, others by objects in our environment. But many mistakes can be prevented!

That Was Easy

How could the mistake of the lady not turning off her phone be prevented? If only she had an “Easy” button to push that would allow her to start over and turn off her phone prior to the movie beginning. Maybe though a distributed cognitive network, her friends could have reminded her. Or maybe the situation could have been resolved if her mobile device detected that she was in a movie theater and automatically defaulted her device to vibrate.

Unfortunately, life doesn’t provide us with a personal “Easy” button to turn a complex situation filled with chaos and mistakes into one of errorless simplicity. Relying on friends, can be well....unreliable. Having our device automatically detect potential error based on our location or behavior problems seems plausible and doable.

Load Transfer

We must accept that we are human and we make mistakes because our body has unique limits. We are limited in our cognitive processing abilities constrained by capacity and duration. We have physical limits such as endurance and strength. We have ergonomic limits such as reach and rotation. We have perceptive limits in what certain electromagnetic and mechanical wavelengths we can detect and filter.

Mixed together with our limitations, we expel a lot of cognitive energy to process and interact with the enormous amount of stimuli in our environment. Our attention on the task at hand will affect which environmental stimuli needs to be filtered, focused on and stored. Think of our mind as a a leaky bucket that is constantly being filled. As more and more stimuli are collected through sensory memory, most, during filtering, will be lost. Important stimuli will be processed and stored using our working and long-term memories There are many theories on cognitive load, attention and problem solving. For further readings, check out Broadbent (1958), Sweets, 1984) and Sweller (1988).

Understanding Our Users

Control and Confirmation (last edited 2013-04-11 00:02:34 by shoobe01)