Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login
The Dark Side Of Usability (usabilitypost.com)
4 points by aplari on Jan 10, 2011 | hide | past | favorite | 2 comments



The gist of this is that people don't internalize a concept if the interface guides them through it.

That's a decent objection if the goal is to teach thought process, danger avoidance, or moral behavior where internalization is the intention.

That said, it also behooves people to try to make some things more universally safe.

For example, I was in Ottawa, Canada a few years ago. They have a lock to go between rivers in the middle of their city, being on the junction between rivers. This concrete structure is in the middle of town with walking trails around it, and features a 5-10 meter drop to water with no guardrail or edge around it.

To my American eyes, this looked quite dangerous as an inexpensive preventative measure could be added to prevent what could be a common accident. On the flipside, not having a guardrail would cause people who were aware of it to become more aware, and general raise their level of awareness, along the lines of this article.


In junior high school, my art teacher stored X-acto knives blade up. He believed this would make students more cautious when using the knives.

But in comparison, a 5-10 meter drop without a guardrail does seem unnecessarily dangerous.




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: