The Design of Future Things, Chapter 2

The Design of Future Things, Chapter 2
by Donald A. Norman

     In Chapter 2 of The Design of Future Things, Norman delves into the topic of the psychology between man and the technology we create. As our machines and technology become more sophisticated, the interaction between humans and those technologies are more important. Norman divides the human brain's processing into three categories: visceral, or instincts, such as when we recoil from a hot stove; behavioral, which includes basic motor skills, tasks, and learned procedures; and reflective, which includes self-image, higher reasoning, and higher consciousness. Our technologies today serve to take away some of the necessary processing, and we interact with them in these ways. Our car, for example, may take away the visceral reaction to a bump in the road by cushioning the tires with shocks. We interact with the car behaviorally by turning the wheel and pressing the pedals. But, our car does not communicate with us reflectively - that is, we can't have a conscious decision with our car.
    The reason why communication between humans and machines isn't satisfying or completely possible is because machines and humans have no common ground together. Machines may have lots of sophisticated reasoning systems and sensors built into them, but they can never compare to the complex psychological system that humans have for making decisions and communication. So, the future of smart refrigerators that caution you from eating unhealthy food or the car that programs a scenic route for you is not readily possible. Norman explains that systems that just "do" or just "demand" from you will never be successful in interactions with humans. Instead, we need our machines to suggest to us, in a more conversation-like manner, and explain themselves.

     While Norman's points make sense, I don't think that machines need to learn to be polite and explain all their actions to us. One of the benefits of technology is that it does the things we need it to, and we don't have to understand how it works. I don't see our technology making executive decisions to us and not allowing us to eat an egg, for example. If our machines are going to tell us anything at all, it needs to be a suggestion, and they need to understand that humans are always the authority. In this, I agree with Norman. But, I wonder if we really need all of our technology to start suggesting things. I have never used a media suggestor that gives suggestions based on what music or movies you already like, and I don't think I need a fridge that tells me I'm drinking too much or a car that yells at me for going too fast. While it would be nice to have automated cars, and other automated things, I don't want the reflective side automated. I want to be able to make all the choices about where we're going to go, and the route, and let the car do all the visceral and behavioral things like steering and breaking.