Reading Note #2

I will try to keep it short and succinct.

The UX book.

1.  After long usage of information devices, I have something wrong in my short-term memory.  I can’t remember a phone number.  For example, if I have to look at the phone number on the note App, and use it on the phone App, I rely on “copy and paste” rather than memorize.  My short-term memory seems to recess because of not using.  Or am I just too stupid?

The Gestalt theory

1.  When reading about these kinds of principles or theory, I can not help feel sleepy.  That shows my negative view over such theory or principle.  I am not sure if that kind of principle is more useful than common sense in IxD.  If the theory is so useful, why do we have to deal with poorly implemented designs.

Visual attention

1. Quite interesting subject.  I recommend watching this famous video.  It shows the influence of the attention to the visual acquisition.

2. The reading material didn’t contain any figures.  I suspect was it intentional to show the importance of visual aid to help understanding.

Information foraging.

1. It was interesting at first reading.  But though there is many common metaphor between biological foraging and information foraging, I am a little skeptical whether it provides any insight or tool about how to design an website.  Common sense seems to provide similar conclusion.

2 thoughts on “Reading Note #2

  1. First, please change the reading settings in wordpress to send the full text of each post to the RSS feed, not only the first few lines.

    A lot of interesting theories seem very simple when you read them – they give you this “a-ha!” feeling that you knew that – but you couldn’t have articulated it. They become very useful as you learn to rely on them. And, when in doubt about a design decision, you can always go back to the theory and it can help you reason your way through a solution.

    Please embed videos in your blog post if that option is not disabled. It helps to provide a bit of info about what’s in the video (information scent!).

  2. You mention that you think that common sense would be more useful. How did you develop your common sense? Through using these websites and searching? It is likely that your common sense follows these principles but you just don’t know it. When we’re exposed to it, it becomes instinctive. By taking what we feel is common sense and asking why it is common sense, we get these principles. It breaks them down into the “why” this is the case. But yea, a lot of what we read seemed like “Oh yeah, of course!” moments. That was what I liked about it rather than a “What on earth did I just read” moment.

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