SaysDave.com

I may not have caused the problem, but I am willing to repair the problem.

How well do users accept responsibility for the perceived complexity of digital systems?

Although I judge that popular digital computers are less secure and more difficult to use than they could easily otherwise be, primarily because buyers are swayed in their decision making by marketing influences, I also judge that most end users don’t accept sufficient responsibility to learn the nuances, strengths, and weaknesses of the systems that purchase or use.

All systems have a degree of complexity. Procedures All systems and constituent components require specific operating procedures. Even systems as manual as writing required a pencil to be sharpened and fresh paper made available. If the pencil were not sharpened, it would not write well. In elementary school, students are taught to use a manual rotary pencil sharpener, and in some homes, even at an early age, children were taught to use a battery-powered electric sharpener.

Even earlier, the Crayola box of 64 crayons and the sharpener on the back of the box teach many children that rudimentary skill of creating a writing point. Knowing that a sharp point can create both a thin line and, with a twist of the wrist, a gentle, broad shadow, is fundamental to fully using the drawing pencil. All users recognize this and are able to meet the rudimentary skill set expectations of an elementary school art teacher.

If artistic skills develop further, the user may learn to make finer distinctions and learn more application details regarding the pencil. For example, knowing and being able to apply the soft and dark 6B pencil lead through the hard and light 6H pencil lead, the wood versus mechanical pencil body, not to mention graphite versus charcoal media are critical to having developing a broad diversity of artistic forms.

The range of knowledge, both of the tool (pencil, in discussion) designs and how and when to most effectively use each degree of the tool’s diversity grants the user flexibility to select the most appropriate tool version for the intended application. Does the average user need to know the same range of distinctions as the expert, the artist? No; however, as more distinctions are made available to the user, more fluid and unrestricted applications follow.

Just as the knowledge of pencil distinctions offers greater flexibility to the artists-and writer-knowledge of how a personal computer and its attendant software applications offers greater flexibility of application to the digital end user.

What are some of the common distinctions that may aid the digital user?