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I actually saw this last night and initially had the same reaction but had some time to think on it. Remember, for a lot of people taking a pregnancy test is i

I actually saw this last night and initially had the same reaction but had some time to think on it. Remember, for a lot of people taking a pregnancy test is incredibly stressful. Reducing the complexity of reading by outputting a less ambiguous result has a lot of value to some people.

rubidium 6y ago
This exactly. I had to convince my wife not to doubt herself. “Yes that’s a line. Instructions say that if anything appears even if faint then you’re pregnant. No we don’t need to double check. Wahoo you’re pregnant!!”
- sokoloff 6y ago
  We had the same conversation, followed by at least $30 worth of double-checking over the next several days...
  - zaphod12 6y ago
    Super glad to know that my experience is a common one - precisely the same conversations over a very faint line!
  - copperx 6y ago
    That should have started the usually uncomfortable dialog about enrolling in a basic statistics course. It could save your relationship.
    - sokoloff 6y ago
      This is one of best, perhaps the singularly the best, times in life to smile and go along with it. (She has a PhD in neuroscience; entering some kind of Statistics Olympics wasn't going to improve anything in my life at that moment.)
    - ponker 6y ago
      Yes, someone who’s made it as far in a relationship as intentional pregnancy should “save” their relationship by suggesting remedial education to their partner...
raverbashing 6y ago
Then maybe something needs to be added to the manual: "If the line shows but is faded: retake the test in X days" Or maybe the test can have lines with different sensitivities.
- xsmasher 6y ago
  "Fix it in the documentation" is a terrible solution to a UI issue. Fix the UI. When the user makes a mistake it's the user's problem, but the designer's fault.
  - raverbashing 6y ago
    I agree the ideal solution is to fix the UI but sometimes there are limitations. Like in this case.
bluntfang 6y ago
if you really think the driver of this is "reducing stress" you haven't been paying attention to capitalism.
thatfrenchguy 6y ago
But as a society, do we want to generate additional waste for a bit of comfort ?
- captainredbeard 6y ago
  Society wants -- through its observed behavior -- that very much. Is it good from an intellectual perspective? Likely not, though this is a very low impact scenario compared to mass plastic convenience packaging for near daily use items. YMMV.
- sigotirandolas 6y ago
  It could ultimately generate less waste, if it prevents enough misreads. The cost incurred by someone misreading a positive result as negative and having to abort later on is much higher than the premium of the digital test. I'm not sure if the numbers work out, though.
- moonbug 6y ago
  this is literally this history of civilization.
- Maxion 6y ago
  Not only comfort. A lot of factors early on in pregnancy affect the health of the unborn child. Knowing when your pregnant will help you stop consumption of e.g. alcohol.

rubidium 6y ago

This exactly. I had to convince my wife not to doubt herself. “Yes that’s a line. Instructions say that if anything appears even if faint then you’re pregnant. No we don’t need to double check. Wahoo you’re pregnant!!”

sokoloff 6y ago
We had the same conversation, followed by at least $30 worth of double-checking over the next several days...
- zaphod12 6y ago
  Super glad to know that my experience is a common one - precisely the same conversations over a very faint line!
- copperx 6y ago
  That should have started the usually uncomfortable dialog about enrolling in a basic statistics course. It could save your relationship.
  - sokoloff 6y ago
    This is one of best, perhaps the singularly the best, times in life to smile and go along with it. (She has a PhD in neuroscience; entering some kind of Statistics Olympics wasn't going to improve anything in my life at that moment.)
  - ponker 6y ago
    Yes, someone who’s made it as far in a relationship as intentional pregnancy should “save” their relationship by suggesting remedial education to their partner...

raverbashing 6y ago

Then maybe something needs to be added to the manual: "If the line shows but is faded: retake the test in X days" Or maybe the test can have lines with different sensitivities.

xsmasher 6y ago
"Fix it in the documentation" is a terrible solution to a UI issue. Fix the UI. When the user makes a mistake it's the user's problem, but the designer's fault.
- raverbashing 6y ago
  I agree the ideal solution is to fix the UI but sometimes there are limitations. Like in this case.

bluntfang 6y ago

if you really think the driver of this is "reducing stress" you haven't been paying attention to capitalism.

thatfrenchguy 6y ago

But as a society, do we want to generate additional waste for a bit of comfort ?

captainredbeard 6y ago
Society wants -- through its observed behavior -- that very much. Is it good from an intellectual perspective? Likely not, though this is a very low impact scenario compared to mass plastic convenience packaging for near daily use items. YMMV.
sigotirandolas 6y ago
It could ultimately generate less waste, if it prevents enough misreads. The cost incurred by someone misreading a positive result as negative and having to abort later on is much higher than the premium of the digital test. I'm not sure if the numbers work out, though.
moonbug 6y ago
this is literally this history of civilization.
Maxion 6y ago
Not only comfort. A lot of factors early on in pregnancy affect the health of the unborn child. Knowing when your pregnant will help you stop consumption of e.g. alcohol.