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> Dumbing down technology also leads to dumbed down users It seems more likely to me in general that 'making technology more accessible increases the number of
by rgoulter 5y ago
> Dumbing down technology also leads to dumbed down users
It seems more likely to me in general that 'making technology more accessible increases the number of people who will be able to access that technology' than 'simpler interfaces make people dumber'.
- cblconfederate 5y agoOTOH i think dumbing down is an active process that leaves end users untrained to complex interfaces. I can compare young students who struggle with a complex interface like blender , yet i remember my uncle (a lawyer) who had learned sql just to use DbaseIV in the '80s
- yarcob 5y agoThe difference being that SQL is a standard that's used across many products, has a very flat learning curve, and will be familiar to anyone who uses databases. Whereas Blenders UI is unlike anything else and has a very steep learning curve even for people familiar with other 3D modelling tools.
- II2II 5y agoYour uncle was special, even for the 1980's. While many people did take the time to learn how to use those more complex interfaces, many people avoided computers altogether. Contrast that to today. People are expected to use various forms of computers, even if there is no compelling reason to do so. The thing that I find bothersome is the expectation of simplified interfaces and feature sets outside of professional domains. It is an approach that works well if the software does exactly what you want of it, yet fails miserably the moment a user's expectations deviates from the developer's expectations. There is little room for creative thought or problem solving since the software tries to do everything for the user rather than providing a set of tools to them.