5 ms·

>It is also easier to just see "fuel red", "temperature normal" than 12.5L or 89.5C. Numbers can be red, green, or whatever color is needed. And then it's imme

>It is also easier to just see "fuel red", "temperature normal" than 12.5L or 89.5C. Numbers can be red, green, or whatever color is needed. And then it's immediately better scannable than gauge because you just see a color without need to discern a needle position towards an always present colored block.

zer00eyz 3y ago
This might work for gas, or speed, not so much for a tachometer. It's not just "red", it's where you are relative to red, or how deep in red, and how close to max you are. Its positive feedback when shifting gears (and a joy when you know your transmission)... I can get in a car with a traditional tac and know a lot at a glance, A digital gauge conveys none of this information.
- nucleardog 3y ago
  An analog gauge also gives you a very quick and intuitive sense of rate of change. It's extremely quick, easy, and intuitive to see an analog tachometer climbing quickly and time a shift properly. If there's anywhere where a precise value would matter, I would have to imagine it would be F1. They are certainly not sticking with analog gauges because "tradition" or "cost". And even if it were only better given an adjustment period or additional training, they would simply have made the switch and the drivers would have adapted. Yet, while there are several variations, every team to my knowledge uses a series of lights which are even _less_ precise than the analog gauges most of us have in our car.
Karellen 3y ago
> And then it's immediately better scannable than gauge because you just see a color If you're not color-blind, that is.
itishappy 3y ago
If you're running low on gas, but in the high end of the gauge, that's clear at a glance based on the position of the needle within the colored section. This is a much harder task with colored text. You can try using gradients to slowly fade to red, but interpolating colors is significantly harder than glancing at a gauge.
EdwardDiego 3y ago
Colour blindness is a thing. As my colour-blind friend likes to joke "I'm fine when driving, I know that the green light is the one at the top".

zer00eyz 3y ago

This might work for gas, or speed, not so much for a tachometer. It's not just "red", it's where you are relative to red, or how deep in red, and how close to max you are. Its positive feedback when shifting gears (and a joy when you know your transmission)... I can get in a car with a traditional tac and know a lot at a glance, A digital gauge conveys none of this information.

nucleardog 3y ago
An analog gauge also gives you a very quick and intuitive sense of rate of change. It's extremely quick, easy, and intuitive to see an analog tachometer climbing quickly and time a shift properly. If there's anywhere where a precise value would matter, I would have to imagine it would be F1. They are certainly not sticking with analog gauges because "tradition" or "cost". And even if it were only better given an adjustment period or additional training, they would simply have made the switch and the drivers would have adapted. Yet, while there are several variations, every team to my knowledge uses a series of lights which are even _less_ precise than the analog gauges most of us have in our car.

Karellen 3y ago

> And then it's immediately better scannable than gauge because you just see a color If you're not color-blind, that is.

itishappy 3y ago

If you're running low on gas, but in the high end of the gauge, that's clear at a glance based on the position of the needle within the colored section. This is a much harder task with colored text. You can try using gradients to slowly fade to red, but interpolating colors is significantly harder than glancing at a gauge.

EdwardDiego 3y ago

Colour blindness is a thing. As my colour-blind friend likes to joke "I'm fine when driving, I know that the green light is the one at the top".