Don't disparage these people: they're the ones clicking on your ads ;-)
Compared to you, most people seem dumb
101–110 of 147 posts
Re: Compared to you, most people seem dumb
#102Tech people, and especially the circle that is absorbed in the startup/techcrunch/combinator thing, have to be the most incredibly self absorbed, solipsistic bunch of twits in creation. Most people are busy earning a living or living their lives doing something that actually matters, and the subtle nuance of details that tech startup types endlessly masturbate over is trivial background noise to most of the normal wo…
I'm glad for the huge disconnect between techies and actual people. It makes it possible for the development of new ideas to connect with mainstream users. If techs understood mainstream people I wouldn't be on this site right now. Why do I feel Palinish? Ugh. . . too bad it's true.
Perspective Time: Being an expert means you are capable of a lot, it's great for sure, but it doesn't mean you're smart or have all the answers. Let's not be mad at each other, it's all good.
Re: Compared to you, most people seem dumb
#103Apparently you can book tickets, check email and do all sorts of stuff online without knowing that each website has a distinct address called a URL. Yes. The days of DNS as a mainstream human interface are numbered.
So we'll be going back to AOL keywords?
Seriously? We've been in that world for the last four years, only it's called Google keywords now.
Re: Compared to you, most people seem dumb
#104Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is just multiplying my inhibitions :) It's a '94 Mercedes 500SL, so...better safe than sorry?
Read the owner's manual. Are you using the type and grade of oil and filter they recommend? If you're getting your oil changed at Jiffy Lube, I can assure you that you are almost certainly not.
I think you're doing a good job of proving the point.
Advice from the 'guy who knows cars': Read the owner's manual. Are you using the type and grade of oil and filter they recommend?
Listener response: I don't care. I just want the car to run.
Advice from the 'guy who knows computers': Why are you still using IE7? Make sure you upgrade regularly.
Listener response: I don't care. I just want to check my email and play Farmville.
Re: Compared to you, most people seem dumb
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would be a bit worried by anyone who has not heard of Einstein. But you make a great point, and I think the article missed it. It is not that we know more, we know more about our particular areas of expertise, just as others know more about their areas of expertise. My Dad knows a lot more about airplanes than I do, because he worked on them for a number of years.
> I would be a bit worried by anyone who has not heard of Einstein. It's all relative.
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Re: Compared to you, most people seem dumb
#106I would love to read this, but the website is completely broken for me in Opera 10.63.
It breaks after one of the many many many cross site plugins is loaded.
Re: Compared to you, most people seem dumb
#107I think (one of) the biggest difficulties is that it's not as simple as
Make your apps, websites and tools as simple as possible
There are two targets that could be aimed for- (a) some kind of inherent intuitiveness/simplicity (as in the calendar example), and (b) something the most similar to past experience (as exemplified by the "Reply" button example).
One of my lab partners in grad school didn't believe there was such a thing as inherent intuitiveness. Back when I had more free time for such things, I remember having lengthy arguments with PC-to-Mac switchers explaining how the implementation of feature X was inherently more intuitive or ergonomic on the mac although it seemed a stupid way to do it to them. Some might argue that even in the calendar example, clicking the date is not more intuitive but similar to the past experience of writing on a physical calendar.
However, I'd argue there is definitely such a thing as an interface that is inherently non-intuitive, so by contrast, there must be things that make an interface inherently more intuitive.
So, I think of (a) and (b) as competing trade-offs that must be compromised. Going too radical towards (a), especially on a product that people already have formed associations with, and you end up an awesome, but fringe, product with a small community of fanatic followers (see NeXT). If you create a radically new something, or the impression thereof, you have a lot more leeway, since people are not psychologically attached to previous experiences.
Go too radically towards (b) and you aren't adding anything different with your product.
If you're making something new to go into battle against existing, well-established products, the best approach is to start with (b) and then slowly "fix" things, one at a time, over time, starting with features that give the biggest bang for the smallest change in user behavior. This applies to user-facing front ends, only of course.
Re: Compared to you, most people seem dumb
#108A good friend of mine recently commented that I always brought up role models that he had no idea who were, and I quoted as known and famous. The people in question were names such as Niels Bohr, Steve Jobs, Larry and Sergey, Richard Dawkins and Einstein. My first thought was to dismiss him as not very knowledgeable, but then I thought to ask him who he thought were good famous role models. He rambled off a number of…
I would be a bit worried by anyone who has not heard of Einstein. But you make a great point, and I think the article missed it. It is not that we know more, we know more about our particular areas of expertise, just as others know more about their areas of expertise. My Dad knows a lot more about airplanes than I do, because he worked on them for a number of years.
Does Einstein really hold an important relevance to 'everyman USA'? To nearly every citizen - and, I would argue, even with those a basic (HS) level of physics - he's not so different than Heisenberg, Bohr, Bethe, Shrodinger, etc. Sure, they made great advances for the world of physics, but how relevant is that to an individual who does not interact with that theory at all? More specifically, relevant enough to cause worry?
Now, I note that you could argue the Manhattan product is a reason for Einstein's relevance, but was he really significantly more relevant in that than any other of the scientists?
People know politicians because they affect taxes, healthcare, laws, etc. They know sports stars because it's a subject they enjoy following - featuring impressive feats of human ability. And they probably know a few individuals closer to their field of work.
Is Einstein really an example of something that 'everyman' should know about, or could your argument partially be a confirmation of the article's argument?
Re: Compared to you, most people seem dumb
#109The underlying issue is that people are afraid to try and explore. They form a mental model of how to do something, look for something that fits into that model, and then are happy. If they guess the wrong model, though, then they are stuck forever. Skilled computer users, on the other hand, don't let a failing model bother them. They just try something else. Most people will do this for anything but computers, thoug…
Most people will do this for anything but computers, though, which is weird. I'm not so sure about that. A majority of people (no data, sorry) confronted by danger or an accident will panic or freeze. People can have extensive familiarity with physical tools but be blind or even reject nonstandard configurations or uses when first proposed. There are complex problems I can solve in my head and simple ones that make m…
Your analogy confuses me. It seems that Lisp, and it's tree structure, would fit better with "multiple overlapping layers", and assembly would fit better with "2d layout", since it is so important to visualize the memory model, like a map in your head.
Re: Compared to you, most people seem dumb
#110People are not really stupid, it is just that you know a lot more. Don’t let knowledge blind you. The points made in this piece are very good ones but it is not primarily an issue of intelligence - rather, it is mostly about one's point of reference. Early in my legal career, I worked at a firm that represented a group of Nob Hill condo owners who had had a series of problems with contractors and who had suffered a v…
"The points made in this piece are very good ones but it is not primarily an issue of intelligence - rather, it is mostly about one's point of reference."
I don't disagree, but is that not the same sentiment of the article and the closing sentence? "People are not really stupid" suggests it's not an issue of intelligence, and I think "it is just that you know a lot more" argues your point of reference. I absolutely agree with your correction, but I assumed it was implicit.