11–20 of 63 posts
You know how people say: “on a scale of 1-10”? I’ve used the principle of Millers law to start asking people to measure on a scale of 1-7. Universally, people balk at the scale. But I explain to them that most people can’t tell the difference between 2 and 3 on a ten point scale. If you can’t articulate a difference, there’s no use in the measurement. Seven is great because you get more than the simplicity of 1-5. So…
I think 5-9 words is much more than 7 bits of information...
Miller’s law says that people can remember 7+/-2 things at a time. I think that’s why people usually like structured lists much better than a unstructured, unsorted laundry list.
That would be a much better goal for product design. You don't want designers to pack things by 7 or 9. It's too many.
You know how people say: “on a scale of 1-10”? I’ve used the principle of Millers law to start asking people to measure on a scale of 1-7. Universally, people balk at the scale. But I explain to them that most people can’t tell the difference between 2 and 3 on a ten point scale. If you can’t articulate a difference, there’s no use in the measurement. Seven is great because you get more than the simplicity of 1-5. So…
The 7 +/-2 rule is, in part, about the design and layout of information so as to better aid the end user in leveraging the way their memory stores information spatially.
In short, it's about how to best design a system to give information TO a user.
What you're talking about is pretty much the reasoning behind methods like 'Fist of Five', 'five star' or '5 face' voting systems. These are methods well grounded in psychology and I might argue going up to 7 is unnecessary.
You know how people say: “on a scale of 1-10”? I’ve used the principle of Millers law to start asking people to measure on a scale of 1-7. Universally, people balk at the scale. But I explain to them that most people can’t tell the difference between 2 and 3 on a ten point scale. If you can’t articulate a difference, there’s no use in the measurement. Seven is great because you get more than the simplicity of 1-5. So…
Chile's education system uses a 1-7 scale for grades
Tangential, but I was able to recite all the words, but only because memorized them in a nonsensical, but easier to remember story. I like the exercise because it forces me to be creative. The CAT looked at me eating an APPLE, I threw a BALL outside to see if it would chase it instead it climbed a TREE...
What does memory have to do with how many things are on screen at one time? Do UI elements get turned into a memorized list or something? But longer term you can store longer lists. I'm not sure how this limited short term memory phenomenon relates to UI?
Tangential, but I was able to recite all the words, but only because memorized them in a nonsensical, but easier to remember story. I like the exercise because it forces me to be creative. The CAT looked at me eating an APPLE, I threw a BALL outside to see if it would chase it instead it climbed a TREE...
Me, too. Instead of having to remember all 20 words, I just had to remember a few stories: the cat eating an apple on a ball in a tree, the square face whose house is a boxcar, etc.