Design of Everyday Things - Norman, Don [7]
And, finally, at the Applied Psychology Unit in England, I met another visiting American professor, David Rubin of Duke University, who was analyzing the recall of epic poetry—those long, huge feats of prodigious memory in which an itinerant poet sings from memory hours of material. Rubin showed me that it wasn’t all in memory: much of the information was in the world, or at least in the structure of the tale, the poetics, and the life styles of the people.
My previous research project was on the difficulties of using computers and the methods that might be used to make things easier. But the more I looked at computers (and other demons of our society, such as aircraft systems and nuclear power), the more I realized that there was nothing special about them: they had the same problems as did the simpler, everyday things. And the everyday things were more pervasive, more of a problem. Especially as people feel guilt when they are unable to use simple things, guilt that should be not theirs but rather the designers and manufacturers of the objects.
So it all came together. These ideas, the respite of the sabbatical. My experiences over the years fighting the difficulties of poor design, of equipment that could not be used, of everyday things that seemed foreign to human functioning. The fact that I was asked to give a talk on my work at the APU, which caused me to start writing down my ideas. And finally, Roger Schank’s Paris birthday party, where I discovered the works of the artist Carelman and decided it was time to write the book.
Formal Research Support
The actual writing was done at three locations. The work began while I was on sabbatical leave from San Diego. I spent the first half of my sabbatical year at the Applied Psychology Unit in Cambridge, England, and the last half at MCC (the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation) in Austin, Texas. MCC is America’s research consortium dedicated to the task of developing computer systems of the future. Officially I was “visiting scientist”; unofficially I was a sort of “minister without portfolio,” free to wander and interact with the numerous research programs under way, especially those in the area called “human interface.” England is chilly in the winter, Texas hot in the summer. But both provided exactly the proper friendly, supportive environments that I required to do the work. Finally, when I returned to UCSD, I revised the book several more times. I used it in classes and sent copies to a variety of colleagues for suggestions. The comments of my students and readers were invaluable, causing radical revision from the original structure.
The research was partially supported by contract N00014-85-C- 0133 NR 667-547 with the Personnel and Training Research Program of the Office of Naval Research and by a grant from the System Development Foundation.
People
There is a big difference between early drafts of POET and the final version. Many of my colleagues took the time to read various drafts and give me critical reviews. In particular, I wish to thank Judy Greissman of Basic Books for her patient critique through several revisions. My hosts at the APU in Britain were most gracious, especially Alan Baddeley, Phil Barnard, Thomas Green, Phil Johnson-Laird, Tony Marcel, Karalyn and Roy Patterson, Tim Shallice, and Richard Young. The scientific staff at MCC gave useful suggestions,