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I was reading about Erik Naggum today, and came across a post that seemed to resound very strongly with the founding beliefs of Arch:
What are the people like that we would like to use [this software]? Do they have to be "computer savvy"? No. Do they have to be inclined to read hundreds of pages of manuals? No. Do they have to learn how to customize [it]? No. Do they need the patience of a programmer? Hmmm. That's a hard one. Do they need the attention to detail of a programmer? That's harder. Do they have to be programmers? No. Now, I'm not answering the hard questions with a "yes", but it is not obvious that the answer is "no".
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The novice-friendly software is more like a misbehaving dog: it shits on the floor, it destroys things, and stinks – the novice-friendly software embodies the opposite of what computer people have dreamed of for decades: artificial stupidity. It's more human.
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To succeed and survive as a more intellectual environment, we need to be less conscious than the competition, we need to communicate to users that learning to use [it] is like learning to ride a bicycle -- it does take some time and effort, it's a worth-while skill to have, and then you never forget.
Source: Read the fine manual, please.
RIP.
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Being that I have been a high school chemistry teacher for 17 years: there are several true statements that apply to society as a whole.
I have watched students over the years being more and more impatient with everything. They do not see that in order for them to learn, they actually have to do the figuring out. They are arrogant because they assume that if something isn't obvious, it is the fault of the thing or person for not making it obvious to them.
It started with those stupid warning labels on bathroom appliances of pictures of a red "X" being placed over a picture of a bathtub. If someone thought a plugged-in hair dryer might be added to the lineup of a conditioner/shampoo as a 1 step process during a shower, perhaps they shouldn't be on the planet anymore and we need to start feeling comfortable with letting those kinds of things go without warning.
Last edited by bwh1969 (2009-06-21 17:45:08)
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bwh's observation reminded me of this good old quote.
Indeed, it seems that the world is going ... in the wrong direction. It makes Arch and its philosophy even more valuable.
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