[IxDA Discuss] Simplicity is Not Understood

[Esteban Barahona]

note: this is a draft sour/sober personal opinion. it's not directed to
anyone in particular, really. don't take it too seriously if you don't want.
It doesn't have to do with IxD (wtf is IxD? really? is it
ProductDesign+HCI+Psychology+ScienceOfMind? who cares, IxD is a brand to
have more cash)... w/e

I "hate" to do this, talk in first person about this issues. but enough is
enough... I have waited 21 years to be strong enough to shout this; let the
ripples of the Net de-draft this rambling...


> Simplicity Is Highly Overrated<http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/simplicity_is_highly.html>
>


Cold Water

wtf? I just finished reading this essay/article... but it doesn't look
clear/articulate, it's as the author wants to make simple products that
looks complex so that buyers (not users) give cash to a brainless WW
Corporation (!). Ease of Use, Simplicity; did someone put this concepts on a
Design Altar? And after that, the "industry" use both terms loosely; with a
careless tendency to merge simplicity with ease of use.

Those the system/product is complex? is it simple? That doesn't matter for
the simplicity of the Interaction between user and machine. And there's a
deep issue of purpose, existencialism and pain of humanity as a whole.
Technology is the creation of humans for one purpose mainly: it exists so we
can do less work. Some (most?) humans are lazy by nature. Historically we
developed technology to survive as a species. But not only to survive on a
biological way, at some point we start using technology to hide our greatest
fear: we will die and don't know (or don't want to accept) what death means.
So we created Technology, the perfect host for us -the parasites- to feed
upon. And we make it cute... for hedonistic pleasures.

And now are we... <sarcasm>Descendants of the ones that discovered fire.
Fire is warm, fire is shelter. Against the wilderness, the enemy. We must
kill the enemy. We must destroy the enemy and seek pleasure through
technology, our cold and dead "mother". We must kill Gaia and become
cyborgs... transplanting or minds to computer networks to preserve our
pathetic existance.

So, now are we. Even more developed, you know after the Industry was born.
Now we can be efficient. Our technology gives us power, cuss humans doesn't
have an innate spark. Nah, lest give all that b/s thinking to crazy people.
</sarcasm> ...and now are we, still drooling for techno-toys (iPhone
anyone?). drooling for a way of life that is killing nature. humans are
currently insane. but there's still some hope...

Humanity is either insane, or deeply ignorant of reality. Today, I saw
beauty in a mountain. But it has being persistently devoured by the grey
goo, the sprawl, the city. Yes, those fortresses. Those useless fortresses.
Today I shout against this insanity. I shout against the believe that humans
have limit capabilities and are weak. Really, that's how society
indoctrinate its children. It indoctrinate children to be weak, dependant,
ignorant. But what society nows? Is it still following the "path of
progress", the industrialization, massification? I shout against
deep-engrained ideas that are useless. Ideas that are slowing or true
evolution. 46&2.

What about the singularity? How on earth (or hell, or heaven) do one designs
Interaction between a singularity-conscious abiotic mind and a conscious
biotic mind? To do that (if it's even possible, and that's a big if) it will
take the designer to be a Buddha/Awakened/Enlightened. Really... does anyone
thing about this? Interaction is between 2 systems; we may be more like
computers and computers more like us... theoretically. // Minsky

Either way we're screwed. We are a plague. Yes, we are a plague. Specially
the cities. That represents all this insanity // Ghost in the Shell, Matrix

Let me finish this with just one thing:

Simplicity can be Difficult.
Complexity can be Simple, or more precisely Transparent.
Humans are intelligent enough to use a Transparent Technology.
Transparent Interaction is easy for an intelligent Human.
It doesn't clutters the functionality.

Being Intelligent is using the mind.
It doesn't means "getting 100% in tests"...
that's just to get more cash,
we don't neet cash, neither borders/limits.

Use your Mind. Really
Look trough all this clouds.
Humans have so much wasted potential...
what a shame.

...this rambling doesn't make any sense.

^_^