Accepting differences in perception then teasing things out
Recent discussions in MacRumors – a mid-August discussion in particular – have helped me to learn what is, I believe, a very important lesson:
there's rarely anything wrong with a visual perception that differs from my own.
An appreciation of natural differences in perception – and of debatably unnatural differences (e.g. drunkenness) – may be critical in progressing towards a user interface that pleases the broadest range of users. This is not to suggest that we should ignore or encourage issues such as things being off-centre; it is … perhaps … to allow other users to express
what or
how they see without fear of ridicule.
I assume that "you're drunk" was a light-hearted comment, but (getting deep for a minute or so) if we're to discuss fine details in this topic – if we're to
tease things out as far as possible towards the best – I should not rush to dismiss other people's perceptions – even if that person
appears to show simply a
lack of perception. Any number of things, not guessable within the constraints of this forum, could explain why a person (not necessarily matrix07) does not perceive the off-centre that I perceive. Maybe a medical explanation for it … for this Calendar app Dock icon example I can't imagine it being any form of colour blindness, but who knows … something else? … hopefully readers can get the idea. Denigration or dismissal, however light-hearted, isn't the way to tease out a broader understanding of diverse perceptions.
Hmm … I find it difficult to explain why I'm going off on one, on a deep one, there. Maybe it's because I can't link to the mid-August example without putting my neck on a chopping block (the example was, amongst other things, a breach of an agreement with Apple – other lessons were learnt …). Maybe I'm off on one because I just spent half an hour or so reading a few writings of people with a passion for UX, with particular attention to how a bad UX contributed to a person's death …
Postscript: my brain kicked into gear, I recalled the original reason for me responding to the comment about drunkenness. It's a small collection of links that I have been sitting on for weeks. I'll sit on it a little longer then post that collection to an appropriate topic.
