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HARD_AND_DEEP

                                             November 19, 2013
                                             January  12, 2014

Kahneman, in "Thinking, Fast and Slow"
(2011) mentions an experimental result                     FAST_SLOW_AND_SLOWER
showing that a hard-to-read CRT
improved subjects answers:
                                   
Kahneman's conclusion is that any sort     
of cognitive load, even straining your     
eyes to figure out what's on a screen,     
engages a more cautious style of           
thinking.  By making you work harder,      
for some tasks, you will work better.      
                                           
I think this may have implications for
UI design: the standard assumption has
been that computer interfaces should
be as easy to use as possible: they               Sometimes an obstacle
should not get in the way.                        can steer you in the
                                                  right direction...

For a cognitively heavy task a cognitively
engaging UI might be more appropriate...             
                                                     And a more transparent
   emacs uber alles.                                 interface-- e.g. mobile
                                                     phone touch screens-- 
                                                     might encourage people 
                                                     to leave their brains 
                                                     shut off, which would 
                                                     explain something of the 
                                                     current state of the net.


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