Book Reading #8 - Design of Everyday Things

Title:
Chapter 3: Knowledge in the Head and in the World

Reference:
Norman, Donald. The Design of Everyday Things. New York: Basic, 2002.

Summary:

The chapter focused on our knowledge and how it is dependent on both internal and external factors.  It showed how we remember things as they are without great precision in an example of recognizing a coin; though we cannot usually pick the correct coin out of many coins that look strikingly similar, we know a coin because of its relation to other coins.  We also use constraints to remember things.  We use rhyme and rhythm to narrow our possibilities of the things to be remembered.

If we have thoughts and memories in our head, when distracted by other things, it can vanish.  Short term memory is good for memorizing about 5-7 numbers at a time, and repetition helps, but we still forget things when distracted.  We also have long term memory which takes longer to access, but we are able to retain it for longer.

The author points to three types of memory:

1. Memory for arbitrary things - things we must memorize that don't really play a role in the function of the device.
2. Memory for meaningful relationships - when we assign the use of something to a function that reminds us of how to use it.
3. Memory through explanation - when we know the way something works and the way it is designed to work, we can then formalize ideas of how to fix things because we know the background to the device.

Reminders are helpful in remembering things, but it is important that they are meaningful reminders and actually instruct you as to what you are suppose to remember.


Discussion:
This chapter was really thought-provoking for the psychology of how we remember things.  It made me think about how I learn - the methods I use - and how I may be able to more effectively learn things I want or need to.  It also reminded me of teaching and how different techniques could be beneficial rather than just having people memorize things.