“Her Code Got Humans on the Moon—And Invented Software Itself”
Moved by both, Hamilton being an ‘outlier’ as a woman in tech and engineering in the 60s and her as a pioneer of software engineering, “Her Code Got Humans on the Moon—And Invented Software Itself”, was one of my favorite readings for this class so far.
In an era when software was still in its infancy, she and her colleagues were pioneering new ideas and techniques that would shape the future of computing.The pressure and responsibility that Hamilton felt during the Apollo missions serve as a reminder of the importance of attention to detail and the consequences of errors in complex systems. Her commitment to ensuring the software’s reliability, reminds me of the dedication and alertness that I should have, striving to pursue a career in a similar field.
Emotion and Design
I often find myself irritated by misaligned elements and clashing color combinations and end up being called ‘picky’ by some of my friends who think that as long as a message is conveyed, aesthetics can take a backseat. I liked most of Norman’s ideas as they resonated with my thoughts. However, I realized that it’s all about the balance between beauty and usability. This also makes sense in the aspect of many choices that we make. For example, if I were to purchase a drawer, I would choose the push-to-open drawer for its aesthetic over a drawer with a big handle that’s easier to use, because the former too, is user-friendly and also looks better.When he talks about affect and behavior, the cognitive aspects of negative and positive affect make a lot of sense to me but when he mentions pleasing designs can make users more tolerant of minor design flaws. I think it’s true that aesthetics can mask some issues temporarily, users are likely to become more discerning over time. Pleasing aesthetics may initially captivate users, but if underlying usability problems persist, users may eventually become frustrated and abandon the product or service.
One thing this reading leaves me thinking about is, it claims that attractive things work better. However, attractiveness is highly subjective and culturally influenced. What if what one finds attractive might not resonate with another? And how do we take into consideration a diverse target audience?