This week’s readings really brought home a lot of food for thought that I hadn’t thought about before, especially the reading on Margaret Hamilton. I had heard of her prior to reading the article but only that she had done pioneering work in the field of computer science. A part that stood out to me in particular was when they were talking about her daughter playing with the command simulator and accidentally started P01 and how Hamilton wanted to add additional code to act on this possible error scenario but how it was blocked by NASA as unnecessary overhead as all astrounats will be “perfect”. However, an accident actually happened during the Apollo 11 mission when an astronaut mistakenly triggered the same program sequence, causing them to be stranded. This indicated to me that even when a woman is exceptionally intelligent and has made significant contributions, her expertise can still be undervalued or dismissed. Hamilton’s insistence on prioritizing safety and anticipating human error by putting it in the documentation, after being overruled, demonstrated to me how women in STEM have often had to fight harder to have their opinions recognized, even when their ideas ultimately prove to be crucial. It personally resonated with me quite a bit, especially as someone who has also witnessed this type of discrimination within my major, asymmetrically affecting my female peers, including myself. This story, to me, serves as an inspiration to be more vocal about my opinions, be experimental and creative, and most importantly, to trust myself more.
The other reading, Attractive Things Work Better, also gave me a new perspective on design and usability. It discussed how aesthetics influence not just our perception of a product but also our ability to use it effectively. The idea that people are more tolerant of minor usability flaws in visually appealing designs was really intriguing with me. It made me think about how often we associate beauty with functionality, even in cases where the two aren’t directly related. This reading helped me see how emotional responses to design can impact user experience in ways I hadn’t considered before, specifically for physical objects. For example, for software, I can imagine that the design aspect of UI is heavily correlated to its usability aspect of it, since clear signals have to be designed (aesthetically AND functionally) in a way that doesn’t disturb the user experience.