Her Code Got Humans on the Moon—And Invented Software Itself
I was previously not aware on who Margaret Hamilton is before reading this article, and I wish I would have known her sooner. Her contribution to the software engineering field, and her role in its development, is very inspiring. When it said that after a late-night party, she rushed back to the lab to correct a code that she realized was flawed, out of fear for the headlines in naming her as the one at fault, I realized the sheer amount of stress and responsibilities that she had, and I truly look up to her dedication and commitment to her work.
This article also highlighted the importance of error handling. When Hamilton told the higher-ups that they should develop the code to prevent the crash, they dismissed her concern and decided not to do anything about it. In the end, the worst case happened. I think the lesson here is valuable to programmers alike: we need to expect the unexpected, prepare for all the possible outcomes, and develop ways to handle all of those outcomes. It might not be possible to always know every possible outcome, but this is exactly why testing is so important: to realize flaws and holes in the program, in the same way Hamilton realized the possibility of the crash because of her daughter.
Emotions & Design: Attractive things work better
Norman’s exploration of the balance between aesthetic and usability and their importance on design is something to think about when thinking of a product. Norman highlights how the aesthetics of a design affects the mood of the user, which in turn affects the usability of it.
This reminds me of how things nowadays are designed with a heavy focus on aesthetics in mind. For example, cute stationaries and journals are popular recently, with ‘back to school haul’ and ‘what’s in my bag’ videos trending on social media. Yes they are cute, but that’s not the only reason why they’re popular. I think that the reason they are so popular is because they’re cute and they’re useful. The aesthetics of the journal inspires the person to continue journaling, the cute notebooks motivates people to make notes, and the same with cute pens and highlighters.
I think that it’s this connection between aesthetics and human emotion that is able to contribute to the overall experience of the design.