Reading Bret Victor’s “rant” on the future of interaction design sparked a myriad of thoughts for me. His critique of touchscreens and how we are moving away from hands-on interaction is surprisingly relevant even though the article was written more than a decade ago.
One of the most striking points was Victor’s emphasis on the importance of hand as the true measure of a tool’s capability. I’d never thought of it this way: our hands not only manipulate objects, but they also shape our understanding of the physical world. If we’re constantly tapping and swiping on flat screens, are we limiting our brains as well as our bodies? It reminds me of the difference between learning something hands-on, like playing an instrument, versus passively watching a video. Both activities are valuable, but one engages the whole body and mind in a way that feels essential. The fact that modern-day children are learning to use touchscreens before they can tie their shoes is impressive, but is it the progress we need? It is, in fact, totally possible to avoid sacrificing our innate capabilities for the sake of innovation. But if we keep focusing on screen-based interactions, we might be undermining our potential to use our hands — and by extension, our creativity.
Even though Victor doesn’t provide specific answers or solutions in these articles, I think he calls for more exploration into technologies that can genuinely integrate our physical abilities. For me, reading these pieces was an important reminder that it is technology that adapts to human nature, not the other way around — something to keep in mind as an aspiring interaction designer.