Blogs



Digital divides considered harmless

Posted: Tue, April 21, 2015 - 8:00:16

The problem with early technology is that you get stuck with all this legacy sh*t. – Director of Technology at a leading private high school The impermanence of elevation differentials in seismically active terrain Educational technologists have expressed concern about disadvantaged students falling farther behind; haves versus have-nots. Education faces challenges, but I assert that digital divides are not the…

The future of work

Posted: Tue, March 24, 2015 - 12:23:12

Some researchers and pundits predict that automation will bring widespread unemployment. This is unlikely. The shift of some labor to technology has been in progress for decades, but in the past 5 years the United States added almost 12 million jobs. Where is the automation effect? What will materialize to shift us from fast forward to permanent reverse gear? What…

Taking stock

Posted: Thu, January 22, 2015 - 4:20:50

Two years of monthly posts. A year ago I weighed the experience and suggested that discussion is becoming a less effective use of time, given the ease of scanning masses of information and perspectives on most topics. A blog contributes to the information pile, but engaged discussion may diminish. I see occasional spontaneous flare-ups or flurries. Does your online or…

The rise of incompetence

Posted: Thu, December 11, 2014 - 10:08:26

“To become more than a sergeant? I don't consider it. I am a good sergeant; I might easily make a bad captain, and certainly an even worse general. One knows from experience.” — from Minna von Barnhelm, by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781) “There is nothing more common than to hear of men losing their energy on being raised to…

Debatable

Posted: Fri, November 21, 2014 - 3:18:54

Issues that elicit passionate and unpredictable views arrive, fast and furious: The right to be forgotten Facebook emotion manipulation Online bullying and cyber hate Institutional Review Boards Open publishing The impact of technology on jobs Is consensus eroding? Has HCI broadened its scope to encompass polarizing topics? Are social and mainstream media surfacing differences that once were hidden? After briefly…

Disrupting the UX design education space

Posted: Wed, November 19, 2014 - 11:31:55

Room 202 My teaching partner Mandy and I stood in silence looking around the room one last time in which magic had happened the preceding 10 weeks. We teach the UX Design immersive for General Assembly in San Francisco. 10 weeks, 5 days/week, 8 hours/day of teaching and learning, of intense, hard work, of struggle, of laughter, of transformation, of…

Uses of ink

Posted: Fri, October 17, 2014 - 10:06:47

Many species communicate, but we alone write. Drawing, which remains just below the surface of text, is also uniquely ours. Writing and sketching inform and reveal, record, and sometimes conceal. We write to prescribe and proscribe, to inspire and conspire. My childhood colorblindness—an inability to see shades of gray—was partly overcome when I read Gabriel Garcia Marquez. But for nonfiction…

Lasting impact

Posted: Wed, September 24, 2014 - 10:35:29

An enduring contribution can take different forms. It can be a brick, soon covered by others yet a lasting part of a field’s foundation. Alternatively, it can be a feature that remains a visible inspiration. Eminent scientists and engineers have offered insights into making an impact. Inspiration “If you want to predict the future, invent it,” said Alan Kay. In…

Big, hairy, and wicked

Posted: Fri, September 05, 2014 - 1:00:56

Interaction designers sure can take things personally. When our behavior is driven by ego, this habit can be annoying. All that huffing and puffing during design crits! But when it springs from empathy for those our designs are meant to serve, then this signal attitude can yield dividends for all. Nowhere are these sensitivities more critical to success—or more knotty—than…

Diversity and survival

Posted: Tue, August 05, 2014 - 12:40:21

In a “buddy movie,” two people confront a problem. One is often calm and analytic, the other impulsive and intuitive. Initially distrustful, they eventually bond and succeed by drawing on their different talents.This captures the core elements of a case for diversity: When people with different approaches overcome a natural distrust, their combined skills can solve difficult problems. They must…