[IAEP] Teaching that the error condition is normal, and the wisdom of crowds
Earlier this year, one of the public transit systems that I take to work decided to upgrade their fare collection system. The exact name or nature of this system is not important, apart from the fact it is a regional train line. But as someone hired to test Sugar & its related items, I saw this as an interesting opportunity. We often talk about learning to use Sugar, and here I would be able to observe people learning to use a system they have never used before. Now I do not want to unnecessarily criticize the system since they have solved most of the significant issues, so instead of giving a full explanation and critique, this email will focus on the issue I find the most intriguing. For the system seems to have successfully taught many people that an error condition is normal, and they seem to ignore it when it occurs. How did this happen? To explain this we need to take a few steps back. The old system was paper-based with printed information, similar to (but not compatible with) what many other public transportation agencies in the area use. The new system (somewhat simplified) uses contactless smartcards compatible with an upgrade previously done by one neighboring transportation agency, but issued somewhat independently. Paper tickets are still available, but only for single-day use. Since the system in question uses mostly unattended stations with a proof-of-payment(*) approach, there is a need to verify that users have the paid appropriate fare when a guard on the train asks you for it. With paper tickets this is easy, as the ticket shows your start and end destination, along with any other information (expiration date, trips used, etc.) needed. But with smartcards, this information is only stored electronically. In order to prove you got on and off where you were allowed, the new system introduced computerized fare validators installed on every train platform which the contactless smartcards have to be touched against. Failure to use a validator prior to getting on or after getting off a train may result in the maximum one-way fare being charged against the card. The fare validators are smaller than the fare payment machines, and to the best of my knowledge only provide information in one language. To otherwise communicate, they use a series of beeps. There are two main sounds, one a good "ok" sound, the other a bad "error" sound, which differ noticeably in tone, sequence, and volume. Information is displayed on a status display when a smartcard is touched against the card reader on each validator, but disappears as soon as the card is out of range. The problem stems from the fact that the error sound has been heard far too often, and for far too many reasons. A user which moves their card in front of the reader too quickly or keeps it too far away may result in an error tone, along with a possibly incorrect error message. The lack of a proper payment method on a card will cause it. Validators near high pedestrian traffic areas seem to often break down, reporting "Card not valid" or "Contact customer service" whenever a card is touched against them. When this happens, it is rare to see someone actually attach a note to the reader labeling it as broken, yet the broken condition may last for days. The handheld checkers used by guards on the train can also be configured to make the same "ok" and "error" sounds, and guards in some cases do not challenge riders when they make the error sound, although they definitely do in others(**). Since the error sound is so prominent and noticeable compared to the good sound, everyone seems to expect it. The end result is a situation much like Windows User Account Control or End User License Agreements where many people seems compelled to click "Yes". They just heard the error tones, often do not try a different reader if it is too far away or if they are in a rush, and get on the train or head to their destination/transfer while potentially risking a financial penalty. So what mitigates this? The other topic I wished to talk about is the wisdom of crowds. For I have noticed if someone watches a person touch their smartcard against a validator, and it makes the error sound, and then that person walks to another reader which produces the "ok" sound, then the next person is much more likely to try the other reader to see if it works with their card as well. If someone watches another person get the error sound and the latter does not attempt to go to another validator, then they are unlikely to try another validator as well. Advice has changed over time, and it takes a bit of time for the crowd to catch up. Early on many monthly pass (unlimited ride/distance) holders were told or told each other that they did not have to use the fare validators, as they never would be penalized. But then some guards told them that without using the validators, their smartcards would appear to be unloaded. It is unclear to me if this was an early
Re: [IAEP] Ancient Manners is on Project Gutenberg!
On Sun, Jun 12, 2011 at 8:44 AM, James Simmons wrote: > If you've read any of my FLOSS Manual "E-Book Enlightenment" you know > that I've been preparing free e-books and contributing them to the > Internet Archive, Project Gutenberg Canada, and Distributed > Proofreaders Canada. Yesterday I reached an important milestone: my > very first donation to Project Gutenberg has been accepted. > > You can check it out here: > > http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36378/36378-h/36378-h.htm > > It was a very challenging book to create. I had to deal with Greek > transliteration, footnotes, umlauts, ligatures, accents of both > persuasions, United States copyright laws, old pages that did not OCR > very well, and 90 illustrations, many of them spicy. > > Project Gutenberg is the very finest source of free e-books there is. > It is The Show. It is white balls in the practice field. It is women > with long legs and brains. It is deep, soft, wet kisses that last for > three days. It is the Navy Seals of free e-book repositories. Just > getting a copyright clearance for your book is something to be proud > of. Congratulations!!! I can tell you are *passionate* about this :-) cheers, Sameer > > Soon there will also be a hand-crafted version of this book in the > Kindle Store. (The Kindle version that PG produces is generated from > the HTML and is not optimized to look good on the KIndle). I would > expect that lavishly illustrated translations of randy French novels > will sell better than Make Your Own Sugar Activities! did. > > Regrettably, Ancient Manners is not suitable reading for young > children. Their teachers should enjoy it. > > James Simmons > ___ > IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) > IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org > http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep > > > ___ IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
[IAEP] Ancient Manners is on Project Gutenberg!
If you've read any of my FLOSS Manual "E-Book Enlightenment" you know that I've been preparing free e-books and contributing them to the Internet Archive, Project Gutenberg Canada, and Distributed Proofreaders Canada. Yesterday I reached an important milestone: my very first donation to Project Gutenberg has been accepted. You can check it out here: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36378/36378-h/36378-h.htm It was a very challenging book to create. I had to deal with Greek transliteration, footnotes, umlauts, ligatures, accents of both persuasions, United States copyright laws, old pages that did not OCR very well, and 90 illustrations, many of them spicy. Project Gutenberg is the very finest source of free e-books there is. It is The Show. It is white balls in the practice field. It is women with long legs and brains. It is deep, soft, wet kisses that last for three days. It is the Navy Seals of free e-book repositories. Just getting a copyright clearance for your book is something to be proud of. Soon there will also be a hand-crafted version of this book in the Kindle Store. (The Kindle version that PG produces is generated from the HTML and is not optimized to look good on the KIndle). I would expect that lavishly illustrated translations of randy French novels will sell better than Make Your Own Sugar Activities! did. Regrettably, Ancient Manners is not suitable reading for young children. Their teachers should enjoy it. James Simmons ___ IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
Re: [IAEP] Is there a new geek anti-intellectualism?
On Sat, June 11, 2011 7:32 pm, Christoph Derndorfer wrote: > Hi all, > > thanks to Twitter I stumbled across a very interesting blog post called > "Is there a new geek anti-intellectualism?" > (http://larrysanger.org/2011/06/is-there-a-new-geek-anti-intellectualism/). > > Particularly in combination with the author's replies > (http://larrysanger.org/2011/06/geek-anti-intellectualism-replies/) to > many of the comments his original story received after being widely > spread via Slashdot, Twitter, blogs, etc. this make for fascinating > weekend read. The Two Cultures (C. P. Snow) strikes again. To me, this smacks of sour grapes. It's too hard for me, therefore it isn't worth doing. There is a lot of wasted space in academic publications, particularly in those branches of philosophy and theology that waste efforts on proving what everybody knows that turns out not to be the case. One of the best parts of my time in college was digging through many of the most famous examples to understand why, and to pick out the gems amid the trash. Part of the problem has been that it was illegal, and considered immoral, to publish the truth on almost anything to do with the secular and religious ruling classes in ages past. The history of restrictions on speech gradually giving way, and the establishment of a considerable degree of freedom of speech (beginning in Holland during its 90 Years War with the Spanish Empire and Inquisition) is one of the greatest adventures in human development. I align myself with John Alexander Smith (18631939), who said, Gentlemen, you are now about to embark on a course of studies which will occupy you for two years. Together, they form a noble adventure. But I would like to remind you of an important point. Nothing that you will learn in the course of your studies will be of the slightest possible use to you in after life, save only this, that if you work hard and intelligently you should be able to detect when a man is talking rot, and that, in my view, is the main, if not the sole, purpose of education. Smith was Professor of Moral Philosophy at Oxford University. Statement recorded in 1914. It was certainly the main point that Socrates taught, according to the early Platonic dialogues. Plato himself put out some of the rottenest rot in history later on, especially in The Republic. > I definitely haven't managed to wrap my head around all of it but as a > geek-dominated community working on education projects I feel some the > things being discussed there potentially also apply to our own efforts. We are taking pretty much the opposite point of view in the Replacing Textbooks program. Save the baby, and use the bathwater to water the lawn. > Cheers, > Christoph > > -- > Christoph Derndorfer > co-editor, www.olpcnews.com > e-mail: christ...@olpcnews.com > ___ > IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) > IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org > http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep > -- Edward Mokurai (默雷/धर्ममेघशब्दगर्ज/دھرممیگھشبدگر ج) Cherlin Silent Thunder is my name, and Children are my nation. The Cosmos is my dwelling place, the Truth my destination. http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Replacing_Textbooks ___ IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!) IAEP@lists.sugarlabs.org http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
