On 28 September 2010 11:51, Udhay Shankar N <[email protected]> wrote: > The line that had most resonance for me: "Every technology is biased by > its embedded defaults: what does it assume?" > > Udhay > > http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/magazine/19FOB-WWLN-Kelly-t.html > Embedded defaults goes both ways.
Asking the front desk to "Wake me up at 5.30 tomorrow" as against configuring your mobile phone to do the same thing is somehow a vastly complicated task for some precisely because of embedded defaults in the former i.e. the time zone, 12 hour format as against 24, and of course what "tomorrow" means (the front desk will call you at the 5.30 you meant even if you made the request at 12.01 AM). What I've always felt is the key to understanding and embracing a new technology is an appreciation of its complexity, which through embedded defaults, abstractions, or through a better interaction model is made transparent/easier to the user. While not an exact parallel, it is because of the above that I feel knowledge of any technology (especially something like C++) never becomes economically useless. What is required is the agility in applying that knowlege to newer technology contexts. Kiran
