Re: What is Intuitive? (was Re: Usability)

Subject: Re: What is Intuitive? (was Re: Usability)
From: Jim Eng <jimeng -at- UMICH -dot- EDU>
Date: Thu, 11 Jul 1996 11:52:39 -0400

On Thu, 11 Jul 1996, Parks, Beverly L. wrote:

> Jared M. Spool[SMTP:jspool -at- uie -dot- com] wrote-->
> >>
> There is nothing about computers that are intuitive. The only things
> for humans that are intuitive have to do with eating, sleeping,
> elimination and reproduction.
> <<

> I think you are confusing intuition with instinct. Instinct is innate,
> unlearned behavior. Intuition, OTOH, involves gaining knowledge without
> the use of rational processes. We may gain new knowledge via intuition,
> but the basal skills such as the things you listed, are generally known
> at birth.



"Intuition," according to a handy dictionary, means "the faculty of
knowing,
as if by instinct, without conscious reasoning." That seems to fit
exactly the sense in which interfaces are said to be intuitive, provided
the adjective form adjusts the possessor of the quality from intuitor to
intuitee. Beverly Parks points out the distinction between intuition and
instinct. With that, "intuitive" seems to be an apt word to describe
certain interfaces or interface features. The rest of the discussion
highlights the extent to which it is a subjective judgment.


Jim Eng
grad student in computer science
The University of Michigan

jimeng -at- umich -dot- edu

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