Things That Make Us Smart
Donald Norman
Perseus Books, Cambridge, MA, 1993
Summary
This book discusses the way people learn, and relate to their environment in terms of information. Themes include different types of action (reflection vs. experience), different types of learning (accretion, tuning, restructuring), the ways the human brain handles information, and the ways devices can be made to maximize the potential thereof.
Also discussed are good and bad methods for the above, with examples, logic puzzles to illustrate points, and another explanation of how affordances can be used to encode information about how a device operates.
Discussion
Although it started weak, I think this is actually my favorite of Norman's books. The 3rd and 4th chapters were both very strong, and I feel smarter than when I began reading the book. That's the interest. The biggest weakness is that it still has some issues with repetitiveness, especially when one has already read his previous books.
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