Simple illustrations of
complex concepts

Several thousand words worth of pictures

I often use illustrations to start discussions about UX concepts that may not be commonly understood. Here are a few of them.

100 years ago, alarms had to scream for attention. Now they could inform us while they alert us.

Does your phone scream for attention or speak to you politely?

Human thought is rarely focused, and almost never for very long.

While consciously trying to do one thing, we are almost always distracted by our own unconscious thoughts.

Your eyes are not cameras and your ears are not microphones.

Our brains filter out the majority of sensory stimuli, allowing only small amounts through. We constantly update our mental models of reality using the small amount of data that gets through, to verify a large set of assumptions. Most of what we think we see and hear is imaginary.

Some qualitative data cannot be added up and averaged out.

If you try to treat nonparametric data as though it is parametric, you'll still get an answer, and the answer might even seem correct, but it won't be.

If you're not sure what the words "parametric" and "nonparametric" mean, that's okay! ...and it's a good sign that you should consult a specialist.

Oh, and on a related note; remember that there's a difference between illustrative and descriptive labels.

The part of you that thinks rationally is not in control of most of the things you do.

The hierarchy of cognition as described in my B.R.A.I.N.S. model. Our conscious, logical, and deliberate reflections can be overridden by our unconscious and emotional reactions which can, in turn, be overridden by our reflexes.