[Sigia-l] Re: Sigia-l digest, Vol 1 #650 - 20 msgs

[Hal Taylor]

> When CDs were introduced, audiophiles swore they'd
> never let them in their listening rooms. Etc. (Are you noticing a theme :-)
> It's the same movie we've seen many times over: after a bit of denial,
> people embrace new technology and move on.

Now you're missing the point. When CD's were introduced, their sound quality
(despite all the hype) was markedly inferior to the sound of the vinyl to
which audiophiles were accustomed. Over time, the technology matured, A/D
and D/A converters got better, engineers learned how to master for CD, and
the improvements were enough, in conjunction with the limited availability
of LP's, to convince most audiophiles to "go with the flow".

This is not about "getting over their denial"; it's about insisting on
quality instead of adopting based on newness. And I think that's Adrian's
point about his tools: he seems to have no inherent objection to digital
tools, he just feels that they have not yet matured to the point where they
contribute more to the process than the distract/detract from it.

I'm not sure why you're so insistent on trying to convince him otherwise.

Architects can now more-or-less sketch ideas in CAD software, evolve the
model, and generate final blueprints all within the same system. Most of
them still start by scribbling on the back of a napkin. Anything wrong with
that? Or should we rather tell them that they shouldn't be using CAD at all,
because the final product they're developing is physical, so there's no
point in working in the digital domain?

> Yep, and my doctor asks me to write my own prescriptions and sometimes my
> surgeon just lets me operate on myself. Are you serious?

If your doctor does not depend on and value your input when doing his job,
you need another doctor.

> Frankly, this sounds more like arts therapy class at a prison or the crafts
> pavilion at a country fair than the process with which to build complex
> digital products.

Right, because only high-tech tools are adequately macho to be taken
seriously.

> The trend is digital workflows, let's get familiar with them (Visio takes
> only 50 mins :-), use them ourselves, make them better if we can.

50 minutes for us is fine. Are you going to also insist that any member of a
client organization who wants to contribute must also invest those 50
minutes? Or is it, "ok, you can contribute, but you can't touch anything"?

> We are dealing with a human problem. The technology is not important. When
> I design an IA i am not thinking about the CMS, SQL calls, what scripting
> language will be used or what version of HTML we should use. I abstract out
> the inputs and outputs for technical folks and give details of what happens
> if you press a button. I listen to technical concerns and have a partly
> technical background but all this should not stop the solution being as
> human focused as possible.

Amen.

And don't forget, Ziya, that your hypothetical MD/VP/whatever may actually
have gotten where he is because of his skills in business and/or with
people, and not because of outstanding computer skills. In fact, I've often
found that the higher someone's position, the less he is likely to know (or
care) about technology.

-Hal