Perception throughout the Ages. Part 2.

 

Basic Image generated by Ideogram AI.
Text added by me.

Yesterday I had my second person visit with the elderly client in Vancouver who is trying to learn Windows 10 on their laptop. If you will recall, during the first visit it became apparent that the laptops trackpad would not work for them. He kept putting two fingers on the pad no matter what. I would correct him and for a few moments he would be fine but ultimately his hand would relax a bit and the other figure would get close enough to the trackpad that the on-screen pointer began to do all sorts of things. If you want to know more you can read the first article in this series here and it has its own accompanying video.

I thought about this for a while and it is suggested that we try a mouse the next time I visited. I really didn't feel certain that this would solve the problem. We weren't that lucky... A couple of interesting issues arose. Have you ever considered how smooth and uniform a modern physical computer mouse is, not to mention how little haptic feedback there is? Yes, I know that the user should be focused on the screen and and therefore be able to connect the actions of the hand what is happening in front of them. But if it is a new device or for whatever reason a person is focused on in this case a physical mouse they may not see the small changes. Or hear the soft click. This was the case so I try to make things a little more obvious by putting a little bit of tape on the left mouse button just to make the texture feel a little different. That did help a bit. He was able to click on a few items on the Windows desktop. I could tell however it was taking most of his concentration. The other thing was he would often try too hard and in the process either move the mouse off the target on the screen or accidentally touch the scroll wheel.

We kept that this for about an hour. Patiently trying to do various things like closing a window, opening a window, maximizing it, etc. . They are very determined to learn this computer and I really commend them for that. Just going through this very repetitive right and left clicking of objects over and over again is a testament to their patientce.

Up until doing this yesterday I never really thought about how social the movements are when using modern devices. Think about it, when you tap something on a screen it's a very gentle quick movement and there is very little physical feedback. Personally one of the things that drives me crazy on a phone is that for me I have to look at the numbers otherwise my own fingers stray off. This is actually quite new. 20 years ago, everything was for the most part mechanical in some fashion. The first cell phones, which weighed a ton by the way, and physical pushbuttons . I had one of the early Motorola "grey bricks" (The Motorola DynaTAC) after 20 minutes of holding that to your ear, your arm would begin to ache. It was also very expensive I think around $0.60-$0.75 a minute. But the bizarre thing was if you made a long-distance call those prices were governed by agreements outside of your carrier. It was actually cheaper for me in Vancouver to phone Toronto and it was to make a local call...

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I have been racking my brain on how to best proceed. Then a friend of mine told me that they have seen people in care facilities using mice that are especially designed with the buttons a few centimetres apart so you have to use your whole hand. I'm going to try to track one down and either borrow it or at least find out more.

 If we can get around the mouse problem I think my elderly friend will actually be able to benefit from the laptop. Right now the plan is to go out every weekend and I will print up some posters indicating some of the stuff we've covered. He says that would be very helpful and so that is what I'm going to do.

So stay tuned for next weekend and part three of our adventure!
Take care Patrick

** NOTE: The picture "Image generated by Ideogram AI" displayed at the top of this article is from the service Ideogram AI.  As a layperson, I have read their relevant "terms of service" and determined, to the best of my ability, that the image may be viewed by the public.  However before any reuse, please review fully their terms and if necessary contact the company for more information.

The use of said image does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

 

Perception throughout the Ages. Part 1.

 

Altered image licensed under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license.
Original photo by Dave Bezaire.

I want to get this article out rapidly, mainly because this is a fleeting thought and as most of you know sometimes you just have to grab the idea before it flies off into the ether, never to return.

I just spent the afternoon with someone who has a different way of looking at things due to their age and background. Needless to say they've been around for quite a while and they are trying to learn Windows 11 and indeed everything about the fundamentals of a computer we take for granted.

We are starting from the very beginning of cursor control, using the touchpad and what the various keys on the keyboard do. The challenging part is becoming clear to me and that is that the problem is not intellectual, it is rather out fundamentally different way of working with the world.It is physical involving three-dimensional actions. One pulls a lever and sees the spring the fulcrum acts on. It is very visual and clear not at all abstract. A modern graphical user interface on a computer is the exact opposite. Mere images are referred to as physical things "The Taskbar" for example, it is treated in discussions and books the same way of physical item is in the real world. The same holds true for "DragBars". Even the action of "clicking and dragging" is often treated in speech the same way as if it were a physical item. To this person however the computer screen is an image composed up of rectangles squares and circles. When I use the term Drag bar it took quite a bit of explaining and I think at that point they were just humoring me when they said "I understand…"

People build up mental models of their world as they proceed through life but these become structured and limiting if one is not careful. For example when I was growing up every car had a key that you physically put in to start the car. I still find it somewhat odd when I am in the vehicle and instead of a physical key they use a small electronic device or fob or even a fingerprint. I am sure they would find the world equally odd and it audits with their perceptions if they were to go back to 1960. Everyone's mental model in that era out was much more physical and just plain different. You would have to explain to a modern person just exactly how to use a rotary phone and why the heck the dial had the letters of the alphabet printed on it in such a ridiculous matter. (If I can find a good video explanation online I will put a link here of a rotary phone in action.NOTE: This link is to a 37 minute YouTube video on the rotary telephone by the channel "Our Own Devices" . It is a thorough overview and well worth the watching.)

Build Your Own Television Receiver
Science & Invention magazine cover art,
November 1928. Volume 16 Number 7
In the public domain. (Get Archive)

This is something that happens to everyone, the time you are born, the technology around you and other factors form on a very deep level how you interact with the world. I go into it in a little more detail in the short video included with this article, but suffice it to say that "not only are we, star stuff. We are products of the very time the star was made."

I for my part am so thankful that I get to experience and understand all these subtleties in life. Every time I think I've got a handle on them, reality and mother nature come along and say "There's more to this story…"

Why exactly do people stop adapting their mental models? The initial obvious answer is that it is easy to just rely on what has worked in the past and stick to it. But I think there is more going on. Many articles go on this blog I wrote a short piece entitled "They Have Never Been Taught To Think" and that may be a partial answer. As I see it diversity and challenge are what keeps you going and indeed growing. Maybe we have "overdone it" when it comes to certain types of automation and convenience. Do you really know what is going on behind the scenes when you click that icon on your phone to open any particular app? The probable answer is "No", but you do expect to work". But if that was the singular answer in this elderly person would have adapted to their new laptop quickly. For the simple reason that through most of their lives they've had to work things through. A light didn't just come on when they walked into a room, they had to turn it on. Further, they had to understand at least partially the number of things that had to occur for things to work. If the light didn't turn on when they flipped the switch may be the fuse, which was a precursor to the modern circuit breaker, needed replacing. Their mental model had to be adaptable. That again brings me full-circle back to the initial question at the beginning of this paragraph.

I will be filling this article out more as we go a long.

August 28 update:

 Perhaps the best way to move forward in situations like this is to find out what their, for lack of a better word, baseline is. For example I remember a few years ago working with someone who in their mid-adult years used Microsoft MS-DOS extensively. As a matter of fact when I was working with them they still had a computer running that operating system and had it online using a dial-up modem service in conjunction with the program called "Telix". This meant that they can only connect to the Internet via a strictly text interface. There were no embedded graphics at all.

Over the course of months we attempted to move them to a "Windows 7" machine which they absolutely hated. Ultimately to he did decide to go back to their old machine with the dial-up modem. Even though the new computer functioned quite well.

So on my next visit to our current user I'm going to ask them what using a computer was like originally for them and try to put everything in a similar context.

Take care Patrick.

Is your physical health somewhat directed by your attitude?

(Updated May 23, 2024)

 Is your physical health at least partially determined by your attitude towards your situation in life?

If we assume the answer to that question is: "Yes" then we must consider the degree to which that is true, and I believe that the influence one can exert on one's body is far more nuanced and adaptable then maybe many people consider.

 I'm not talking about your mood here, I am talking about your expectations of health. To present a real life example, right now I'm 64 years old and when I grew up everyone assumed that at that age it was the beginning of the decline in life. No one ever stated it specifically but it was definitely implied. So with that pre-programming I find personally that there is a physical adaption going on to bring those perceptions and reality. How do I know that I am in control of this to some degree? The subtle symptoms tend to appear after a thought and not before. It really makes you wonder "How You Are Driving Your Own Bus And Where You Are Driving It to." This, indeed is one of those topics that is so subtle in some regards and so hard to convey. (I feel a video coming on and it will be linked below).

It really makes one consider what our expectations are of society and roles and how far we may go to bring ourselves into accordance with those accepted outlooks. This is definitely one of those discussions you could have with a group of people and the answers would be diverse indeed. Right now I would love nothing better than to get together with friends to really hash this out.

The abilities of the human mind and body continually astounds me. But an included instruction manual would've been nice. To put it more directly, "There Is More to Being Human, then we first thought."

Indeed, I think that in modern society anyway, one's emotions are more in control of the body then the intellect is. I suspect this is due partially because we are just not taught too much about the emotional side of being human. If you start to explore this question for yourself it can be a double edged sword because as you get in touch with your emotional side you can both positively and negatively have an effect. Depending on what your core beliefs are deep down. This can make things much more complicated and I can say personally I have been there and done that. In the video I touch on this but not to the extent I now think it deserves. So there may be a part two in the works at some point. That has to do with feedback and how much time I can allot to the project.

There are many aspects to a blog and a video which take big chunks of time and considerable research even if the video ends up looking a little unprofessional still. I am on a learning curve and in dealing with hardware that wasn't quite designed for this purpose. Anyway let's get back on track…

Actually now that I consider it I think if one were fully "synchronized" with the conscious and emotional sides, share would pretty much disappear. At least as far as predicting the future of one's own life. You would be okay with the person you are because you would have explored a great deal throughout your life.

... And I bet there would be health benefits. As a matter fact I'm sure of this and I usually don't come out this forcefully without considering a great deal of detail about what I'm talking about. I think it could be said that the exploration of one's emotions as it relates to one's physical life is indeed the process of writing one's own instruction manual.

The video on this post goes into more depth on the topic.

What do you think? Let me know by leaving a comment. Take care and have a great day.
Patrick

 

** NOTE: Some of pictures in this article were generated by Ideogram AI.  As a layperson, I have read their relevant "terms of service" and determined, to the best of my ability, that the image may be viewed by the public.  However before any reuse, please review fully their terms and if necessary contact the company for more information.

The use of said image does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

What will the future bring, and just why do people hold on to things?

 

All one has to do is open up YouTube or go to any media site and you will find for sure articles talking about how people are addicted to technology. The statement "People check their cell phones every 12 minutes." is almost a modern mantra with some people. However, I do not see this continuing, society will find a balance and I think as long as one learns to benefit from the technology the world is on the right track.

I do think however that unforeseen changes are coming as the very fabric of how we communicate, and indeed what we communicate is influx. Earlier today I spoke with someone who was lamenting the advent of the smart phone and the Internet in general. To quote them: "I saw all those people lined up at the iPhone store when the first one was released and really thought it was a fad." Now obviously that statement goes quite a ways back in time because the first iPhone I believe was released to the public on June 29, 2007.(Wikipedia article)

That statement stayed with me and cost a bit of a reaction. At first I couldn't ascertain what it was and then it dawned on me that I had heard similar laments quite often in the past about almost every major change in society. There is always a group of people who insist on sticking with "the old ways of doing things". But what is often missed is the old ways were the "new ways"relative to something else. It is true that sometimes the new ways are not always well thought out but in most cases there are many benefits. I find it fascinating how people will at first when they're young charge forward, and then somehow get "stuck in their old ways" of doing things somewhere along the line of life.

It probably has to do with how they perceive the introduction of something. Do they see it as simply a static feature which they rely on without really considering what is going on or why it was introduced in the first place. If so I think these are the groups of people that get stuck. Whereas someone who looks at a "new way" of doing things and attempts to understand it in the fuller context (how it achieves its goal and how it benefits people or does not) often does not get stuck as rigidly because they understand that everything is fluid. I remember when the CD disc was brand-new on the market. It came, and it went because better ways of doing things came along. But I know people have invested great amounts in their physical collections of CD-based music. Often they would treat the items with the same reverence that vinyl collectors treat the record.

So this demonstrates the fact that it is much more important to understand things in their fuller perspectives and not to get hung up on one aspect. I have no doubt that in the relatively short amount of time what we consider smart phones and computers now will completely disappear to be supplanted by technologies that are far more integrated and work in a completely different way. Indeed I think even electricity will ultimately be superseded by another form of energy. Maybe not all of it but certain aspects of electronics most certainly will have to change. There are fundamental limits which as I understand that we are getting awfully close to hitting. What I find really intriguing is what will come next and what the world will be like. I may or may not be around for this outcome but I sure hope I am :-). Just some food for thought.

Have a great day everyone

Patrick

Do you remember when… They said "Computers will make your life more efficient."

I'm running between tasks today and as I'm doing so the thought occurred to me from many years ago that it was touted by all the media: "Computers Will Make Your Life More Efficient!" And they even followed that statement with "it will be a paperless society." Boy if I could go back in time, would I have news for them....

Now don't get me wrong… Multitasking and technology can do wonderful things. But the one thing the daydreamers of yesteryear forgot was the concept of finite time and the tendency to fill everything up. The faster you can go, the more needs to be done, because essentially everything else is sped up as well.

I wonder if we could even handle going back 50 or 60 years. Think about it nothing you know would exist except for the very basic items. Cringe, if you went to the bank you would have to stand in line and wait as they tabulate the answer. Or be astonished by how quickly the representative could do the math in their head. The impulses we normally given to on an hourly basis to check our phones and do other things would drive us crazy, simply because there would be no way to do them. You would have to wait for that phone call or maybe drive all the way home to make it. And if you frequently now talk to your friends around the world, while you could do that you run the risk of one very nasty phone bill at the end of the month. No wonder our parents were terrified the moment they realized the children could reach the phone. In my case, thank goodness my grandmother lived in town because I do remember calling her rather frequently.

It would be the same thing for the news. Let me know in the comments if you've never read a physical newspaper. Top that off with the fact that the reading skills 60 years ago tended to be much higher. English was slightly different. I remember a few of my teachers who were rather tyrannical about the written word. Or at least I thought they were dictatorial. I live in Canada and I still remember in grade three and up having to put two spaces after a period before a sentence could start. The same rule applied to the start of paragraphs, you had to indent them.

The first time I visited a library card indexes were still in use. Years later I remember my joy of being able to log on to the bank were public library with the dial-up modem at 300 baud. That was so slow you could read faster. It was also very easy to overload the system with a complex search. Which I admit I love to do.

No doubt there is a ton of other things that happened which haven't occurred to me...

I was introduced to computers through work when I believe we were at Microsoft DOS 2.0, which came out in October 1983. That is when I heard that ultimately "Computers would make things more efficient". It became a mantra. There were no hard drives in site because they were expensive and very sensitive. When my boss did get one, I was read the riot act by the computer representative: "You must park the drive when you're done with the machine. Do not bump the table. This has a huge storage capacity of 20 MB." "Park" was an actual command you had to run when shutting down the machine. I think the drive itself cost around $600 that is without any of the cards you needed to run it. Well we also got a printer for the office the noisiest daisy wheel type machine I have ever heard. We used to do our printing at lunch while we were all out of the office.

Guess what, we ended up using tons of paper! I remember it was all fanfold and you had to take off the tractor holes on the side of the sheets. Here's an example of a Daisy wheel printer in action (I no doubt have found an example on YouTube )

Actually know that I think about it we probably have saved time and maybe even some paper. I do 90% of everything purchased wise online as well as bills etc. maybe we are getting there 😀.

Take care Patrick

Mind-body relationship: "Who's Driving the Car?"

 

I'm not sure right away where this train of thought is going to go, but it has to do with aging and the changing relationship with the body. It's not body image in this case it's a lot more intimate than that. (Since this is a meandering thought as a try to nail it down in my own head please feel free to correct anything about this article.) Maybe the best way to start is to ask a question of anyone reading this especially if you been around for a few years on good old planet Earth.

Do you find certain parts of your body, perhaps your arms or legs disassociating from your mind a little bit? What used to be completely automatic and you never even thought about the fact that you just raised your arm to reach a can of peaches, is now something that not only you are much more conscious of because let's say got a little bit of arthritis but the connection between your mind and your arm does not feel as secure  or fluid. Especially if whatever you're doing involves a little bit of straining, a little bit of pushing a boundary physically.

Does any of the above sound familiar? It is something of dealing with on a daily basis nowadays and it really has me pondering how to move through the rest of my life. I have lots of physical support in the facility I live in, but I find myself second-guessing whether or not I should undertake certain physical challenges. For example:

For months now I've been considering getting a 3D printer and the logistics of where to put it aside, I find myself asking "Can I safely remove the 3D object off the plate once it is finished?... Can I physically threatened the filament through the printing nozzle?" If you're not familiar with 3D printers they can get rather hot and at this stage there's a lot of physical fiddling that needs to be done.

I guess what it boils down to is: That certainty that I used to have about what I could and could not do is not currently there. It's all rather tentative.

What started me on this train of thought was I'm fixing a computer for friend and getting a simple memory stick back into the machine was more than a challenge. I was actually fighting little spasms and there was that disconnect. That feeling of "Who's driving this car?" At one point I almost hit the computer over because his spasms sort of jumped out of nowhere. But that statement isn't exactly accurate..... To give you a bit of background: I have Cerebral Palsy which is a condition in which one's muscles are somewhat tense all the time and motor control can be a little tentative, shall we say. So small spasms are not uncommon but I have found, if I really examine what was going on just before the spasm more often than not there is a psychological component. Perhaps a surprise, or a little bit of fear. Whatever the particular cause having Cerebral Palsy is a little like being a live biofeedback machine. What others may miss from the subconscious people like me get a physical response sometimes. Of course this can become a psychological loop which can feed in on itself. So this can be a bit of a predicament. Although the condition has probably gifted me with great insight and better internal world. I guess that also has to do with one's early upbringing.

So this whole aging and relationship with oneself topic really is weighing on my mind today. By the way I have just discovered that the memory stick in the computer I was repairing for my friend is bad so I have to take the darn thing out again. And then order a new part. So mother nature sounds like she's going to have me revisit this topic again down the road either with this computer or with some other physical situation.

The adventure continues! Stay tuned and take care,
Patrick