Ever since the 80's, I've been appalled at how many people actually think the click-and-wait interface (GUI) is superior to the command line. I suspect that can be explained by most of them never having used any shell other than the atrocious DOS window, but it still amazes.
So I'm pleased to report that I found a very interesting
blog post that I could identify with heartily. Here's a sample:
Quote:
The idea that language is for power users and pictures and index fingers are for those poor besotted fools who just want toast in the morning is an extremely retrograde idea from which we should strive to emancipate ourselves.
The problem with the user categorization narrative, is that it uses “it just works” as a cover for saying “people aren't capable” - for implying that millions of natural language speakers would be too intimidated by languages thousands of orders of magnitude smaller than the ones they use effortlessly every single day. It imagines that if we can find the right user-interface “metaphor,” everything will click.
08-15-2011
