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October 09, 2004
Welcome to MovableType, HCI > CS
So this is my first "real" entry utilizing the MovableType System. I guess it's not much different from blogspot, thus far, except for the sense of accomplishment after installing it on my own system. Plus what my actual page looks like is completely editable by me, meaning I'm not held back by the juggernaut that is blogger. So in a sense, I am free, as if I'm not already free enough these days. Somebody really needs to reach out an put a harness back around my neck...err, waist...and get me back in line. Even school doesn't seem like a leash. I guess it's for the best though...
Anyway, I was having a talk with E, one of the roommates, on the way to the mall today. I think I would classify him (as well as the other roommate, W) as a hardcore Computer Science guy. This is not to say he is not well rounded, in fact, quite the opposite. But well-roundedness is not the point. As we were driving he brought up a relatively obscure point involving foreach loops in programming languages. Now, while I'm no hardcore CS guy, I still understand the concept of foreach. This kind of loop is used when you have a list of objects and want to go through it and do a certain action to each object. The example we discussed had to do with editing single pixels on a digital picture. The syntax of this loop is as follows:
If you don't get it, don't worry about it...because this is exactly my point. The issue at hand in our conversation was something that, in essense, is a very important issue for computer scientists to consider. Those who program your software should understand the ins and outs of foreach loops, and possible ways to improve on them. But for the users, this stuff just doesn't matter. That's what makes it hard for me to think about. In general, if it doesn't affect the people who will actually be using the program, then to hell with it, I don't care.
I'm not saying that as a student of HCI I will ignore programming concepts, in fact I'll embrace them. Without explicit understanding of how computer systems and programs work, I would never be a successful HCI/Designer, so much love to the people on the techie side of this game.
I'm just saying that a lot more work needs to be done on the HCI/Design side than on the programming side, IMHO, so I'll let the many get on with the programs, while the few attempt to improve the nasty situation we all find ourselves in.
Posted at October 9, 2004 06:37 PM