Sunday, January 19, 2020
Less funny than it seems
This clip of yoots trying to figure out a rotary phone is funny, but there's a counterintuitive point that we oldsters never stopped to think about. It's a point that designers and teachers need to think about.
The rotary phone is NOT self-explanatory. Obviously you're supposed to turn the dial, and obviously the dial has the digits 0-9. Nothing else is obvious. How far do you turn it for each digit? Which direction? Forward? Backward? Forward to first digit, then backward to next digit, then forward to next digit like a combination lock? Where do you start? Is the fingerstop meant to start or end the turn, or is it just there to hold the dial in place? Do you need to push or click the fingerstop at some point?
The Bell dial was far from ideal by existing standards. Strowger's dial came before Bell's version, and Strowger was better in most ways. Pushbutton mechanisms were available and common at the time, in the familiar context of cash registers.
Example, the 1907 Couch-Seeley phone with Rube-Goldberg description.
Even within the later rotary setup, Automatic Electric's rotary dials were easier than Bell because the forward pull wasn't slowed down by a governor. Significantly faster and less physically tricky.
When Bell introduced the dial phone, it made films to explain the procedure. Later generations simply observed and imitated parents and friends.
Even within the later rotary setup, Automatic Electric's rotary dials were easier than Bell because the forward pull wasn't slowed down by a governor. Significantly faster and less physically tricky.
When Bell introduced the dial phone, it made films to explain the procedure. Later generations simply observed and imitated parents and friends.Labels: Experiential education
¶ 12:00 AM
