From positive computing to critical computing
Since writing my previous entry on positive computing, I've pondered how software might promote my well-being beyond its traditional promise to make things faster and easier. I've struggled. Perhaps I'm just not particularly creative when it comes to positive ideas, or maybe I'm not sufficiently well-versed in the theory of subjective well-being to know what might be helpful.
I've found myself thinking more about the consumer side of the question, which I left unanswered in my previous entry. Having made connections to some earlier complaints about lazy use of communication tools and e-mail, I realise that I've begged the question: how should we be using our computers?
On one hand, I've been critical of blind acceptance of trendy devices and services, and of lazy submission to user interfaces developed by misguided software designers. On the other hand, I don't think it's reasonable to expect every user to possess the deep technical understanding of computers required to control every detail of his or her experience. Even the most sophisticated users simply don't have the time to build every item of hardware and compose every item of software to meet their precise needs, even if they have the theoretical ability to do so.
The first approach that occurred to me would be to demand that we make our "best effort", that is, do as much as we can within the constraints of our time and technical ability, and always strive to improve. Whenever I'm particularly irritated by a feature that isn't meeting my needs, for example, I'll do a quick search for how to modify that feature. And when I've got more time, I'll invest that time in customising my computer to meet my needs.
The second approach that occurred to me was suggested by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein's book Nudge (2008), in which they discuss the development of "choice architectures" that encourage people to make good choices when unable to think the matter through carefully. The basic idea is to think carefully about the desired outcomes during the design phase, and design the system to make it easy to make the choices leading to those outcomes. Such thinking is (I hope) amongst the bread and butter of software designers, and Thaler and Sunstein specifically mention the example of e-mail clients that pop up warnings when the user asks to send an e-mail that contains the word "attach" but does not have any attachments. But software users can apply the same idea, as is occassionally suggested in advice columns like Cassie White's article on digital overload that happened to appear on the ABC's Health & Wellbeing site while I was working on this entry.
Lastly, I wonder if we need a concept of "critical consuming" analogous to the "critical reading" concept that teachers try to impart to students. In a computing context, we need more than the mere ability to move a mouse or touch a screen to get the goods on offer; we need also to think about which goods we want, why we want them, and whether or not they're really the best goods for our purposes.
