UI / UX
User interfaces and “user experience” ideas.
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The Issue: When creating figures, it can be tempting to use misleading techniques in order to bolster one’s own agenda. But it can be hard to create a misleading figure while technically representing the facts correctly, at least from a certain point of view (Figure 1). Proposal: A popular—yet rarely formally acknowledged—method of creating misleading…
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Background: Vinyl records have gained in popularity in the 2010–2020 timeframe, perhaps because people enjoy the tactile sensation and ritualistic elements of playing music on a traditional record turntable. The Issue: This style of tactile interaction is unfortunately unavailable in the streaming music space, where the only user interaction is “push button → hear song.”…
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Background: Most standard “utility” programs (word processors, spreadsheets, photo editors…) haven’t been substantially improved since approximately 2005. The Issue: Unfortunately, in order for the companies that sell these programs to survive, they need to somehow get paid. But this is a difficult argument to make when the 1997 version of a spreadsheet program is essentially…
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Background: Video chat is now relatively widespread. Frequently, people on a chat will be muted and/or have their video off. The Issue: The terminology for “a person is muted” is straightforward: “muted.” However, English currently lacks short terms for “I am muted” versus “I have the audio turned off for the remote speaker.” Additionally, there…
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Background: When people go out to restaurants in groups, it can be hard for a waiter to keep their order straight: there might be a dozen people at a table, all with slightly-different (yet easily confused) orders. The Issue: Normally, it’s easy to fix a dish that was given to the wrong person—just swap it…
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Background: One popular animal-training technique is to give the animal (such as the killer whale in Fig. 1) a small reward immediately after it accomplishes a task. Proposal: Strangely, this approach—frequently-dispensed minor rewards—has rarely been attempted for humans. But with the increasing rate of remote work and the implementation of the dystopian surveillance state from…
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Background: Drivers can signal their intent to turn or change lanes by using their turn signals (A.K.A. “blinkers”). Currently, a driver can express two concepts with these signals: “Left” “Right” The Issue: Sometimes, a driver’s might want to express a third concept: “Not turning” / “Continuing straight ahead” Proposal: The left and right brake lights…
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Background: Pet ownership can be rewarding, but it can requires substantial work on the part of the pet owner. The Issue: Sometimes, people’s lives would be more compatible with a “timeshare” of a pet: taking care of it for a few hours a day, rather than 24/7. However, this arrangement is incompatible with most living…
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Background: In the pre-Internet era, news was physically printed out on sheets of so-called “news” paper, which were published chronologically. As a result of these limitations, it was not possible to inform a reader of (say) July 1, 1910’s article about the merits of radium water that there would be a crucial retraction published on…
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