Dyslexic drivers slow to react, claim boffins

[Art Vandelay]

Then you suppose wrong. Seen as symbols, p and q are much more alike than a and b, and are therefore easier to confuse.

If a stop sign is the exact same thing, in principle, as an English word, then surely the difference between p and and q is the exactly the same, in principle, as the difference between a and b.

I can see that you have very little knowledge of usability and user interfaces. They are anything but algorithmic: They deal with how humans work, not how computers work.

I was not saying that user interfaces are algorithmic, I was saying that perhaps you are approaching them from an algorithmic point of view. Why else would "principle" be more important than actual practice?

UI deals with practice, not principle. From a UI point of view, it is completely irrelevant as to whether two things are "in principle" the same; what matters is whether human brains treat them the same. "2" and "[d(x^2)/dx]/x" are, in principle, absolutely identical, but if you were to insist on using the latter in place of the former, you would probably be fired very quickly. If being the same "in principle" were the only thing that mattered, the design of UI would be completely trivial. Just create a text editor that has access to the machine code. Hey, it's exactly the same thing as point and click, IN PRINCIPLE.

No, it's pointing to my professional career vs. shanek's. Since when is knowledge forbidden in arguments?

It's not the knowledge that I criticized, it was the being a pompous ass part. Simply because you have "special" expertise does not mean no one can disagree with you.

Of course I am basing my argument on how NORMAL people process symbols. That's where the baseline is. Precisely the way we compare e.g. blind people to seeing people.

We're not discussing the baseline. We are not discussing comparison to the baseline. We are discussing a comparison of dyslexic sign recognition ability to dyslexic word recognition ability. Normal people do not enter into it.

Is the design of UI specifically for dyslexics a significant portion of your job duties? Yes or no?

This is by far not the first time that people without knowledge of usability and user interfaces think they know as much as I do - heck, I struggle with that during projects as well. But just because you can see a user interface, doesn't mean you can understand what goes on.

Saying that people not specifically employed in the user interface field are "without knowledge" of it is like saying that people not specifically employed in the food service industry are "without knowledge" of how to cook food. And disagreeing with you is not the same as declaring to have as much knowledge.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Shanek

One can infer that the average dyslexic has a slower reaction time.

Why?

It's pretty much a tautology: assuming that the study is in fact accurate, and dyslexics have, on average, a slower reaction time, then the average dyslexic has a slower reaction time. Correlation doesn't mean causation, but we're not talking about causation here, we're talking about correlation. Suppose there were a disease called Hulakism. Hulakism causes a red ring to appear on one's forehead, and one to go into violent spasms after five minutes of driving. Given that information, if someone without a red ring on his forehead offered you a ride, would you accept? I would be reluctant, not because red rings cause spasms, but because they are correlated with spasms. Not that I'm comparing this to dylexia, just pointing out that the issue of causation doesn't have much practical relevance.

One thing that IS important, however, is to see if the correlating factor can be refined. Are there any patterns? How consistent is the correlation? Are there other factors that can predict which dyslexics will experience this phenomenon? When arranged according to the level of correlation, do any obvious subgroups appear?

 

[Zep]

I fail to see how I am in any way to blame for this. I have been doing nothing more than pointing out Claus's horrendous errors and personal attacks. What else is a skeptic to do?

Be adults.

 

[shanek]

It's pretty much a tautology: assuming that the study is in fact accurate, and dyslexics have, on average, a slower reaction time, then the average dyslexic has a slower reaction time.

Well, the problem there is that I don't think the study is at all accurate, for reasons given.

 

[shanek]

Be adults.

I'm not the one trying to derail a thread just because it concludes something I don't like. Claus came into this thread spewing his hate.

 

[Zep]

I'm not the one trying to derail a thread just because it concludes something I don't like. Claus came into this thread spewing his hate.

I don't care.

 

[Thanz]

I fail to see how I am in any way to blame for this. I have been doing nothing more than pointing out Claus's horrendous errors and personal attacks. What else is a skeptic to do?

I would suggest that you put him on your ignore list. It seems to me that he enjoys following you around and taking a contrary position to whatever you say. Has he ever raised a point that was not raised by others more politely in a thread? Do you feel that you would be missing anything by not reading what he posts?

You have no shortage of opponents on this board. Some of them manage to dispute what you are saying in a polite manner most of the time. I like to think that I am one of them. Claus certainly is not. I suggest you focus your attention on the others, and just ignore Claus. It would help us all out a lot.

 

[shanek]

I would suggest that you put him on your ignore list. It seems to me that he enjoys following you around and taking a contrary position to whatever you say. Has he ever raised a point that was not raised by others more politely in a thread?

Not that I can think of, but he has levied many personal accusations against me, including at least one crime, that I feel I need to respond to.

Believe me, I've thought of putting him on ignore on a number of occasions. But then he comes out with something like that and I become very glad I didn't, because it's something I need to respond to.

You have no shortage of opponents on this board. Some of them manage to dispute what you are saying in a polite manner most of the time. I like to think that I am one of them.

I would say you are.