I’m reading Donald A. Norman’s The Design of Future Things and in the first 30 pages I’ve already found a literary gem:

“As technology became more powerful and complex, we became less able to understand how it worked, less able to predict its actions…Now our machines are taking over. They act as if they have intelligence and volition, even though they don’t.”

The author came to this conclusion after his friend retold a story about forgetting to turn off cruise control and speeding up on a highway exit ramp.   Naturally, as we become used to trusting in machines, we are more likely to blame them when we ourselves fail to give direction. And here’s the problem…why is it our failure to give the direction?

After waiting on hold for 40 min, why does a condescending kid on the other end of the line get to make me feel like a moron for a “mistake” that hundreds of thousands of other people have also made? Isn’t this a product design flaw?

Do product manufacturers know that they are treating hundreds of thousands of paying customers like morons? When I buy the newest smart phone, I want to feel cool. And honestly, I’ve never had a phone service experience that hasn’t induced buyer remorse.

Albert Einstein said that insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” If you keep jerking around your customer, they aren’t going to buy your new product expecting different results. They’re going to think you’re jerks. For the love of God, figure it out.