> "No matter what skill I intended to learn, I found that its permanence had been eroded by the chaos of technology."
I find this particularly correct. There are some technologies and/or things which are very simple, yet very hard to improve upon. Incidentally, these items are very durable too. Double edge razors and fountain pens come to my mind.
Yet, these technologies and items are thrown away or forced to obsolescence just because they don't produce the profits today's corporations seek. I think it's a very sad outcome. One can say that modern razors or writing implements doesn't have similar disadvantages of vintage counterparts, but the contrary is also true. Not all modern technologies supersede older ones flawlessly, and older ones still had distinct advantages. Same is also valid for computing technologies, both in hardware and software side.
Because of this reality, I find this kind of documentation projects very valuable and important. We need to address permanence of knowledge as soon as possible. It's a very hard problem, but we can start somewhere.
IIRC, Ford has a simulator just for testing these controls in the cockpit. They design and implement a cockpit, mount it to the simulator and run some scenarios like animals crossing roads or someone braking hard in front of you.
I drive a 2001 focus, and all controls can be operated so-called blindly. I can do anything (HVAC, hazards, lights, etc.) without moving my eyes from the road. I think it's very important.
I find this particularly correct. There are some technologies and/or things which are very simple, yet very hard to improve upon. Incidentally, these items are very durable too. Double edge razors and fountain pens come to my mind.
Yet, these technologies and items are thrown away or forced to obsolescence just because they don't produce the profits today's corporations seek. I think it's a very sad outcome. One can say that modern razors or writing implements doesn't have similar disadvantages of vintage counterparts, but the contrary is also true. Not all modern technologies supersede older ones flawlessly, and older ones still had distinct advantages. Same is also valid for computing technologies, both in hardware and software side.
Because of this reality, I find this kind of documentation projects very valuable and important. We need to address permanence of knowledge as soon as possible. It's a very hard problem, but we can start somewhere.