Chapter 13: Digital Interaction

In **Chapter 13: Digital Interaction**, Hinton defends that
interaction between humans and digital systems through interfaces are a vital part of today’s environment. He
talks about interfaces made of semantic information that define human interaction with digital systems. He also touches on modes in interfaces and their
impact.

## Interfaces and Humans

Hinton begins by
explaining that interfaces are used for defining interactions between different
systems. Interfaces in software define the interactions between programs, while
those in hardware systems define interactions between physical devices. As explained
in Chapter 12,
computers process information that is abstract and logical. Therefore the interfaces
between computer hardware or software are successful when designed using detailed, logic-based structures.

The most important, yet hardest to
design, interface is the one that bridges interactions between human systems
and digital systems. The interface creates an artificial environment that is used to
communicate information between the humans and computer. Human systems are the opposite of
computers, so a bad interface forces humans to think like a
computer. A good interface is intuitive for humans to master. Hinton wants to “establish that interfaces are part of the
environment we inhabit and are themselves smaller environments nested within
the larger ecological context". Interfaces are a part of the environment
because they inhabit the screens of computing devices that people use regularly. Each interface has its own set of objects and actions
to perform.

Human-computer interfaces have only been
around as long as computers. 50 years ago interfaces were for specialists completing a specific job. After evolving 50 years, interfaces are for the common people completing wide ranges of trivial tasks. Hinton explains that the demographic change means interfaces
had to become an “*everyday environment”* *.* Everyday people do not want complex instructions on how to communicate in the
computer’s language. Language must instead be used to create digital agents
that translate from the computer's language to how humans think.

One example of the poor translation
that still happens is the digital agent that Hinton interacted with at a gas
pump. The author encountered one that merely stated “ENTER DATA” on its screen
and had a sticker above explaining that the digital agent was asking for his
zip code. Hinton emphasizes that successful interfaces are necessary because
“there will always be the need to translate the abstraction of digital
information into invariants that users can comprehend" . “ENTER DATA” is the digital information. 'Data' can
mean anything to the user, so a better interface is necessary to make the user understand that the computer wants their zip code.

## Semantic Function of Simulated Objects

The famous painting by Rene
Magritte, *The Treachery of Images,* contains a realistic pipe followed by
the text “This is not a pipe” in French. The painting brings awareness
to the fact that humans do not usually distinguish between semantic and
physical information. Both a picture of a pipe and a physical pipe are called a
pipe. Technology takes advantages of people's tendency to associate semantics with
physical objects by simulating the object's physical properties.

With digital technology came the
ability to simulate any physical object on a screen's interface, which opened up far
more possibilities than physical controls or buttons. When designing the
simulated controls, there are two well-known methods of design. Hinton explains
that *Skeuomorphic* design consists of “literal translation of the
physical surfaces and objects we encounter in the physical world” . The button on the screen will look
like a photo realistic physical button. On the other end of the design spectrum
is *flat* design, which strips away all
realism and is very minimal in how it simulates physical objects. The Apple iOS
software has used both designs in various generations. Before iOS 7, iOS was
known for using *skeuomorphic* design with details, shading, and
highlights to add depth. Then iOS changed everything to be flat. At this point,
people understood how interactive objects on screens worked and no longer
needed semantic information to be so realistic. For example, the
iOS 7 email app changed their “Cancel” button to a text box with just the word,
not even simulating a button anymore.

  How humans use digital controls
depends on how such controls have worked for them in the past. Because the
Cancel button performed a certain action before iOS 7, users understand that
the text box with “Cancel” in the top right hand corner would perform the same
task. Unlike physical objects, humans have no control over what happens when a
digital button is interacted with. They can assume based on past experience,
but the computer controls the outcome.

Hinton describes how digital
environments take objects from their physical world and “abstract them into
something made entirely out of language” . For example, the
interface that humans use for email is a well-known simulated
environment based around a physical mailbox. The mailbox interface has folders,
mail, and drafts. However, none of these physically exist. They are merely
represented through semantic information on the interface.

## Modes and Meaning

In this section, Hinton defines a mode as a “condition that changes the result an
action would have under a different condition” . Modes define what
occur when a user interacts with a control, such as a button. A change of mode can allow the
user to perform different actions without changing the controls. A typical
example is when a person is playing a PC game. When in play mode the keyboard
controls change so that the ASDW keys control the player’s movement. Then in
chat mode the keys revert back to printing letters when pressed.

Modes can either be sticky or
non-sticky. With sticky modes, a mode remains changed until it is actively switched
back with a control. For non-sticky modes, a control must be held down for the
mode to change. The mode changes back when the control is released. Caps lock is
an example of a sticky mode. After pressing the caps lock key, the interface stays in caps
lock mode until another action, pressing the key again, removes it from that
mode. The control key is a type of non-sticky mode. The ‘S’ key will type the
letter ‘S’. However if one holds down the control key and presses ‘S’ the current
application will save its work. This mode does not remain when the control key
is released.

While modes can allow a wider range
of functionality with fewer controls, they can also confuse the
user who must keep track of the modes. Nested modes, where the user must enter a mode
to enter a mode until they can perform the task, can also reduce clarity. Five fatal
plane crashes from 1988 to 1996 occurred because the pilots had been using
controls in the wrong mode.

Hinton explains that modes can be
dangerous because they “change the fundamental meaning of action” . Physical
actions produce the same results. However, with digital interactions a computer
controls the results of every human action. Humans thus
find the concept of modes harder to grasp.

The use of modes today is best seen
in smartphones. Before smartphones, cell phones were actual phones. Now the
word phone is merely a nickname for what Hinton calls a “modal device” .
The actual phone controls are not present. The only control is a rectangular
piece of glass, but with the modes provided by applications it can do an infinite
amount of tasks. The broad range of functionality is simply not
possible outside of software.

## Analysis

Chapter 13 is one of the most
important in the book for digital writers. Digital interaction is what digital writers must define in their work. The chapter discusses in
great detail the use of interfaces, simulated objects, and modes in the digital
environment that a writer would be working in. They will gain a fundamental
understanding of the concepts that will allow them to produce a better interactive experience for the user.

Digital writers should learn the importance of a well-designed visual interface that both communicates information and has intuitive use. In section two, Hinton explains how interactive semantic objects
work. Semantic objects are necessary for the user to interact with a digital system. The picture of a button lets a human know that touching that section of the screen will cause a reaction. Hinton also covers skeuomorphic and flat design, which are well known design practices. Understanding the design styles will allow one to understand the purpose they serve in interface usability. Skeuomorphic design was more popular when digital interfaces were new and people were still learning how they worked. The semantic button looked like a physical button. Flat design dominated after people had become comfortable with the norms of interactive design. The button was simplified to a colored box.

Hinton explains the important role of modes in the third section. Many digital writers might not even be
aware of modes and their presence, despite working with them every day on their
smartphones. Badly designed modes can have dangerous consequences for the user, such as faulty air conditioning or plane crashes. Therefore Hinton provides a solid explanation of the types of modes
and how they change the user’s intuitive meaning of action. Now the digital writer can implement modes knowing how it will affect their audience.

Of course, today one can argue that everyone is a
digital writer.  In “We’re All Coders Now”,
Clive Thompson talks about how a creative-writing major used Google’s App
Inventor to create the No Text While Driving App.  This is an example of
a successful human computer interface in play.
Google’s App Inventor allows humans to complete the usually complex task
of coding.  It successfully uses language
to bridge the gap and relate more to how a human thinks.  Furthermore, now humans can reapply these
principles in their digital writing while using these interfaces.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hinton, Andrew, and Peter Morville. Understanding Context: Environment, Language, and Information Architecture. Sebastopol: O'Reilly, 2014. Print. Page 217
2. ↑ Hinton, Andrew, and Peter Morville. Understanding Context: Environment, Language, and Information Architecture. Sebastopol: O'Reilly, 2014. Print. Page 217
3. ↑ Hinton, Andrew, and Peter Morville. Understanding Context: Environment, Language, and Information Architecture. Sebastopol: O'Reilly, 2014. Print. Page 221
4. ↑ Hinton, Andrew, and Peter Morville. Understanding Context: Environment, Language, and Information Architecture. Sebastopol: O'Reilly, 2014. Print. Page 226
5. ↑ Hinton, Andrew, and Peter Morville. Understanding Context: Environment, Language, and Information Architecture. Sebastopol: O'Reilly, 2014. Print. Page 229
6. ↑ Hinton, Andrew, and Peter Morville. Understanding Context: Environment, Language, and Information Architecture. Sebastopol: O'Reilly, 2014. Print. Page 231
7. ↑ Hinton, Andrew, and Peter Morville. Understanding Context: Environment, Language, and Information Architecture. Sebastopol: O'Reilly, 2014. Print. Page 233
8. ↑ Thompson, Clive. 2010. “We’re All Coders Now” Wired Magazine.
Pdf.

http://www.wired.com/images\_blogs/magazine/2010/11/18.12ST.thompson.pdf