What if we rethink metaphors
So, I was on Scuttlebutt (SSB) and someone was talking about how office environments were the first place computers really took off so the interface took on an office-like metaphor (desktop, trash, files, folders, etc.).
They said it would have been interesting if forestry had been the first to adopt it and instead we had some sort of tree metaphor:
But what if computers weren't needed by businesses first, and instead there was a tremendous need from the forestry and ecological services? And so instead of a desk, the initial metaphor for personal use was a tree: you have various branches and leaves of the branch that you tend or graft onto other branches. And if a leaf wasn't needed anymore you could drop it on the forest floor to be turned into mulch.
Message: %iC8NsaNMuYjRrvSrHcQUkHNxeRzisBbE7zcOAIGdRMs=.sha256
While at some level I knew this to be true, it totally blew my mind to think we could have such wildly different user interfaces. I know the “traditional” computer UI works for a lot of people, but I also know a lot of people just don’t jive with computers, so maybe this is something to keep thinking about in terms of accessibility.
