How the Mind Works — Measurement VS Arrangement

 

In the excellent How the Mind Works, by Steven Pinker, is the following chapter:

 

The left hemisphere is not only the seat of language but also the seat of the ability to recognize and imagine shapes defined by arrangements of parts. A neurological patient who had suffered a stroke to his left hemisphere reported, "When I try to imagine a plant, and animal, an object, I can recall but one part. My inner vision is fleeting, fragmented; if I'm asked to visualize the head of a cow, I know it has ears and horns but I can't revisualize their places." The right hemisphere, in contrast, is good for measuring whole shapes; it can easily judge whether a rectangle is taller than it is wide or whether a dot lies more or less than an inch from an object.

 

There is something certainly interesting here, but I'm not sure what it means. I do know some people love to organize folders on the desktop, and some don't, and some only want to see files in a more abstract 'list' or 'column' view.

 

Comments

[Luke Pike]

This is interesting. My guess is it means that some people like to see the whole picture and sort out the parts themselves, while others like to see parts of it and sort out the whole picture themselves.

What this could mean for UI is that software should accommodate both if possible. The desktop is provided for people who like to see all the files at once. For those who like to see parts, they can organize files into folders. Other software is built specifically for one type, which is fine if that's the intention.

The book looks great, I'll have to check it out.

[Keith Lang]

yeah, it's a tricky one. The desktop is a folder in reality anyway..

The book is great. Written in a very 'for the general public' while still being full of useful information.