The Intricacies of the Mind

Anyone who reads this (which according to google analytics isn't a lot of you yet) probably doesn't know that I started as a neuroscience major at BYU. My plans were to graduate, go to medical school, and pursue a medical speciality in Neurology. It's an interesting thought to me now. to think that I was very involved in that for a long time. I still have a desperate fascination with the mind and how it functions so clearly differently in so many different people. That's the interesting part for me. Maybe my future lies in neural network programming, HCI (human-computer interaction), UI design or other things along those lines. However, for right now I'll have to settle for postulating.

As many would know, I'm an avid technology geek. So, of course, I was watching the WWDC Keynote with keen interest, hoping to find out more about the imminent revamp of the iPhone. It happened, and we now have a new iPhone 3G releasing in 70 countries, with GPS and a lower price point of $199 for the entry level phone (8 Gig). 22 countries will have availability on July 11th, the US amongst them. I like the iPhone. I've used one sparingly, but I find its simplicity, capability and future extensibility to be unlike most other phones currently on the market.

You may be wondering what this has to do with the mind. Let me explain: the beauty of the iPhone has always been in the spectacular engineering involved with the UI, HCI and underlying stability. Let's be honest: simply pushing an icon on a screen is an ideal way to launch an application and find information. Could there be a more simple interaction when it comes to the factors in human-computer interaction? It isn't necessary to create coordination to run your muscles and control a mouse to find an icon and double click it. You merely use your fingertip and press it. Instant activity, and instant gratification. That's the beauty of such simplified programming: ANYONE CAN USE IT! Who out there has ever picked up a WinMo device? You have to go through menu after menu to find the program you may be looking for. You have to adjust through many panes to find simple sets for brightness, and many other factors. Granted, some compete very literally with the iPhone (the HTC Touch and Touch Diamond come to mind, along with the new Samsung Instinct and various phones from LG), however apple created this simple interface. Why does the demand exist for something so complex yet simple in its creation? Because humans enjoy interacting with things that are logical.

Many humans have been blessed with an incredible spatial capacity. They can visualize and create complex maps of things in their minds. Their creativity is limitless -- they can create music, artwork, and many other things. I'm not amongst these people. While i have a great facility for creativity, I find it particularly hard in those arenas. I am very logical and procedural. And that's the beauty of the iPhone. Pretty icons indicate the programs. Logical steps are taken to facilitate the use of advanced features. It's an idea blending of the creative and logical minds, which allows it to find a position amongst the most spatial and the most logical in this world.

Whether or not you like Apple, their engineering teams are second to none. To find this lack of blending in the real world, and create a device so well suited to satisfy the needs of the procedural computer geeks and the creative art kid is from where their true strength is derived. Focus group testing, product iterations, design implications -- everything must be considered when creating such an advanced device that is designed to cater to so many people.

Anyway, that's my diatribe on the creativity and eccentricity in Cupertino, CA. Congratulations Apple on creating a convergence device that not only converges email, iPod, cell phone and internet but that also converges the minds of so many different people.

Sing your song after the break.