Weekly I/O: How Apple develops products, Steve Jobs' Definition of Design, Overview Effect
#65: Creative Selection, Design is How It Works, Overview Effect, Capital and Problem and Solution, Breakthrough and Laughability
Hi friends,
Greetings from Sunnyvale!
Here's your late weekly dose of I/O. I hope you enjoy it!
Input
Here's a list of what I'm exploring and pondering on this week.
1. How Apple develops products? A chain of demos and feedback continuously evolves an idea towards a product. No brainstorming session and no whiteboard discussion.
Book: Creative Selection
Creative selection, defined by author Ken Kocienda, is a continuous process of creating demos, receiving specific feedback, and generating subsequent demos. Akin to the concept of Darwinian evolution, This iterative approach helps eliminate ineffective demos and features through feedback, gradually refining an idea towards a final product.
Every major feature on the iPhone started as a demo. The way they built products can be reduced to a basic idea: they showed demos to each other. The demo must be concrete and specific because even an unsophisticated idea can be hard to discuss constructively without a tangible representation.
However, making demos is hard. You are likely to fail. The fear of investing time and effort into an idea you aren't sure is right can be daunting. On the other hand, the idea of a casual brainstorming session over coffee may seem better.
Without the psychological barrier of failure, whiteboard discussion feels good and easy. Whiteboard discussions give the impression of being productive, but they often fall short because abstract ideas are challenging to discuss effectively. For instance, think of a cute cat. Picture one as detailed as possible in your brain. Can we discuss whether the cat in your brain or the one in mine is cuter? Can we convince our boss or our customers whose cat is more adorable? There is no way to resolve this conflict. However, if we show pictures of our cats, we can easily discuss each option's merits.
Concrete and specific examples are so important because they make difficult, perhaps impossible, discussions easy. Demos elicit reactions, which are essential in providing the impetus to transform an idea from the intangible to the tangible.
2. Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.
Book: Creative Selection
During a 2003 interview with The New York Times discussing the iPod, Steve Jobs said:
"Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it [a product] looks like. People think it's this veneer—that the designers are handed this box and told, "Make it look good!" That's not what we think design is. It's not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."
Superficial aesthetics in products don't truly benefit users. Therefore, product design should focus on the beauty inherent in its functionality, rather than solely on its visual and tactile appeal. The form of a product should be determined by its intended purpose. Form follows function.
Products should be self-explanatory in their design to tell the user what it is and how to use it. Objects should explain themselves. To pick one sentence that can encapsulate the essence of practical inventions and product development, the author Ken Kocienda summarized in Steve's quote: "Design is how it works."
3. Overview Effect: Sudden and dramatic shifts in perspective can make the observer into a state of awe with self-transcendent qualities, especially for astronauts viewing Earth from space.
Article: Overview Effect
Shifting one's perspective is a highly effective method for altering their perception, belief, and even behavior. This shift is exemplified by the phenomenon known as the "Overview Effect" reported by many astronauts. While viewing the Earth from space, they feel "a state of awe with self-transcendent qualities, precipitated by a particularly striking visual stimulus". This new perspective elicits overwhelming emotions and makes the astronauts appreciate the Earth's beauty more.
A common experience closest to the overview effect is when one gazes out of an airplane window and observes the horizon. Everything below appears surreal and flattened, creating a two-dimensional perception. These random airport views evoke similar sensations too.
Virtual reality can also serve as a tool to induce immersive simulations that facilitate these perspective shifts. As noted in #29.4, Virtual Reality can make people empathize with the plight of refugees in the Syrian conflict by simulating sensory presentations.
Another example of such a shift in perspective is the statement the Earth is smoother than a billiard ball. Though the highest point on Earth (Mt. Everest) and the deepest point (Marianas Trench) are around 20 km apart, it is still relatively smooth compared to the Earth's diameter of 12,735 km. (There are debates regarding whether it is true, but we should understand that the Earth is much smoother than commonly perceived. Again, it can be a wrong but useful concept, as noted in #32.1 and #34.5.)
4. Capital is not a solution to problems. Capital is a means of scaling solutions.
Book: The New Industrial State
In the book by John Kenneth Galbraith, he argues that modern corporation is a complex system that is not amenable to simple solutions. Money alone cannot solve the corporation's problems, but it can be used to scale solutions already found. A company can use capital to expand the scale of operations, acquire new technology, and hire more people. However, capital cannot solve problems that are inherent in the structure.
Same for all the societal problems with complex incentive mechanisms involved. As noted in #59, attempting to solve these problems solely by pouring money into them can lead to unexpected consequences arising from Principal-Agent problems, Moral Hazards, or Adverse Selection. Capital cannot solve problems but scale solutions.
5. Every breakthrough is at first laughable and ridiculous. In fact, if it did not start out laughable and ridiculous, it is not a breakthrough.
Whenever I think about a vision or long-term goal, I find it worthwhile to revisit this particular line from Kevin Kelly.
That's it. Thanks for reading. Since I always want to know more about my readers, please let me know which input you find most useful or interesting. You can take 5 seconds and reply to this email with a number!
As always, feel free to send me any interesting ideas you came across recently!
Looking forward to learning from you.
Best,
Cheng-Wei