Digital Dilemma, Productivity

The Human Error in Automation

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Whenever I go to the grocery store, I always face a dilemma at checkout. Do I opt for a more error-free experience, but longer wait for the cashier? Or do I use self-checkout, a potentially faster, but maybe more frustrating experience?

I like the idea of self-checkout, in theory. As a teenager, I had a cashier job at a local grocery store. The work was tedious and thankless. During peak times customers could be irate and surly. This made an already boring job feel even less meaningful. When self-checkouts came along, I silently cheered thinking of how many RSI (repetitive strain injuries) could be prevented. I thought they would offer a quick, seamless process to purchase items. Sadly, I found this is only the case if I’m buying a small amount of items without any sales, weighing, or discounts. Due to this, I usually end up waiting for the cashier, convinced it takes less time because of the reduced errors.

Recently, I went grocery shopping for a few items at a busy time. I probably could have gone through the express line, but the lines were long and I opted for self-checkout. Reflecting on the experience, and the half dozen times the attendant came over, I couldn’t figure out why it was so miserable. It was a combination of user error, poor design, and lack of instruction.

After scanning the first item, I realized I forgot to put my grocery bag on the little shelf. I selected the option to “add my own bag,” but somehow it stalled the system. The attendant came over to reset it. Then again, when the first bag was full, the system stalled when I put a new bag on the shelf. At this point in the process I would definitely say it was a combination of poor design and bad instructions.

First of all, the shelf to bag groceries is tiny! It can only support one bag. Secondly, the attendant explained I had to wait 30 seconds before removing the first bag and adding the second. This vital piece of information was missing. The checkout screen certainly never mentioned this. Thirty seconds can feel like a long time to be hanging around to remove a bag. There were several other, less clear, mishaps and stalls.

Eventually I managed to pay for my two bags of groceries, having wasted much time at the self-checkout.

Digital Dilemma, True Confessions

The Art of Being Bored

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Technology ruined boredom. Yet, in its own special way, created a new kind of boredom. Whenever I go out, I can’t help but notice how much everyone fixates on their devices. This is an amazing thing for me to notice because I’m also one of those people with my head down and phone out. I also see lots of kids playing, or rather, watching devices.

Growing up I wonder how we ever made it through tedious, drawn out things without handheld entertainment. This included many long car rides, endless trips to the grocery stores with our parents, and lengthy family events. Somehow we managed. A small part of me thinks it’s because of the boredom. Consequently, we figured out all kinds of ways to keep ourselves entertained.

Now I find it’s too easy to be “entertained,” but in an almost mindless, hypnotic way. I’ve even noticed my own habits and patience levels changing because of these devices. For example, while I’m waiting for something, anything to happen, I whip out my phone. I also sometimes do things on my phone, or try to, while I’m doing other things. A popular favorite of mine is to watch TV and also scroll on my phone, or play games, at the same time. Essentially this means I’m not really focusing properly on either thing. Although I have two forms of entertainment in front of me, it sometimes creates this paradox of feeling bored. I suppose it’s because neither activity feels particularly fulfilling. If I was really enjoying the TV, I wouldn’t feel tempted by my phone. And vice versa.

For these reasons and others, technology ruined boredom. I can feel bored with, and without, my devices. And it feels very difficult to attain a suitable level of boredom. The kind of boredom we experienced could feel motivating. We would do something, anything, to alleviate the boredom. Even lazing around talking about being bored forced us to come up with ideas. Occasionally, some of them turned out to be something really good. Or at least a few good laughs trying something. Other times it required us to invite new people over to break up the monotony of our own company, giving us new opportunities to socialize.

I’m sometimes struck by the irony of creating technology that keeps us entertained in oh-so-boring ways.

Human Archives

The Magic of Memory

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Reminiscing with family over the holidays evoked myriad thoughts, stories, and emotions. I found it interesting how we each remembered different things. Or sometimes we remembered the same thing in our own distinct way. This perhaps signified the strength of the experience driving the memory. Sometimes, one of us recalled a memory that was unique, something that nobody else remembered.

In today’s world of instant photos, videos, and access to any information, does that diminish the value of our memories? Do we still need so much brain power to memorize and create memories, knowing we can obtain answers so easily? Or maybe it’s that we’re so busy capturing moments on our devices that we process the memories differently now. In any case, I’ve certainly noticed that I don’t retain information as easily. I know some of this is because I’m ageing, but I’m distracted by my devices. Whatever the reason, it did raise some interesting questions for me about our memories, what we’re actually internalizing, and what we really need to spend our time memorizing.

In school it was common for us to have closed book exams. Memorizing vast amounts of information was a requirement. Even in grad school our hands cramped up from handwriting everything we studied into small blue-covered booklets with wide-lined paper inside. No books, or resources, allowed, most of the time. Of course back then we only had “dumb” phones, so accessing information wasn’t quite as easy. But it still didn’t reflect reality. Even now at my new job, doing new things, if I don’t know something I can either look it up or ask someone. There’s no need for me to spend time memorizing facts and details, though remembering the many new acronyms can be pretty useful.

During the holiday week, I also read an article about doctors working with and competing against ChatGPT to see which group fared better in diagnoses. ChatGPT won, though that doesn’t seem surprising to me. But again, it raised this question of the usefulness to memorize so much information when resources are readily available. Then again, my father raised me to believe the only thing we ever really own in this world is what’s inside our heads. I guess we all have to find a balance to expend energy with the things we need to remember most.

Productivity, True Confessions

The Inaugural Smart Swim

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Following up on last week’s post, I took the plunge. I’ve used my new smart swim goggles for two swims! I have to confess I was feeling a bit dubious after fumbling through the set up process, but the results were impressive. Admittedly, there was some user error involved getting the goggles to sync with my phone. After a few failed attempts and some internet searching, I discovered “location” needed to be activated on my phone for the sync to work. I also didn’t realize that features, such as the workouts, requires a premium subscription. Almost everything requires a subscription. Even so, there are still plenty of cool features for a newbie like me to explore.

After figuring out the setup I headed to the pool. I wasn’t sure what to expect toggling through the goggle’s options before landing on “open swim”. This is basically the only option available without a subscription. I started going through the same warm up I’ve been doing for about 10 years. Before the goggles I suspected my times were slower. The goggles confirmed that I’m about three minutes slower. For swimmers, a few seconds can be a big difference so three minutes is huge.

My warm up is 20 laps. I alternate between front crawl, backstroke, and breaststroke. While swimming, the goggles projected the total time and distance by default. I felt vaguely disappointed that I didn’t have more details during the swim. However, once the swim synced with my phone everything changed. Somehow the goggles accurately detected when I changed strokes and calculated a whole bunch of information about them. The results surprised me. I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be so accurate.

The stroke statistics offered measurements on the time spent at each stroke, the distance per stroke, and a few other things. They also measure something called “SWOLF” which is a combination of the time and number of strokes. Below are some examples of the statistics from my second swim. There was some user error on my first swim and a few things didn’t record correctly.

I haven’t figured out what everything means yet. I also haven’t figured out if having the stats will affect my relationship with swimming. For the moment I’m enjoying the new perspective, which is definitely giving me some new energy after 25+ years of lap swimming. This is definitely one of my top 10 favorite gifts.

True Confessions

Taking the Plunge

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After resisting all kinds of tempting offers to track anything, and everything, about my body, I finally caved. I have to confess seeing a pair of Form 1 Augmented Reality Smart swim goggles won me over. As an avid swimmer for over 20 years, the appeal to see swim metrics in real-time while I’m swimming was too hard to resist. The discovery of these magical goggles also coincided with a few key events. I’m overdue for a new pair of goggles. The coating on my current pair is chipping and peeling off. A very nice black-friday discount sweetened the deal and pushed me over.

Admittedly, they are not yet close to the Augmented Reality (AR) goggles I dreamed of ages ago. My fantasy (AR) goggles allow me to swim in any setting I choose. In this way I could magically transform the boring and somewhat dreary indoor pool to something fantastical like the Galapagos Islands, Great Barrier Reef, or Antarctica. One of the things I enjoy most swimming in open waters is the incredible scenery, including the way the sunbeams dance and sparkle in the water or create cool rippling patterns on the sand beneath me. My fantasy AR goggles made a cameo appearance in this year’s installment of technombie.

Even though these goggles won’t transport me to distant waters, they do have some pretty magical features all on their own. The Form 1 goggles provide me with metrics about my swimming. In my early years of swimming, I used to calculate these kinds of things in my head to stave off the tedium of doing laps. Now, much slower in math and swimming, I feel good about being able to finish my sets. However, I have no clue about the basic elements of my strokes. Since I rarely take lessons and often swim solo, the goggles can offer me valuable insights for self-improvement.

At a minimum they track time spent swimming, distance covered, pace, stroke rate, stroke count, calories burned and distance per stroke. However, spending a little extra for a subscription offers workouts and tips, no doubt fueled by an AI coach. The display appears on one of the goggles eyes. For starters, I’m going with the base package. I’ll need time to figure out the settings and find my pace!

Stay tuned for results from the first swim session.

Digital Dilemma, True Confessions

The Plight of Punctuality

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When I lived in NYC, punctuality was essential. Everything, and everybody, there was competitive. Somebody else might win your spot if you weren’t on time. Or you might be perceived as unreliable and not get a call back. Time is valuable to me. I assume it’s also valuable to others. Therefore I do my best to be on time.

With the introduction of the smart phone, I’ve noticed punctuality standards slipping. This applies to both my own standards and those of others. Before the smart phone, being late meant waiting, wondering, and worrying for the other person. Getting in touch could be challenging. Finding a pay phone (and the right change!) to call someone for an update or check messages remotely was difficult. Options were few.

Now that almost everyone has a smart phone, we have a way to get in touch. A quick message to explain you’re running late, but will be there. Map apps can give accurate ETAs. Maybe some of us feel assured that if we leave someone waiting they can entertain themselves with their phone, thereby absolving some of our own bad feelings about being late and making someone wait.

However, none of this is a substitute for learning the skill of being punctual. Though some people might not realize there’s a lot of planning involved to make it somewhere on time, or even a bit early. It teaches valuable skill building in time management while encouraging a healthy respect for one’s schedule, but also others.

In most social situations, I find I’ve adapted by planning buffers. Or making plans where it doesn’t matter if people are right on time or rolling in later. Although when there is a timed event, such as tickets to something, it can feel daunting to have everyone arrive on time. It also seems that another adaptation is for people to relax their standards about being on time. After all, the smart phone is there to message and save the day.

Is being on time an old-fashioned skill, soon to lose against instant, dynamic, right-now culture? Or is there still time for us to slow down, respect time commitments, and rely on ourselves to get there on time instead of messaging “running late”?