this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2023
60 points (96.9% liked)

Hacker News

1770 readers
1 users here now

This community serves to share top posts on Hacker News with the wider fediverse.

Rules0. Keep it legal

  1. Keep it civil and SFW
  2. Keep it safe for members of marginalised groups

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

There is a discussion on Hacker News, but feel free to comment here as well.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] smokingManhole 7 points 11 months ago

Volkswagen's return to physical buttons is long overdue. Imagine causing a car accident because you're distracted by a touchscreen, unsure if you pressed the right thing. Touchscreens became popular in cars because the market blindly follows the majority's whims. Present the touchscreen versus button issue to most people, and they'll choose touchscreens, misled by a lack of technical understanding. In their minds, old equals buttons, new equals touchscreen, and therefore, touchscreen must be better. They fail to see the bigger picture or care about this crucial design flaw, dismissing it as trivial.

This is just one of the many ways a market driven by majority preference results in mediocre solutions, never reaching the best possible option. And those who genuinely seek the optimal solution are left suffering the consequences, outnumbered by the masses who don't realize the impact of their uninformed choices.