One of the most consequential ideas to emerge from World War II was that machines might be bent around people, to better serve them, to better conform to the limits of their senses and minds—to be usable at a glance even in the worst conditions. From that crucible emerged the idea that you should be able to understand anything without ever thinking twice. Whether it’s a handheld supercomputer that a child can use, or a nuclear reactor that’s easy to troubleshoot, or a button that reinvents 911, these are things that take our limitations as the starting point and then build up from those
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