Usability Studies: Scientifically discovering the obvious
Don’t get me wrong – usability testing is a good thing. Some researchers though, it seems, have too much time on their hands and grant money in their pockets.
Consider the psychologists at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Their studies have shown that kids who talk on cell phones while crossing intersections have a higher chance of getting hit by a car.
“The children who were on the cell phone and were distracted during their crossing were significantly more likely to get hit by a car in the virtual environment,” Byington reported. “They were getting hit or almost getting hit at least [once], while the kids that weren’t on the cell phone didn’t get hit [at all].”
The lesson to be learned here: don’t volunteer your kids for experiments at the University of Alabama!
Hey it’s true! I hit some idiot under-20 something pedestrian last weekend while cycling. The dumb dude walked out in front of me while talking on his cell phone.
Fortunately the process of natural selection will soon resolve this issue.