Bactra Review    The Psychology of Everyday Things

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Evolutionary design is not the major thrust of Norman's book, but he does refer to the classic discussions by Simon and Christopher Alexander. Following them, Norman says it is blocked by complexity, novelty, and planned obsolescence. His discussion of why telephones --- the physical devices --- have gotten worse since the breakup of AT&T is fascinating, and it would be interesting to see how well it connects with Schumpeter's idea that monopolies encourage technical progress.