Thread by @jpaulreed

The study of human factors is inextricably rooted in examining how humans use (often complicated) tools to perform work.

One of the first papers any student of the field will read is Fitts and Jones' 1947 paper on the subject. THREAD.

You're probably familiar with this paper, even if you don't know it: it's a write-up of the investigation of planes that kept "collapsing" in various World War II theaters; it found that the aircraft gear and wing flap handles were next next to each other... and identical.

Once they reshaped the handles—flap control like a flat... well... flap & a circular knob for gear—incidents of that particular type of "human error" were reduced significantly.

(The paper is foundational because it also argues why further study of human factors is important...)

Overall, it's a fascinating story... but the key point here: it was a HUGE shift in mindset to stop looking at "what's wrong with the (multiple!) human(s)" making the (same!) mistake, and start looking at the ergonomics of the tools they (were supposedly mis-) using.

(This shift gave rise to entire subfields of human factors and ergonomic design: one grandchild of that shift in perspective about these problems is the study of a topic near and dear to many of our hearts: human-computer interaction.)

Now, for some reason, when we look at the human factors of high-tempo, high consequence internet operations, we LOVE to pilfer lessons learned from aviation.

I, myself, have been guilty of this:

https://twitter.com/jpaulreed/status/1032685532889767938

vimeo.com/69081899 (from way back in 2013!?!)

But one of the things we apparently have NOT cribbed wholesale (or had on our own) from human factors, and especially human factors in aviation: that 1947 epiphany that if hundreds of pilo... err... thousands of software engineers keep "misusing," being confused by...

... being frustrated by (or "afraid" of), or downright complaining about the tool: I don't know bro... MAYBE IT'S THE TOOL, NOT THE PEOPLE.

And there is no better example in our field of the continued commission of this fallacy than the way our industry talks about Git.

A current incarnation of this: @neilkakkar's 2000+ word thunk piece from on "How not to be afraid of Git anymore" posted a couple of weeks ago.

But I don't mean, nor do I need, to single him out: Google "git afraid" & you'll find articles since it has existed, extolling us to:

"Don’t be afraid to commit"
"Don't Be Afraid of Git: The Basics"
"Stop Being Afraid of Git and Start Using It The Right Way" (the Right Way!)
...

...
"How I got over my irrational fear of git"
"Don't Be Scared of git rebase"

And that's just the first page of results from searching for Git and a single (less-than-great) result of a human-computer interaction.

So, here's my question: it's 2018, over 70 years—SEVENTY YEARS—after aviation had the epiphany that repeatedly blaming & berating people for making "mistakes" when using their tools does not improve outcomes... when are we going to stop making excuses for our tools? And fix them?

When are we going to realize that evergreen blog post popping up every 2 months, explaining the same concepts over and over (with a delicious dash of pat-on-the-head condescension thrown in for flavor!) isn't going to make people more productive or less "error-prone" with Git?

When are we going stop blaming millions of Git users for their "human errors" and instead demand the hundred-or-so Git developers give us a better tool? (Or get over our sunk-cost fallacy & switch tools, to one willing to change the knobs instead of yelling at the "pilots?")

When are we going to stop writing condescending, dismissive, childish (and sometimes self-deprecating?) think pieces about how the tool is right, the tool HAS TO BE RIGHT, as if it'd been delivered to us from God, and the struggle YOU are having is some lone deficiency in you?

I, for one, hope it's not going to take another seventy years for us to catch up with 1940s-era aviation discoveries...

I consider myself a bit of a version control nerd, and I do truly love the space... but I can't imagine I'll still care much about it in my 100s...

But Lord help me—Lord help us all—if we're still having to read "Git is your friend, you emotionally irrational human!" mic drops or "Git rebase isn't THAT hard... not really. NO, HEAR ME OUT!" hot takes in the 2090s.

Fin.