thoughtcrumbs

Back from travels

I'm back from a very stimulating trip across the country. After a full day of meeting researchers, I'm left with a profound respect for several aspects of human-machine interaction with which I hadn't had much experience, especially interactions based on speech recognition and natural language processing. (Which actually made my interaction with the voice menu at 1-800-GoFedEx today frustrating, since it was much more stilted and artificial than what I now know it has the potential to be.)

Speaking of experiential design, I also got in a brief visit to the Gates at Central Park. The orange banners were gorgeous next to the the white snow, although individually, they weren't as spectacular as I'd expected. Much more interesting were the conversations I had with strangers (both New Yorkers) about the effect of the exhibit—drawing so many more people to the park and eliciting conversation. For that, the artists deserve credit.

More photos may appear in my gallery soon, but here's one for now:


Update: The NYC photos are now online.