In his recent TED talk he mentions that the Tylenol incident led to tamper-proof caps — a perfect example of what Schneier likes to call “security theater”:
As a homework assignment, think of 10 ways to get around it. I’ll give you one, a syringe.
So far this is typical Schneier. It’s a great point, but one I’ve heard him make many times before. In the next sentence, though, he breaks new ground:
But it made people feel better. It made their feeling of security more match the reality.
Bruce Schneier used to mock the theatrical dimension of security. Now it seems his thinking has evolved — and in a really interesting way. He’s alway viewed security in a relativistic way, and as a game of economic tradeoffs. Here he twists the lens to bring something else into focus: the relationship between how secure we feel and how secure we are.
This hit home for me, because is exactly the same way I feel about product development, especially mobile development. We can fight all day about mobile web vs mobile native, but that’s only half of the issue. An equally important piece of software development is making sure to set and exceed user expectations.
When developing software, step 1 should be: “What are my user’s expectations? Can I change those expectations before they even launch my app? How should those expectations change how I design the user experience?”
The Khan Academy is changing education forever. Be sure to also read Sigularity Hub’s review and watch the walkthrough video below, but rest assured this will change how your child learns. My daughter is only 3 years old and now I can’t wait to get her started on basic arithmatic!
Highlights of the Khan system: Students learn single concepts at a time: step by step by step. First addition, then harder addition, then addition with decimals, then subtraction, etc. Each singular concept has tutorial videos as well as infinite computer generated problems to solve, and every problem has step-by-step hints available to help walk students through solving a problem.
My favorite part – by far – is the game machanics built into the system. A skill tree maps all of the provided concepts together, and the student earns “Energy Points” for every problem solved. This is just itching for energy point micropayments to upgrade your character/profile page. Even integrations with “real” games where you can spend Khan energy points on game time / upgrades / etc. It’s like Eve, but for real life and real skills.
Watch the video below and find out how your child will learn differential equations both faster and better than you ever did.
I am an independent mobile and Mac app developer. This site hosts my various projects and tutorials, and is a home for my thoughts and bookmarks. Read more about me.
