TED Community » James Patten

More About Me

I'm passionate about

finding new ways to adapt computers to serve human needs (rather than vice versa). In particular, the sense of touch is often neglected in modern computer interfaces. I'm trying to help change that.

Talk to me about

interaction design, tabletop interfaces, financial visualization, interactive museum exhibits, new musical instruments

Comments

• TEDCred score: +102.20 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• +4

  A comment on Conversation: Can we ever know how another person "senses" the world?

  Feb 16 2012: An interesting facet of this question is the role that emotions play in our perception of the world. Scientific understanding of how this works is still at a basic level, but experiments are showing that a change in emotional state can often affect one's perception. And of course the sense data we receive from the world has to pass through the filter of our attention as well, and this filter is highly sensitive to emotional context. All of this explains why, if we have a strong emotional association with a particular color, taste, smell, sound or texture, we start to observe it more often (and possibly differently) in the world.
  
  So, while I think it's reasonable to argue that our biological apparatus for sensing the world is fairly similar from person to person, that sensing process cannot in practice be decoupled from the processes of attentional filtering and emotional interpretation, which are likely to vary widely between people.
• +5

  A comment on Conversation: How can computer models help us build intuition?

  Feb 15 2012: A challenge inherent in using computer models to build intuition is that often the computer models themselves can be built on faulty intuition. For example, a simulation like SimCity is based on a set of assumptions about what motivates people and makes them happy. It's difficult to build a successful city in that game without embracing and internalizing those underlying assumptions. This can be dangerous because of the power of these interactive computer models as learning tools. While computer models can be a powerful way to build intuition, there are generally no safeguards to ensure that the intuition they help build is actually valid.
• +3

  A comment on Conversation: How can computer models help us build intuition?

  Feb 15 2012: When it comes to using computers to build intuition and learn about our world, I completely agree that the key factor is interactivity. The young child who learns about gravity by knocking a vase off of a table is essentially performing a science experiment. She has a feeling that maybe something interesting will happen if she hits the vase, and then gives it a try and observes the results. The key thing that makes this type of experiment so effective is the continuous, immediate sensory feedback we get from our environment.
  
  One of the most powerful things about interactive computational simulation is the ability to perform these same sorts of experiments on all kinds of systems that we can't normally directly manipulate with our hands. But for this type of interactivity to be most successful as a learning tool, its feedback has to be immediate and engage the senses in a rich way. WIthout this rich, immediate feedback, people have a much harder time understanding and internalizing causal relationships.
  
  Here's something I built to explore how these ideas could be used to teach kids about chemistry:
  http://pattenstudio.com/projects/chem

• A reply on Conversation: If you could give computers one magical power, what would it be and why?

  Nov 14 2011: Hey Xavier!! That makes sense, maybe there can be a middle point between the two. There is an idea called collaborative interfaces that tries to be a middle point, but it seems like the human qualities are where things are really lacking still.

• A reply on Conversation: If you could give computers one magical power, what would it be and why?

  Nov 14 2011: Hi Daniel, this does exist, but traditionally has been very expensive. There is at least one effort to make it easier though. Check out this project by Zach Lieberman: http://www.eyewriter.org/
  
  At its current state it's mainly targeted at people with ALS and other handicaps. I don't think you would find it faster or easier in its current form. One issue is that the movement of the human eye is actually very jumpy compared to what one might expect.

• A reply on Conversation: If you could give computers one magical power, what would it be and why?

  Nov 14 2011: Hi Ken, I agree and it seems like things are starting to take steps in that direction, but in a piecemeal way. e.g. google priority inbox and the favorites pages that many web browsers have now..

• A reply on Conversation: If you could give computers one magical power, what would it be and why?

  Nov 14 2011: Hi Jofree, yes, battery life is always a problem. Here is one clever solution that was developed for OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Peripherals/Hand_Crank
  
  (I guess the URL gives the idea away..)

• A reply on Conversation: If you could give computers one magical power, what would it be and why?

  Nov 14 2011: Hi Jofree, one of the capabilities I've been excited about for a long time is the ability for the computer to track the positions of arbitrary objects in 3D space. It seems like this would open up a lot of different kinds of applications, including finding lost objects and turning walls and tables in your home into interactive surfaces. finding lost things would be really helpful!

• A reply on Conversation: If you could give computers one magical power, what would it be and why?

  Nov 14 2011: Hi Yoo, it seems like every generation has its own unique set of needs and expectations when it comes to computer technology. I agree they are definitely lacking in the realm of emotional intelligence. We can already see some basic efforts in this direction, such as giving users simpler ways to do things when they are having trouble. Also, there is some research in the lab about detecting frustration and responding to that. People are writing software to recognize facial expressions, and there are sensors that one can wear that measure physiological signs of stress/frustration. So, people are taking baby steps but there is a long way to go!

• A reply on Conversation: If you could give computers one magical power, what would it be and why?

  Nov 14 2011: hmm... yes you're right that meditation is gaining a lot of traction. I've always thought of my interaction with the computer as the antithesis of meditation (except perhaps while programming) but perhaps they could come together in the way you mention.