Conditioning

During a Software Design class in high school our teacher posed the question “Why do splash screens exist?” The usual answers were provided: to display copyright information, instil the brand, show confirmation that the program was successfully executed (Response time in man-computer conversational transactions), etc. Afterwards, our teacher correctly raised the notion that they exist to fool users into feeling the program loads faster than it actually does. The research regarding our psychological need for immediate response (be it visual, tactile, auditory, etc) this is truly fascinating (Rethinking the Progress Bar).

This dialogue was triggered by my friend Nick asking if he could add a delay to his application’s splash screen as it did not remain long enough to be read due to the low complexity of his application. I find it interesting to ponder the many things we have been conditioned to blindly accept. The often spoken, rarely heard and likely misattributed Einstein line that problems cannot be solved at the same level of thinking that created them applies here. When looking for solutions to problems, business opportunities or simply a way to approach that cute girl at the bar I often remind myself of the need to take a step back. Most of the preconceptions I hold at any one point in time turn out to be incorrect or gross oversimplifications when identified.