title: Human factors design (meeting psychological needs in UI design)
body: <p>Reading about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.729" rel="nofollow noreferrer">G.729 codec</a>, I found this interesting tidbit about "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfort_noise" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Comfort Noise</a>":</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>A comfort noise generator (CNG) is
    also set up because in a communication
    channel, if transmission is stopped,
    and the link goes quiet because of no
    speech, then the receiving side may
    assume that the link has been cut. By
    inserting comfort noise the old analog
    hiss is played during silence to
    assure the receiver that the link is
    active and operational.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>This is the kind of thing a good programmer needs to know about before they design VOIP software, for instance.</p>
  
  <p>Earlier today I also learned about <a href="http://scienceweek.com/2004/sc040709-4.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Saccadic Suppression</a>:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>Humans avoid retinal blurring during eye
    movement by
    temporarily attenuating the data
    flowing from the retina into the
    brain. An amusing way to demonstrate
    this phenomenon is to look at your
    face in a mirror. Holding your head
    steady, look at one eye and then the
    other, rapidly shifting your gaze
    between the two. The image is stable
    and you do not see your own eye
    movement, but another person watching
    you will clearly see your eyes move.</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>This has application in video game and other visual and graphics development.</p>
  
  <p>There are many books on user interface design, but I have yet to see a single reference which enumerates <em>most</em> of the human design factors we <em>should</em> understand when designing software.  I expect a lot of software engineers learn this by the seat of their pants - they design it, find that something is odd and/or annoying, and play with it until it feels comfortable.  Yet the answers already exist, the studies have been done, and <em>someone</em> knows not only how to fix our issue, but why it's an issue.</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li><strong>Without getting a BS/BA in a dozen different professions, where would I look for this sort of information?</strong></li>
  <li><strong>Am I doomed to stumbling across it in daily internet surfing</strong> (which many companies/managers frown on)<strong>?</strong></li>
  <li><strong>What other human factors impact programming</strong> (please link a reference, resource, or at least give a googleable technical name - alternately post a new question about it with the tag "human-factors")<strong>?</strong></li>
  </ul>