Dear Folks,

For some strange reason, consumer electronics designers are requiring us to learn new random symbols in order to operate our day-to-day consumer appliances.

But, I ask you:  Is this fair?

I mean, it’s not as if I am a dummy, I guess, because, in the past, I have learned many non-random symbols which have been important to me…such as symbols which help me to read Chinese.

I know about 4000 symbols, otherwise called Chinese characters, including both traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese characters....

But, now, the nitwit designers of basic household appliances ask me to learn even more….random and idiotic symbols...???

NO WAY…Jose.

Also, the nitwit engineers have NO IDEA about how to design symbols. They have never really even studied SEMIOTICS……they are nitwits and idiots…who have no formal schooling in the field of SEMIOTICS…..

But, as I say, I have never experienced any reluctance to learn a few symbols ... .when these symbols have CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE….

I only object when some VERY LOW LEVEL nitwit engineer at some lousy Asian factory tells me that I need to learn new symbols just to operate my household appliances.

Concerning household appliances, if you cannot put real words on the User Interface of appliances such as washing machines, rice cookers, and such…then….you can stuff your appliances where the sun don’t shine.

Sure.

If you cannot use Natural Language, instead of your strange SEMIOTICS, on household appliances, then I will not buy them.

So, what is your take on this trend…..

Manufacturers are just trying to save money.

They do not care about user ergonomics.

Right?

Wrong?

Best regards,

Gamma

NOTE: This is all....complete garbage...of course...WHEN nitwit factory engineers have about ZERO understanding of SEMIOTICS.....what nitwits.....they cause so much harm to society.....!!!!

Edited May 24May 24 by GammaGlobulin

1 hour ago, GammaGlobulin said:

So, what is your take on this trend…..

Just buy ones without it. Problem solved.... stress reduced.

Here are three wellknown symbols taken from a household appliance, and can you guess the meaning of each one?

a. Icon One

b. Symbol Two

c. Symbol Three from the household appliance I just purchased.....

Can you guess the meanings of each of the three symbols?

Of course, the designers of the appliance I purchased believe that you will immediately grasp the meaning of each of these....

With ZERO ambiguity....of course....

So can you?

Note: There is no longer any need to use language as we once knew it. Instead, we will use symbols, which, one might assume, will be universal for all appliances.

Please pay particular attention to the third symbol because you probably know this from long ago.....

Edited May 24May 24 by GammaGlobulin

Do you see the ambiguity?

There really should be a one-to-one mapping between a symbol and a meaning.

You cannot get along in this world if you have one symbol which means many varied things.

Or, can you?

Edited May 24May 24 by GammaGlobulin

26 minutes ago, blaze master said:

Just buy ones without it. Problem solved.... stress reduced.

But, can you?

Or, can you if you live in Thailand?

Or, can you if you live in Asia?

Check it out......

Then you will know.

Edited May 24May 24 by GammaGlobulin

42 minutes ago, blaze master said:

Just buy ones without it. Problem solved.... stress reduced.

Of course, it might not be so bad if all the world's manufacturers and retailers could agree to some UNIVERSAL "nomenclature" of symbols.

But, they never will.

Each and every pissant distributor will insist on random symbols, and these symbols will continue to change.

IF all manufacturers could agree to a universal set of symbols with agreed-upon meanings, then maybe we could do away with language.

In point of fact, the problem lies in the absence of a standardized semiotic framework within the consumer appliance industry; manufacturers treat iconography not as a tool for universal communication, but as arbitrary branding assets. Consequently, this leads to a landscape of semantic chaos where the same symbol is frequently mapped to divergent functions across different platforms. By prioritizing proprietary aesthetics over conventional design, companies force consumers to navigate a fragmented landscape of 'pseudo-languages,' effectively transforming an interface that should be self-evident into a proprietary code that must be re-learned with every new acquisition, thereby institutionalizing user error as a byproduct of design rather than operator deficiency....

And, don't complain.

Edited May 24May 24 by GammaGlobulin

19 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Of course, it might not be so bad if all the world's manufacturers and retailers could agree to some UNIVERSAL "nomenclature" of symbols.

But, they never will.

Each and every pissant distributor will insist on random symbols, and these symbols will continue to change.

IF all manufacturers could agree to a universal set of symbols with agreed-upon meanings, then maybe we could do away with language.

In point of fact, the problem lies in the absence of a standardized semiotic framework within the consumer appliance industry; manufacturers treat iconography not as a tool for universal communication, but as arbitrary branding assets. Consequently, this leads to a landscape of semantic chaos where the same symbol is frequently mapped to divergent functions across different platforms. By prioritizing proprietary aesthetics over conventional design, companies force consumers to navigate a fragmented landscape of 'pseudo-languages,' effectively transforming an interface that should be self-evident into a proprietary code that must be re-learned with every new acquisition, thereby institutionalizing user error as a byproduct of design rather than operator deficiency....

And, don't complain.

Print out translations and stick them onto the appliances ?

1 hour ago, blaze master said:

Print out translations and stick them onto the appliances ?

How can one print out a translation for some symbol which has more than one meaning?

Also, if one were to print a hundred stickers for some appliance, then would this be aesthetically pleasing?

NO, it would not.

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.....

The answer is to use plain language.

I will not buy consumer-grade kitchen garbage that does not employ REAL language for every single GD button......in the future.....

I do not care what language, be it Japanese, Thai, Chinese, or, even German.

Note: It is not too difficult to learn a few important symbols.....

You only need a few to operate a washing machine in CheungDu....

But, here in Thailand, the buttons on the machine are.....mysterious.

Note: Some might say....for unknown reasons...that Chinese characters are not symbols. I would say otherwise.....

Edited May 25May 25 by GammaGlobulin

31 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

How can one print out a translation for some symbol which has more than one meaning?

Also, if one were to print a hundred stickers for some appliance, then would this be aesthetically pleasing?

NO, it would not.

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.....

The answer is to use plain language.

I will not buy consumer-grade kitchen garbage that does not employ REAL language for every single GD button......in the future.....

I do not care what language, be it Japanese, Thai, Chinese, or, even German.

Note: It is not too difficult to learn a few important symbols.....

You only need a few to operate a washing machine in CheungDu....

But, here in Thailand, the buttons on the machine are.....mysterious.

Note: Some might say....for unknown reasons...that Chinese characters are not symbols. I would say otherwise.....

Voice commands in any language programmed into the machine.

6 hours ago, blaze master said:

Voice commands in any language programmed into the machine.

No need.

One only needs to connect a Linux computer to the machines.....

I always look up the complete manual on the 'net or a YouTube video if I'm desperate.

All those symbols remind me of sex...

3 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

No need.

One only needs to connect a Linux computer to the machines.....

So then you have your solution. Turn up your account and enjoy the day....if you can read it.

13 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Do you see the ambiguity?

There really should be a one-to-one mapping between a symbol and a meaning.

You cannot get along in this world if you have one symbol which means many varied things.

Or, can you?

Do you really think that the two photos are similar?

12 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Of course, it might not be so bad if all the world's manufacturers and retailers could agree to some UNIVERSAL "nomenclature" of symbols.

Of course, the 100% agreement on signs and symbols is in MUSIC, always written the same.

3 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

No need.

One only needs to connect a Linux computer to the machines.....

So how can i connect my microwave, bread maker or juicer to my Mint 23 PC?

2 hours ago, blaze master said:

So then you have your solution. Turn up your account and enjoy the day....if you can read it.

But, there are no practicable interfaces for many consumer machines with which to link one's computer.

This is the problem.

These machines, many of them, turn into black boxes because nobody knows how to control them, even when they are out of control.

No...

I am not finished with this important Topic, quite yet, and here is an important update.

Well, anyway, the crazy and ambiguous symbols, all but Jagger's tongue, were image-captured from a pressure cooker having a pressure-vessel volume of 5 liters, which is actually quite acceptable.

As already stated, the fact that this manufacturer refuses to use plain English makes the operation EXTREMELY NON-INTUITIVE, and this make it necessary to consult a very poorly written set of instructions provided with this cooker.

Still, I am willing to endure a little pain in the interest of this experiment.

Also, if this thing can produce tender pork roasts, and such, quickly and effectively, then I will bend to the inevitable of the DUMBING DOWN OF HUMANITY, which so obviously is occurring, and at an ever more rapid rate.

Someday, soon, we will forget how to read, at all.

And, our children will not know what is going on, nor will they be able to tell the state of their machines.

They will just press ambiguous symbols, all day long, and wait like imbeciles to see what happens.

Should they wish to change the process of some pre-programmed setting on some appliance, they will not have the option that was historically available when we were able to buy analogue devices.

SAY BYE-BYE to the Glorious Analogue Days, when life was much more transparent, and when we were actually happy, once in awhile....

Now, we have completely relinquished control to Ambiguous Semiotics and Machines of all types.

ARE YOU HAPPY NOW.....SAMMY-BOY?

Note: Sammy escaped the legal suit due to a technicality...yet he remains guilty as hell.

He must be about as resilient as Rasputin, one can only wonder....

NOTE2: Also, importantly, please prepare for my upcoming Topics to be created on the Western Food Sub-Forum.....concerning my use of this new Pressure Cooker (and it's electric, of course)....

Edited May 26May 26 by GammaGlobulin