Dear Mumsnetters
There's a free public computing talk next Tuesday evening in London at Queen Mary University of London.
The illusion of good software design
https://cs4fn.blog/cs4fn-20th-birthday/
Tuesday 6th May 2025, 5-6pm (doors 4.30pm, event ends 7pm)
Graduate Centre, Bancroft Road (off Mile End Road) - nearest tube Stepney Green (25, 205, 309, 339 buses drop nearby).
Tickets (free): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/computer-science-for-fun-cs4fn-20th-anniversary-celebration-event-tickets-1299974491699
The talk (suitable for 11+ to adult) is being given by Prof Paul Curzon as part of an early evening event to celebrate 20 years of CS4FN (Computer Science For Fun), QMUL's outreach project from the computer science department. Paul's also a magician so there will be some close up 'magic of computer science' before and after his talk, plus cake (because it's an anniversary / birthday). Come along :)
About the talk
When disasters involving technology occur, human error is often given as the reason, but even experts make mistakes using poor technology. Rather than blame the person, human error should be seen as a design failure. Bad design can make mistakes more likely and good design can often eliminate them.
Optical illusions and magic tricks show how we can design things that cause everyone to make the same systematic mistake, and we need to use the same understanding of the brain when designing software and hardware.
This is especially important if the gadgets are medical devices where mistakes can have terrible consequences. The best computer scientists and programmers don’t just understand technology, they understand people too, and especially our brain’s fallibilities. If they don’t, then mistakes using their software and gadgets are more likely. If people make mistakes, don’t blame the person, fix the design and save lives.
Jo