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Cognitive load is what matters

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1455 points nromiun | 1 comments | 30 Aug 25 12:58 UTC | HN request time: 0.207s | source
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lilerjee ◴[30 Aug 25 18:11 UTC] No.45076819[source]▶
Cognitive Load is not what matters, Solving problems is what matters.

"Cognitive Load" is a buzzword which is abstract.

Cognitive Load is just one factor of projects, and not the main one.

Focus on solving problems, not Cognitive Load, or other abstract concepts.

Use the simple, direct, and effective method to solve problems.

Cognitive Load is relative, it is a high Cognitive Load for one person, but low cognitive load for another person for the same thing.

replies(1): >>45077491 #
1. adolph ◴[30 Aug 25 19:49 UTC] No.45077491[source]▶
"Cognitive Load" may be a buzzword, and not well defined, and that doesn't mean it isn't a useful concept for evaluating different approaches toward solving problems that may extend the useful life of that solution instead of reinventing yet another wheel.

Getting to a better understanding of "cognitive load" does seem useful. Some things are "easier" to understand than others. Could things that are less efficient to understand be formulated in a way that is more efficient?

I have a notion that "cognitive load" is related to the human's ability to gain and maintain attention to mentally ingesting a solution (along with the problem the solution putatively solves). Interesting reads for this include McGilchrist's Master and His Emissary, and Carolyn Dicey Jennings' "I attend, therefore I am," [0], who was interviewed on the Rutt podcast [1].

0. https://aeon.co/essays/what-is-the-self-if-not-that-which-pa...

1. https://jimruttshow.blubrry.net/the-jim-rutt-show-transcript...