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Cognitive load is what matters

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1457 points nromiun | 1 comments | 30 Aug 25 12:58 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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bambax ◴[31 Aug 25 06:06 UTC] No.45080748[source]▶
Cognitive load is an important concept in aviation. It is linked to the number of tasks to run and the number of parameters to monitor, but it can be greatly reduced by training. Things you know inside and out don't seem to consume as much working memory.

So in software development there may be an argument to always structure projects the same way. Standards are good — even when they're bad! because one of their main benefit is familiarity.

replies(2): >>45080899 #>>45081135 #
1. TZubiri ◴[31 Aug 25 07:27 UTC] No.45081135[source]▶
An important difference is that the aviator would be the user of the airplane system. OP is talking about the cognitive load of the plane engineer.

It's an important distinction in terms of priorities. I personally think the experience of the user is orders of magnitude more important than engineer cognitive load.