Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/03/15

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Subject: Re: [Leica] existential pleasures of engineering (2)
From: Martin Howard <marho@ikp.liu.se>
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 12:10:32 +0100

Erwin Puts wrote:
> 
> Lens testing should not be representative of the demands of real life
> photographers in real life photo shooting sessions.
>

Erwin, you are certainly very knowledgeable with regards to optics and
have forgotten more about lens testing than I'll ever know, but this
statement is pure and simple nonsense.

If lens testing is in no way representative of real life picture
taking, then ecological validity goes right out the window.  The result
will be that we will get equipment that performs superbly on the tests
devised to measure performance, but will be irrelevant for real life
picture taking ability.

The problem with a pure, engineering, quantitative, analytical approach
is that it invariably misses one or more qualitative aspects of design.
A large part of engineering advance is when we find ways to measure
aspects of design that we couldn't previously (or disregarded as "myth",
"superstition" or "opinion").

The two need to be complemented.  Yes, we need quantitative measurement,
but to state that it should be the exclusive approach, without any
regard for qualitative aspects, is simply ridiculous.


M.

- -- 
Martin Howard, Grad. Schl. for Human-Machine Interaction,  |
HMI/IKP, Linkoping University, SE-581 83 Linkoping, Sweden.|    Just
Tel: +46 13 28 5741; Fax: +46 28 2579; ICQ: 354739         | say "DOOH"
E-mail: marho@ikp.liu.se; www.iav.ikp.liu.se/staff/marho/  +------------