*(Note: I’ve been cleaning out my drafts folder, and this post from a few years ago caught my eye - because of the link to Aaron Swartz’ blog. This was written before I even knew who Aaron was and before his tragic, highly public death. Decided to publish this anyway.)* An interesting post about the Kindle v/s iPad user experience. The author points out that even though the Kindle has a lot of delightful touches, it also has some WTFs, which in the end overpower the UX. Even in professional life, this is completely true. To get promoted you cannot have any flaws anyone can point to - you have to be (or give the impression of being) without obvious flaws. Why? Human beings are critics by nature. Someone may do a thousand things well but what will rankle is that one misstep. Think of how many relationships fail for this reason. How many deserving candidates miss out on job opportunities or promotions because of this. Great care must be taken to prevent people’s nitpicking instinct from kicking in. The “Yes, but…” feeling. You must dress and speak well. You must present a polished image in the world, regardless of what is going on within. You must not allow anyone’s negative triggers to be thrown off.