h a l f b a k e r yRenovating the wheel
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//we are probably built mostly for lazily navigating,
using all of our appendages... by swinging from
branch to branch// |
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I am built almost exclusively for walking and driving.
I have tried swinging from branch to branch in past,
and only completed the first part of the process. |
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It is difficult to support one's whole weight with one arm.
But I am guessing that most navigation in 3 dimensions in
trees since we have been closer to the size we are now has
been anchored at at least three other points rather than
being an independent swing. Also, appendages probably
evolved to look mostly like they are now when we were a
lot smaller and lighter, so this kind of interface would try
to simulate that environment, by using exaggeration and
adaption between the physical and virtual aspects of the
system -- by making it seem easier to do things than it
really is. |
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But I am not married to the branches thing. The essential
idea is size-appropriate mice -- appropriate to the type of
motion that probably guided the evolution that brought
appendages to their current approximate size and strength
relative to the rest of our body. I am just thinking that was
probably branches. |
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The last few million years of the evolution of our arms may
have been guided by gyroscoping, transferring resources
and defense, but many more millions before that I am
guessing, were dedicated to more direct forms of
navigation, and I bet we would fall right back into the
habit, and that the use of our energy in that way would
probably be a lot greener. |
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It shouldn't be too horrible to build a browser application that presents as vines (links) and fruits (home pages). |
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Yahoo used to have an area that presented in a tree structure. It was helpful in certain kinds of searching in that it had a very narrow focus at the end of the branch. Left most of the stuff you didn't want to see out. |
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A whole body "mouse" inside a playground structure , jungle gym, at the park or a virtual world with a regular mouse would be used to access it.. |
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