Rachel Plotnick

you know, interact on a daily basis with their machines. And as I started digging into it, I just kind of became gripped with this question of how did we get to be this way? You know, where did this technology come from? What were some of the cultural issues around pushing buttons?

you know, interact on a daily basis with their machines. And as I started digging into it, I just kind of became gripped with this question of how did we get to be this way? You know, where did this technology come from? What were some of the cultural issues around pushing buttons?

And that led me to kind of this historical approach to say, okay, I want to understand some of the earliest buttons and societal fantasies and fears around that. And next thing I knew, I was down this crazy wormhole trying to figure out all these things about buttons. And it was pretty interesting.

And that led me to kind of this historical approach to say, okay, I want to understand some of the earliest buttons and societal fantasies and fears around that. And next thing I knew, I was down this crazy wormhole trying to figure out all these things about buttons. And it was pretty interesting.

Yeah, someone just actually emailed me to tell me about an experience at Universal Studios in Hollywood that involves The Simpsons. And I guess there is a nuclear reactor button there. And they've got like a countdown clock. How long has it been since someone's pushed the button? You're totally right, Adam, that I think there's that psychology around button pushing that's so fascinating.

Yeah, someone just actually emailed me to tell me about an experience at Universal Studios in Hollywood that involves The Simpsons. And I guess there is a nuclear reactor button there. And they've got like a countdown clock. How long has it been since someone's pushed the button? You're totally right, Adam, that I think there's that psychology around button pushing that's so fascinating.

As soon as you tell someone you can't push the button, all they want to do is push it. Right. And of course, that gets back to these kind of grand fears of nuclear warfare, you know, the big red button. And but I think it's also just in our nature that, you know, we want to do things that we're told not to do.

As soon as you tell someone you can't push the button, all they want to do is push it. Right. And of course, that gets back to these kind of grand fears of nuclear warfare, you know, the big red button. And but I think it's also just in our nature that, you know, we want to do things that we're told not to do.

You know, the whole lever, key, button, switch distinction is very gray. That was a big problem for me. As soon as I started to research buttons, I was like, well, what really is a button? You know, we could get pretty philosophical about that.

You know, the whole lever, key, button, switch distinction is very gray. That was a big problem for me. As soon as I started to research buttons, I was like, well, what really is a button? You know, we could get pretty philosophical about that.

I decided to just say, okay, if someone calls it a button, I'm calling it a button. If they call it something else, then I'm not calling it a button.

I decided to just say, okay, if someone calls it a button, I'm calling it a button. If they call it something else, then I'm not calling it a button.

No.

No.

And I think what you're saying, you know, that kind of gets into the fact that I always tell people that buttons seem simple, but actually they're really complex, right? Because when you think about knowing which button to push at the right moment, who should be pushing it, especially, you know, imagine going into a DJ booth or the cockpit of an airplane or something.

And I think what you're saying, you know, that kind of gets into the fact that I always tell people that buttons seem simple, but actually they're really complex, right? Because when you think about knowing which button to push at the right moment, who should be pushing it, especially, you know, imagine going into a DJ booth or the cockpit of an airplane or something.

It's not going to be super intuitive to you if you're not really familiar with that system, how to operate any of those things. So I think the button's almost kind of seductive in that it seems really simplistic, but in a lot of situations, it's actually pretty complicated.

It's not going to be super intuitive to you if you're not really familiar with that system, how to operate any of those things. So I think the button's almost kind of seductive in that it seems really simplistic, but in a lot of situations, it's actually pretty complicated.

Yeah, you're absolutely right that, you know, there was a lot of kind of consumer culture around push buttons initially. They were really a way to sell products. So you had Kodak with their amateur cameras. Their slogan was you press the button, we do the rest. It was very much about, hey, anyone can be a photographer. Now you don't need to worry about how to develop your film or anything.

Yeah, you're absolutely right that, you know, there was a lot of kind of consumer culture around push buttons initially. They were really a way to sell products. So you had Kodak with their amateur cameras. Their slogan was you press the button, we do the rest. It was very much about, hey, anyone can be a photographer. Now you don't need to worry about how to develop your film or anything.