One of the things about being on the spectrum that has taken time to absorb, is that many things I’ve considered personal failures have been accessibility fails. I live in a world that often isn’t designed for the way I process experiences.
In thinking about this more deeply, I’ve realized that there are several concrete technologies that are missing for me. And they feel like things that others could really benefit from as well.
I envision three core technologies:
Iterate: Let’s try that again!
Resonate: Meetings without calendars!
Inversity: Great question!
I’ll start this week by talking about Iterate.
Iterate
Last week I wrote about a dating experience, where I went out with a woman, and then realized I didn’t love the way I reacted to something. I asked her to get together again so I could clear that with her. I valued this person in my life, and felt I wanted to do better. That’s fundamentally a request for iteration.
Iteration is the very essence of learning. You learn to play basketball by … playing lots of basketball. You have to put in the reps. You improve your free-throws by grinding through, one shot at a time. Each time, your body learns something new.
Any time something is framed to me as, “You need to get this right the first time”, I’m already starting to get uncomfortable. It’s like when I submit my taxes: I do NOT want to have errors in it. Because if my return has an error, it could cause delays, fines, audits, etc. Ugh! So I have to get it right, the one time per year that I file. It’s a famously stressful time for me … and pretty much everyone I know.
That’s because taxes don’t give you a way to iterate.
Why must the world have such sharp edges on it?
Iteration is also the very essence of play. I watch my son playing Mario Run on our iPad, and I see how he enjoys trying again and again to pass a level. If Mario “dies” in the game, you just go back to the beginning and try again. It’s an idempotent world, where you can just keep trying things without great consequence. Iteration is easy, and fun!
So why not take this critical feature of easy iteration in games, and bring it into the real world?
If a work meeting didn’t go well, send an Iterate to your coworker, and ask for a repeat meeting. Then follow-up in the Iterate about how it went.
If a date didn’t go well, send an Iterate, explaining how and why you’d like to try again.
I need iteration to be part of everyday life. Because lots of things in everyday life require practice for me. Iterate is the social construct I need in order to learn, with less fear. A request to try something again. To do better, together. It’s the opposite mechanism to being trolled, flamed, or canceled in digital spaces. It’s the acknowledgement that we’re all learning here! So why don’t we just name it when we need more practice?
Iterate is the social construct I need in order to learn in the world, with less fear.
Next up, Resonate ….
Accessibility tech I need every day
This is so true. Thank you for sharing this PJ. Everyone deserves to give themselves second chances with softness and pleasure
I always love reading your posts, PJ. I'm looking forward to your next offering!