54 Years Ago, A Computer Programmer Fixed a Massive Bug — And Created an Existential Crisis

Fun story about the history of the blinking cursor. I particularly enjoyed this note:

MacDorman tells Inverse. “Much of good HCI [Human computer interaction] design is about the interface letting the user work effectively. It’s not really designed to make the user feel anything, except perhaps in control. Good HCI design lets the user concentrate on the work, not the interface… They are working in the moment without self-consciousness. Their sense of time, place, and self dissolve.”

Good UI design isn’t about making people feel something, it’s about helping them accomplish something (which can, in turn, brings some good feels). Empowerment through UI, not tawdry thrills.