A story about rubbing index fingers in between two buttons
I was in one of the computer labs at Concordia on Tuesday and they had some rather old machinery. Not to say that all the computer labs have old computers but the one I was in was quite low on the Concordia computer totem pole. So my issue? Well we were there on these old slow computers and the thing that was most freaky were the mice. Not only were they NOT optical mice, but they didn't have the scroll thingy! So of course as I am searching for things on the internet my right index finger keeps rubbing the mouse downward right between the two mice buttons and nothing happens. I look down and register it in my brain that this is inferior equipment and I need to scroll down the old fashioned way.
A few minutes later after doing something else on another program I go back to the internet and sure enough my finger goes on the prowl for the scroll. I did this at least four times! Pretty amazing how our brains make associations that get reinforced and then become almost impossible to disassociate. This is how ridiculous things started by corporations get into our consciousness as being normal. I'm pretty sure this is how we (most people) think that it is normal (feminine) for women to not have hair on their legs, for example. I know I brought it to I subject I like to harp on, but the fact remains: Things become commonplace to us through reinforced associations and we just accept them as universally true, when in reality it is learned behaviour.