✍ Scribed by S. Charp
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
The authors of this new book have tried an experiment, the success of which cannot be assessed at this time, in writing in a novel style upon a subject of mutual interest to systems equipment design engineers and psychologists. Applied experimental psychology can be defined as the application of the knowledge of the capabilities of human beings to the design of instruments and combinations of instruments to form systems. The authors, all practicing psychologists of high repute, have presented in simple terms in this working encyclopedia for engineers an account of the many factors which certain engineers should recognize. Modern technology has been advancing rapidly, but there has been only a slow application of the findings of the so-called experimental engineering psychologists. The fundamental knowledge of human capacities, human performance, and the operating combinations of humans and machines, subjects of prime interest to some psychologists, can be effectively applied to the design and operation of machines for human use. The authors indicate how this can be done.
The topical organization of the book makes for continued interest. Two chapters, devoted to elementary statistics useful in performing tests and appraising and evaluating equipment serve as introduction. There then follow chapters devoted to a presentation of the basic facts pertaining to human sensations and perceptions--how man sees, hears, and moves. Information of this kind can be considered as input data to the human as an engineering operator. The human being, operating upon the input signals, performs certain functions which can be considered as outputs of the human as a machine. With this scheme in mind, a series of three chapters considers: the fundamentals of sight, visual acuity, and optical illusions: instrument dials and legibility; and visual displays.
A similarly organized triad presents: the fundamentals of hearing and sound; speech intelligibility; and tone signalling systems. Movements and reactions, controls for human use, and arrangements of working areas form another set of three chapters. The last two chapters are devoted to fatigue problems and the working environment.
Much has to be said about the book in addition to the description of the contents. The authors have made a rather thorough search through the literature, as represented by the many references listed, and have in the case of each major topic, presented tables, sketches, and graphs illustrating in concise form the findings of past work. The vast amount of practical data presented in this manner can be applied with almost no change by design engineers, if the design engineers would only have confidence in the findings of the psychologist. This book, when appreciated by the engineer, may help destroy the barrier which now exists between many engineers and psychologists who do not appreciate the mutual nature of problems dependent for solution upon a harmonious working together of men and machines.
This reviewer cannot close without two remarks which may be considered in any future editions: (1) During the past war much basic study on the subject of tracking was conducted at The Franklin Institute, and no reference is made to any of this work: (2) In the preface the authors somewhat deprecate engineers by the statement "We were academics talking about technical psychological matters to an engineering audience. For this reason we had made deliberate efforts to use small words instead of big ones--." While such statements were not designed to ruffle the feathers of the engineering fraternity, it is suggested that future editions of'.the book should'modlfy such statements.
📜 SIMILAR VOLUMES
Chapters covering copper, aluminum, magnesium, and zinc together with typical alloys and properties are included• Useful tables are included as well as an excellent glossary of metallurgical terms• This book should prove useful to a large number of individuals working with or dealing with metals and
## 37I treatment; for a fuller discussion of subject matter, the reader is provided with an excellent bibliography of 290 important original papers. This bibliography, together with the author and subject indices, makes this book a useful reference guide, although it does not meet the need for a te