Set Phasers on Stun: And Other True Tales of Design, Technology, and Human Error [Hardcover]

S. M. Casey (Author), Steven Casey (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0963617885 | ISBN-13: 978-0963617880 | Publication Date: January 1998 | Edition: 2 Sub

A disturbing share of technological disasters are caused by incompatibilities between the way things are designed and the way people actually perceive, think, and act. Structurally sound aircraft plummet to the earth, supertankers run aground in calm weather, and the machines of medical science maim unsuspecting patients - - all because designers sometimes fail to reflect the characteristics of the user in their designs.

Designers and the public alike are realizing that many human' errors are more aptly named designed-induced' errors. Most consumers experience the frustration of using many new products; amusing stories about programming a VCR, operating a personal computer, or finding the headlight switch on a rental car are heard in everyday conversation. The problems consumers experience with modern everyday things are shared by the users of large-scale technologies where the consequences of design can go well beyond simple matters of inconvenience or amusement.

In the new second edition of Set Phasers on Stun' and Other True Tales of Design, Technology, and Human Error, noted designer and author Steven Casey has assembled 20 factual and arresting stories about people and their attempts to use modern technological creations. Although the operator or pilot usually gets blamed for a big disaster, the root cause can frequently be found in subtle characteristics of the device's human interface.' Technological disasters can often be traced directly to the interplay between people and the design of a device - - be it an airliner cockpit, the controls in an industrial plant, a spacecraft's instruments, a medical system, a nuclear reactor, or even a commercial dishwashing machine.

The most effective way to convey the consequences of design-induced human error is with a good story and just the right level of technical detail, and this is what Casey has done in his new book. As stated by Alphonse Chapanis, one of the founders of the human factors engineering discipline, Set Phasers on Stun is A tour de force. A collection of gripping and often alarming true stories meticulously documented and skillfully told about design-induced human errors. It should be required reading for all engineers and designers, and everyone else concerned about the ways our modern technological creations can affect our everyday lives. Skylab-4 astronaut Gerald Carr agrees: The book is ...an engrossing tour through the world of human susceptibility to subtle variations in environment and in design.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...extremely readable and fascinating... recommended to anyone, particularly those interested in human factors research or design. Marine Technology -- Marine Technology

Shows how basic paradigms, assumptions, and minor oversights of the designer combine with those of the user to produce disastrous consequences. Health Physics -- Health Physics

Steven Casey has put together an astonishing collection of graphic and depicting stories of human and technological error... you will not be able to put it down. American Scientist -- American Scientist

These skillfully told anecdotes take the reader through an array of settings from an A320 Airbus, to ConEd, to the wizardry of Wall Street... Casey has written a book that demonstrates to laypersons and technocrats alike how far we are from adequately controlling hazards and managing risks. How safe is safe enough? Design Management Journal

-- Design Management Journal

From the Inside Flap

In the new and expanded Second Edition of 'Set Phasers on Stun' and Other True Tales of Design, Technology, and Human Error, noted designer and author Steven Casey presents 20 factual and arresting stories about people and their attempts to use modern technological creations. Set Phasers on Stun demonstrates - - with shocking and graphic candor - - how technological failures result from the incompatibilities between the way things are designed and the way people actually perceive, think, and act. New technologies will succeed or fail based on our ability to minimize these incompatibilities between the characteristics of people and the characteristics of the things we create and use.

Two new chapters, as well as a new introduction, have been added to this Second Edition. In Murphy's Law and Newton's Law', listen in as a team of Swedish rocket technicians prepare to launch a payload into space above the arctic circle, and learn how the user interface on a simple device resulted in one of the most horrific but least publicized accidents in the history of rocketry. In The Price of the Amagasaki', accompany British Navy diver James Kull as he attempts a night-time attack on a Japanese warship off Singapore while using a new and poorly understood oxygen rebreather. Read the gripping stories of a tragic air show demonstration in France involving a new computer-controlled cockpit, the disaster of the supertanker Torrey Canyon, the human factors at play in the runaway chemical reaction that we have come to know as Bhopal, and, last but not least, Set Phasers on Stun, the tragic tale of a medical patient who meets his fate beneath a poorly designed radiotherapy machine in Texas.

From space above Russia, an island in the South Pacific, the hustle and bustle of Wall Street, remote Newfoundland, a bar in Topeka, northern Iraq, and the Pacific Northwest, Steven Casey lets the reader understand first hand how the combination of technology and human limitations can go wrong.

Set Phasers on Stun' and Other True Tales of Design, Technology, and Human Error affirms the harsh consequences of designing things that are incompatible with the characteristics of the people who will use them.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 251 pages
• Publisher: Aegean Pub Co; 2 Sub edition (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963617885
• ISBN-13: 978-0963617880
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Phenomenal Read, February 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Set Phasers on Stun: And Other True Tales of Design, Technology, and Human Error (Hardcover)

A perfect 6.0 on technical merit and artistic interpretation! `Set Phasers on Stun' is a fascinating series of 20 true stories about human factors, user interface design, and design-induced human error. Like a well-told fable used to enforce a useful truth, each story cleverly teaches you something interesting and instructive about the importance of the user interface in modern technology. Casey tells each story from the perspective of the user of the thing or system, so you can really see how people get sucked into a particular situation and understand the unfortunate consequences of the designer's decisions. There is a good blending of technical detail, emotion, and great writing. Addressed are, among other things, a crash in the Airbus computerized cockpit, a Soviet space fatality, assorted medical errors (`Set Phasers on Stun' - - the title story about a patient being zapped during a radiation treatment), the launching of a rocket inside a building in Sweden, a diving accident, the Bhopal disaster, and the supertanker Torrey Canyon. I was originally introduced to this book in an engineering class, and it really "turned on the light" as the saying goes.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and informative., September 29, 1999

By 

Dr. Jack Stuster (Santa Barbara, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Set Phasers on Stun: And Other True Tales of Design, Technology, and Human Error (Hardcover)

Steve Casey has provided a valuable service to engineers, designers, and human factors professionals with his true tales of design-induced human error. These engaging stories range from disasters at sea and failures of space systems, to casualties caused by inappropriate procedures and the packaging of consumer items. The lesson from each story is different, but there is a single theme: the incidents could have been avoided if proper attention had been paid to the user during the design of the item or system. I have given copies of Set Phasers on Stun to several people to illustrate the importance of considering human limitations, as well as capabilities, when designing systems for human use. The book is an entertaining read for anyone. I highly recommend Set Phasers on Stun.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and informative, February 4, 2005

By 

James E. West (Santa Barbara, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Set Phasers on Stun: And Other True Tales of Design, Technology, and Human Error (Hardcover)

A number of friends had recommended "Set Phasers on Stun" to me as a good book on technology and human error. The 20 short stories in the book cover everything from the accidental launching of a rocket to some horrific accidents in hospitals. Each story is written in a way that takes the reader on an engaging, informative, and, quite often, wild ride. Casey's writing style works perfectly with this short story format. I highly recommend "Set Phasers on Stun" to anyone interested in design and technology, or anyone who likes reading very good short stories. The best part is that all of the events covered
by the book are true.