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From: jim@se-sd.SanDiego.NCR.COM (Jim Ruehlin, Cognitologist domesticus)
Newsgroups: comp.cog-eng
Subject: Re: Right Hand Rule
Message-ID: <3628@se-sd.SanDiego.NCR.COM>
Date: 2 Aug 90 17:18:45 GMT
References: <1990Jul31.193057.4434@pdn.paradyne.com> <9967@hubcap.clemson.edu>
Organization: NCR Corporation, Systems Engineering - San Diego
Lines: 26

In article <9967@hubcap.clemson.edu> manne@hubcap.clemson.edu (Vijay Chachra) writes:
>
>This is definitely an intriguing issue and is worth investigating with
>subjects from different parts of the world. An informal discussion in my
>Human Factors Engineering class resulted in mixed preferences. The
>reasons for not accepting the rule universally could be as follows:
>
>a. It depends on the application.
>b. It depends on whether the controls are to be operated by both hands
>   or one hand.
>c. There is a definite difference in preference between left-handed and
>   right-handed persons.

This may be one of those things that are best left to "standards".  If the
"standard" way of looking at things is the right hand rule, keep it that
way.  GUI thermometers should grow from left to right, etc.  As long as
people get used to that kind of thing, using two hands should still
result in a right-wise motion, since that's whats "usually" done.

It may be too difficult to determine whether a right hand or left handed
person is using a device, so the right hand rule would still be best.  Even
if you could tell, it would seem to me that the left handed person,living
in a right handed world, would be used to turning/viewing things via the
right hand rule.

- Jim Ruehlin