"The only intuitive interface is the nipple" (2012)

I remember hearing this quote from a HCI prof in the late 90's. I repeated this to a person who was in nursing, and they replied that helping babies figure out nipples (i.e. "latching") is actually a common problem for new mothers[1].

It's worth considering that survivor bias plays a role in the perceived intuitiveness of nipples.

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[1]https://breastfeeding.support/when-baby-wont-breastfeed/

Yeah, this is one of those quotes that is cute/clever... until you have kids and learn or experience how common 'latching' problems are.

It's pretty distressing to watch the desperation and the struggle of a baby screaming and a mom trying but unable to feed her baby.

Then the quote sort of turns from clever into a sign of a bit of real-life ignorance.

What's "intuitive" really just boils down to "what you're used to".

An intuitive user interface is one that leverages patterns the user has already internalized. That's why there is no single user interface that is intuitive for everybody.

One past thread - I dare not look for others:

Is it true that “the only ”intuitive“ interface is the nipple”? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4412372 - Aug 2012 (23 comments)

As a dad, I think nipple detection is hardwired, but latching might take some work. Two additional considerations are user interface scaling and whether or not the backend is online.

Breast Tech (Boob Tech? Breast-Computer Interface?) is amazing. We now have wireless, heated, smart breast pumps (https://www.eufy.com/collections/breast-pump), which women from days of yore (aka 25 years ago) could have only dreamed.

Baby can be ALLERGIC to the mother’s breast milk

Baby can have unfixable latching problems (as commented elsewhere)

Breasts may not produce enough milk even with pumping

Nipples and Breasts can get infected and seriously endanger the mother

Many mothers and their children don't find it so intuitive at first. There are lactation consultants who teach mothers (and indirectly the children) what to do.

This might nicely augment the usual keyboard + mouse UI.

This was something that I believed until I had kids. It turns out, even the nipple isn't fully intuitive—some babies struggle to breastfeed, and have to be taught how to do it properly.

But what about male nipples?

It is definitely not the only intuitive interface if you’re talking about bodies.

So, also the TrackPoint.

What's considered intuitive isn't intrinsic to the design. It's always relative to the previous preferred design, and there is no known base case to anchor onto.

The nipple comes well after lots of crying and grasping for other things, but why would first experiences have anything to do with best experiences anyway?

I think most designers are deeply aware of this already, so why do we keep talking about design this way?

Eh, there's a difference between intuitive and instinctive

I think the pussy is more intuitive.