jnd: just noticeable difference

In the field of psychophysics, that branch of experimental psychology that studies sensation and perception, a jnd is the amount that something must be changed for the difference to be noticeable, defined to mean that the change is detectable half the time. My goal is to make a noticeable difference -- many jnds worth -- in human-centered technology.

I started my career as an experimental/mathematical psychologist in psychophysics, and my love of the exquisite sensitivity and dynamic range of hearing and seeing, as well as the power of human perception has stayed with me.

For the definition of jnd as used in psychophysics, see the Wikipedia definition.

Schedule

Updated May 26, 2019

I am declining travel requests not directly related to the University of California, San Diego Design Lab. (Not all trips are listed.)

May 31, 2019. AAAS Workshop at UC San Diego

The Design Lab: Applying the Wisdom of the University to Societal Issues. A workshop sponsored by the UCSD chapter of the American Association for Arts and Sciences (AAAS).  More information at The AAAS website

June 23-26, 2019. ACM Conferences Creativity & Cognition (C&C) and Designing Interactive Systems (DIS)
A joint conference of the two organizations, co-sponsored by the  UC San Diego Design Lab. (Steven Dow, Design Lab faculty, is Co-Chair and Co-Associate Chair of the two conferences, respectively.)
 http://cc.acm.org/2019/ and https://dis2019.com/

See: Heckler, Taylor, Dow, Morris, Grant, Phatak, and Norman (2019). Exploring, Defining, & Advancing Community-Driven Design for Social Impact

August 12-16, 2019. Neuroscience and Architecture.

A Week-long course sponsored by the New School of Architecture and Design in San Diego. I am presenting on the first day and then come back for a panel on the last. I objected to the emphasis on Neuroscience: that is too low a level to be of use. It is Applied Cognitive Science that is the right level. The organizers love neuroscience so they have ignored me. I'm also labeled s a Designer (which is correct), but not as a Scientist: hey, I am both!)

October 8-11. 17th annual FiRe (Future in Review) Conference.
 The Lodge at Torrey Pines, La Jolla, CA