iPhones and action discoverability
It's funny how I've witnessed a complete 180° change from how, in the 1990's, software was supposed to be entirely discoverable and it also came with a manual that documented literally everything, to now there's a ton that's hidden, often without any manual whatsoever... but you can Google everything you need to know.<p>Probably the single most useful skill I've had to learn in my life is, whenever you wonder something, just Google it. If you don't think your software does X... don't just assume it. Look it up.<p>I've been astonished at how often a feature was added 3 years ago to a program I've used for 8 years, or there's a secret swipe that avoids a bunch of menus, or an unofficial command-line flag.<p>And it really leaves me feeling deeply conflicted. Because on the one hand, I still believe in the virtue of learning your tools inside and out. I would read the manual and be proud I knew exactly what every program/language could and couldn't do. But on the other hand, is that really just a waste of time? Programs have <i>so</i> many features now, that instead of learning all the things via discoverability or a manual, we just learn them by... querying how to do things when we need them.<p>I don't really like the idea of so fundamentally relying on Google and forums and tutorials and Reddit and YouTube videos as the main way of learning how to use software. But at the same time, software does so much now and adds new things so quickly that it appears to be the only reasonable way.