In Winter 2021, Don Norman taught an experimental course at UC San Diego using early drafts of his book. The class structure was unique - instead of lectures, student teams led discussions on each section and compiled areas for improvement and resources that readers might need. The course worked so well that Prof. Norman offered a follow-up internship where I joined a team building a companion website for the book.

Mind Mapping

Complex topics like sustainability and social systems are hard to understand through traditional linear text. I developed interactive mind maps to show how different factors connect and influence each other. For example, my map of Maxim 2 ("Move from the age of waste to societal resilience") traced paths from current problems through to potential solutions and system-level changes.

Better Climate Communication

Most climate narratives fall into two ineffective extremes: overwhelming doom-and-gloom that paralyzes action, or oversimplified individual solutions like 'just recycle more' that ignore systemic complexity. To avoid these pitfalls in the book, we provided suggestions to inspire readers to take action instead.

Automation

One of our most productive disagreements was about automation timelines. Professor Norman argued for redesigning routine jobs (like factory work) to be more engaging and human-centered as an interim solution. His view: since full automation is still years away, we should improve current working conditions.

I pushed back using data from reserch:

• AI/robotics capabilities are advancing exponentially

• Manufacturing automation is already viable for most tasks

• Retraining programs historically show <15% success rates

• Investing in job redesign now could waste billions before automation arrives

My argument: Rather than spending resources making soon-to-be-automated jobs more engaging, focus on:

1. Accelerating automation deployment

2. Building transition programs for displaced workers

3. Developing new roles that actually need human capabilities

Website Development

The book needed a companion site for readers wanting to go deeper. We built it around six core sections matching the book's structure. Key features included:

• Curated resources for each topic

• Case studies of successful interventions

• Links to organizations taking action

• Interactive versions of key diagrams

It is currently available online at dbw.jnd.org.