Nearly eight years ago I wrote a post in this blog in which I proposed a fifth of vodka test for computer-user interfaces. The basic idea was that a truly successful computer interface for general users needs to work well after the user has drunk a fifth of vodka.
The real point, of course, is that a computer interface should not require too much cognitive load — it should work properly even if your mind is focused on something else (like the problem you are trying to solve). If too much of your attention is being drawn to the interface itself, then the interface is not doing its job.
I realized after this last U.S. presidential election that the same principle applies to election campaigns. Donald Trump passed the fifth of vodka test, whereas Hillary Clinton failed it.
If you actually listened to their ideas, Trump sounded like a complete idiot. Very little that he said actually made sense, and he continually contradicted himself. On an intellectual level, he sounded like a somewhat demented twelve year old punching way above his weight.
But he had the stance, the cockiness, the hand movements, the tone of voice, the head and body movements, all of the non-intellectual subliminal stuff. On a purely paleo level, he was saying “Hey, I’m the guy in charge.”
Intellectually, Clinton was brilliant. Her ideas were well thought out, her economic proposals detailed and comprehensive, her foreign policy forceful yet measured, with a depth of knowledge consistent with her experience as Secretary of State.
But her body language was all wrong. For much of the time she was stiff and tense, and her voice sounded strained. Her body, her facial expressions, her gestures, didn’t convincingly convey the message “I’m in charge here.”
Now, in any rational society, none of that would have mattered. If most voters had actually been parsing the candidates’ statements for meaning and content, Clinton would have won by a landslide.
But we don’t live in a rational society. Many people don’t even bother to watch the debates. And if they do, they are not listening to detailed policy positions. A lot of people in swing states are simply too worried and too harried. They are working long hours trying to make ends meet.
A complex message outlining an effective economic policy is just not going to get through to people who are overworked and distracted. But a statement like “Hillary wants to take away your gun” will be heard loud and clear, even if it’s not true.
It may sound like a bad joke, but the fifth of vodka test is all too effective. If you want to win a U.S. election these days, you don’t need to make sense. Rather, you need to figure out how to minimize the cognitive load of your listeners.
Alas, we’re going to need a lot more than one fifth of vodka to get through the next four years. On the bright side, there soon might be a lot more vodka available in the U.S. I understand that our president-elect has great connections with the people who make vodka.