14 DAY TRIAL // Are you aware of "cognitive dissonance?" Well, even if you were, you probably wouldn't admit to having it. Actually, this is what it does ? it makes you not admit certain bad parts about you so you can sleep better at night. Writer Elliot Aronson decided it was imperative that folks knew more about this "condition" of ours, so he decided to write about it. But, even if writing can be done without a computer, Aronson couldn't have done it without Mac OS X.
"We all like to think of ourselves as honest, competent and compassionate people," says an Apple HotNews (Business) piece. "When we make a mistake or lose control, we?ll do almost anything to justify our actions, including lying to ourselves about what we?ve done. It?s a biological survival tool, a means to keep our spirits up and forge on after we?ve done something 'wrong.' 'It?s a natural process,' says Aronson. 'It?s hardwired, it shows up in brain scans. And it has an advantage. For example, if we spill wine on ourselves or say something stupid at a party, if we can convince ourselves that nobody noticed, it helps us sleep at night, gives a means of dealing with minor gaffes or embarrassing mistakes'."
Alright, now that we know what "cognitive dissonance" is and that we all suffer from it, more or less, we can also understand why a book such as Aronson's latest volume was necessary. The title of his latest masterwork, "Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts," is "jazzy, but maybe a little misleading," says Aronson. "The book isn?t simply about lying or apologizing for errors or owning up to mistakes. It?s primarily about how we pull the wool over our own eyes, which makes it impossible for us to own up to mistakes," the author explains.
OK so far. Still, why did Aronson need Mac OS X to write it? After all, a typewriter still does its bit even today. The "catch" is that Aronson suffers from "macular degeneration," which caused him to lose roughly 90 percent of his vision. So what he did was write the book with colleague Carol Tavris on his Mac, using the VoiceOver feature.
VoiceOver is intended to provide those who are blind, have low vision, or learning difficulties, the ability to use a Mac. It is easily enabled and disabled by just pressing CMD + F5. It helps those who have never used a computer or screen reader before, those who are new to Macintosh and those using screen readers on Mac OS 9 and want to take advantage of all Mac OS X has to offer.
Aronson, a long-time Mac user, was "liberated" by his Mac mini and Mac OS X, the report reveals: "When Mac OS X was released with VoiceOver it was a lifesaver," says the author. "It?s the single most important technical invention for me. It kept me in the game, allowed me to write without really being able to see the words on the screen."
"Unfortunately, we can all think of poignant examples of big mistakes that often get bigger. In the zeal to justify our mistakes, we often aren?t aware we?re even making them, or, worse, making those mistakes even more damaging through justification. This is why understanding cognitive dissonance is key to helping us become better leaders, better citizens, better co-workers and better spouses," Aronson said.
So this is why Aronson's work is not only useful, but necessary. Surely, hadn't it been for Apple's VoiceOver feature, the author would have gone for another solution. Then again, going with something else might have made it harder for him to write, probably even distracting the author from his work at times. So, yeah, I'd say Apple is due a few thank-yous for throwing VoiceOver inside Mac OS X.
