Manuals and instruction books are for wimps. To buy a new gadget or appliance is fun because you can learn by trial and error. That is why children are so wonderful. They can’t read. They try and fidget until they learn what the machine can do. Or they will find a completely new function for the appliance. A vacuum cleaner can be a tool, a remote control can be a nutcracker and a wash cloth can be used as a dangerous and somewhat deadly weapon when having a water fight.

As soon as I get a new gadget, I get rid of the instruction manual. Then I use the gadget. If its design is smart and user-friendly I’ll learn it quickly. But, if it is unnatural in its design and is constructed in a way that requires you to read through 300 pages before you find the ON button; it’s a crappy product. It's that simple.

Learning how to use new devices can be much more fun than you think if you just give yourself permission to make mistakes. Think about the devices and gadgets in your home or in your friend's home that you don’t understand or can’t operate. Then you decide to learn one of them by using it until it makes sense.

Text: Navid Modiri