Why We Should Design Some Things to Be Difficult to Use

The first car I ever drove was a bashed Land Rover Defender. I was working at an outdoor pursuits centre in North Wales. Changing gear was like Russian roulette; you stirred the stick until it jammed somewhere, then let out the clutch and hoped you hadn’t selected reverse. There was an art to everything: even opening the windows required a patient chick-a-chick-thunk of the latch.