A vivid memory from my childhood has to be the first time I saw a computer. A white box with a TV! It looked interesting, but I had no idea what it did. Then started the orientation. First, it’s a monitor, not a TV and second, it’s not a box, it’s a CPU.

Than two other apparatus came forth. A type writer, only lighter and a palm sized box. I was told it’s the keyboard and the mouse! Day 2 of learning was my introduction to the Virtual space. It’s through training that I got to know that the mouse movements manifest in the form of the pointer or a hand to click something. This allowed me to click, close, select, move, etc., various items on screen. I perceived that Mouse+Pointer=Action. This perception hasn’t changed in last 20 years since I first saw a computer. Many OS have come and gone, but this perceived affordance remains static.

Further various other objects became part of my daily virtual life. I perceived a recycle bin is were deleted files go, a folder signifies a storage object, an hour glass means I have to wait sometimes forever! Virtual world gives many such perceived affordance challenges like the one’s depicted in the image.