This website domain name is a lie.
Ana does not work. Ana does things.

The things she does concentrate around the phenomena of human-computer interaction (HCI), focusing the influence design decisions have on digital products and its users, businesses and its clients, and the industry in general.

Pondering how all this user experience (UX) stuff impacts human perception of communication, technology and life.

Following text expands on what this all is about.

Дела — вот, что делает нас людьми

— Скриптонит, Лучше всех

There is a thing about being a representative of Homo sapiens genus. As a particular form of carbon-based life, humanity holds an unprecedented power to change the environment to their taste.

The potency of anthropogenic impact is the result of human cooperation. But what is with that massive scope? Consequences of interpersonal communication.

Task development and its completion

Nature of fulfilling needs

An abstract newborn human surviving outside of its kind at, for example, a distant place on Earth with no signs of humanity present will never pursue the goals beyond its own survival.

Sophisticated desires

Because desire of anything else but mere survival is a result of hundreds of millions of years of intraspecific communication. Hundreds of millions of years had to pass for humanity to happen to be in a situation where everything you know exists. Technology, culture, language, social constructs — it is all products of concatenated effort of countless human lives.

Achieving significant results

And here comes the art of interpersonal communication. Interaction with others is what makes achieving goals ideated in the process of living possible. The communicational effort required is proportional to the complexity of the idea.

The roots of my wishes

Living in a particular context

If you are able to comprehend this act of communication of me, it means that you live in the same or consequent technological paradigm. And I live in that reality where people all over the world use computing machines joined into a single network to handle an impressive layer of intraspecific interactions.

Computers and the Internet are the technology accompanying my existence.

Existence

But the thing is that... I am not a big fan of existence. Even though I do not lack entertainment by simply living, there is an unbearable degree of unpleasant experience in my life. Which makes me question whether I should invest in being.

The game

And it wasn't my decision to live. To be brought into being, even though there was no "me" prior to birth. But there is not a slightest chance I am dealing with the consequences of others decisions. So instead, I am dealing with... it. Dealing with life. Using available tools to shape my life the way I want it.

What do I want

I want to live in a situation where being alive is respected. Have you ever encountered another person – someone, who is not you – and been visited by a thought that this person is a living, sentient creature? Just like... you?

What is the deal

And for me, remembering the fact that there are other living creatures able to experience life [the way I do] is a... torture. Living this life, inevitably interacting with others, and, thanks to my cognition, considering their livelihood holds me in a freezing grip of paralysing fear.

Fear to assume that they may experience the same pain as I do.

Shout out to the peculiarly high mirroring neural activity in my brain. Inexhaustible source of my discontent of being alive.

What do I do

Nowhere to run

Unfortunately, I cannot just isolate myself from others. Not observing people suffering directly makes no difference to me because I already know it happens.

Coping

Nonetheless, it is exactly the exposure that enables me to speculate on the nature of suffering. Therefore, to attempt to control it. To achieve my goal.

To experience less pain.

My strategy

The source of my pain

Observing and analysing, I find the majority of the suffering I experience to come from people disrespecting each other. Because for me the respect starts from the consideration of that very fact that other people are also sentient. Relieving enough, I am not the only one who sees it like that.

The glossary

People relating to my feelings call the ultimate denial of the mentioned above consideration dehumanisation. An act during which a person refuses to recognise a human in another one due to their expectations.

Dehumanising expectations

Despite of how much effort a particular social group puts into promotion of a certain image of humankind, the situation is that it won't stop those who are not conformant of the stated requirements from actually being humans.

A human

A human is not measurements, definitions or decoded genome. Not the Vitruvian Man. Not the drawings on the Voyager Golden Record. Not another human's idea. No one's idea. Not an idea. Some electricity in a fancily structured matter. A natural event, an occurrence of incomprehensible nature. And if that is uncomfortable, consult with Gödel to asses feasibility of an attempt to comprehend that.

Refusal of inclusive attitude

And as long as biodiversity (diversity of living matter) is not respected, people are going to be processed into bars of soap. Or vivisected (experimentally cut into alive). Or eaten in an act of ritual cannibalism.

My contribution

Unfortunately, there is not much I can do either about soap or experiments. Or rituals. Have no global leverage. But I find myself capable to propagate my views by doing things I would do anyway. Only making sure others get my message, which is exactly what promotes the change I want.

Wrap-up

Given the initial conditions, I had no chance to occupy myself with something other than digital technology. But it is my conscious decision that everything I do promotes the idea of unconditional value of human life.

This is why you see me as an accessibility specialist, dealing with the ways people use digital technology to communicate their ideas.

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