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Comment by DavidWoof | Hacker News Reader

This is basically one individual's musing on the topic of naming things in a UI. I don't know the author at all, so he might have tons of insight or he might just be making stuff up, I have no idea.

But at this point in time, why aren't we reading about studies rather than an individual's musings? I'd much rather read that x% of individuals didn't immediately make the connection between "my computer" and their workstation in testing at MS.

One reason Code Complete has always been my favorite programming book is that he backed up his suggestions with real numbers from serious studies. I'd love to see similar types of writings in the design field.

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So, this type of research exists, it's just not written about in Medium posts like this :P

But I agree, I much prefer writing based on research rather than some designer's reckons that aren't clearly labeled as reckons.

This is a kind of confusing use of the word “reckon”, which is typically a verb and means to calculate or come to a conclusion after making a calculation. (Etymology is from the word in old germanic languages for “count”.)

You’re using it as a noun to mean something more like “guess” or “personal opinion”. I guess stemming from informal uses like “I reckon I could ...” (used without any calculation in sight, often with an exaggerated or bragging rest of the sentence).

Yes, that's exactly what I meant, thanks for clarifying. I'm not sure where I picked up using reckon as a noun, I think it might have been from an Australian. In my mind, a reckon is a quick opinion given without much rigor behind it, coming from "the gut" or experience.

I reckon most people could tell what you meant from context.

That’s fair enough, and I’m not trying to attack chickenfries, but I would still like to push back against this usage. There are already dozens of good words and phrases for this concept. Adopting a verb with nearly the opposite meaning and using it as a noun is a weird choice even if it’s nominally comprehensible in context.

Hm, I'm not going to stop using it because I like the way it sounds.

However, I do like it when people make comments like your original comment on HN, because now someone who comes across my comment and doesn't understand it will learn something by reading your comment.

Could your point to some concrete research? If not, singular opinions is the best we have right now.

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