The Steering Wheel Is a Perfect Example of an Interface Designed at the Right Level of Abstraction
The best abstractions preserve human intention while hiding the machinery underneath.
The steering wheel is a perfect example of an interface designed at the right level of abstraction.
There are many other interfaces we could have chose. A car could use a lever that you push left or right. It could use a joystick. It could even use a laser pointer that tells the car where to go, or a collection of random buttons.
Any of those interfaces could steer a car. What makes the steering wheel so good is that it turns the driver’s intention into one continuous, intuitive motion: left or right, a little or a lot. You just turn the wheel.
A perfect abstraction exposes exactly what the user needs and hides the rest of the machinery underneath. The steering wheel preserves the driver’s simple motion while hiding the hydraulics, gears, and every hinge connecting the wheel in their hands to the wheels on the road. That balance is what makes it smart, intuitive, and tasteful.