I remember hearing this quote from a HCI prof in the late 90's. I repeated this to a person who was in nursing, and they replied that helping babies figure out nipples (i.e. "latching") is actually a common problem for new mothers[1].
It's worth considering that survivor bias plays a role in the perceived intuitiveness of nipples.
There's a deeply ingrained mythos around how natural and easy motherhood is, but in nature, a lot of first time mothers are rather mediocre. It takes a while learn how to do all those "natural" things like nursing the baby.
And let's not forget that babies kinda suck (intended) at doing "natural" things too.
It used to be that people had between six and twelve children, so all children grew up among babies learning this crucial knowledge from their parents and younger siblings. They'd end up having children within a few years of moving out, too, so there was no forgetting about it, either.
What's "intuitive" really just boils down to "what you're used to".
An intuitive user interface is one that leverages patterns the user has already internalized. That's why there is no single user interface that is intuitive for everybody.
As a dad, I think nipple detection is hardwired, but latching might take some work. Two additional considerations are user interface scaling and whether or not the backend is online.
Breast Tech (Boob Tech? Breast-Computer Interface?) is amazing. We now have wireless, heated, smart breast pumps (https://www.eufy.com/collections/breast-pump), which women from days of yore (aka 25 years ago) could have only dreamed.
This was something that I believed until I had kids. It turns out, even the nipple isn't fully intuitive—some babies struggle to breastfeed, and have to be taught how to do it properly.
Babies have a reflex (not even an instinct) to do it, but that reflex only works well if conditions are pretty close to ideal. Outside of the sweet spot, there can be all sorts of difficulties. That's the nature of reflexes.
Using a nipple isn't really intuitive. It's learned.
What's considered intuitive isn't intrinsic to the design. It's always relative to the previous preferred design, and there is no known base case to anchor onto.
The nipple comes well after lots of crying and grasping for other things, but why would first experiences have anything to do with best experiences anyway?
I think most designers are deeply aware of this already, so why do we keep talking about design this way?
It's worth considering that survivor bias plays a role in the perceived intuitiveness of nipples.
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[1]https://breastfeeding.support/when-baby-wont-breastfeed/
It's pretty distressing to watch the desperation and the struggle of a baby screaming and a mom trying but unable to feed her baby.
Then the quote sort of turns from clever into a sign of a bit of real-life ignorance.
And let's not forget that babies kinda suck (intended) at doing "natural" things too.
Is it true that “the only ”intuitive“ interface is the nipple”? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4412372 - Aug 2012 (23 comments)
An intuitive user interface is one that leverages patterns the user has already internalized. That's why there is no single user interface that is intuitive for everybody.
Breast Tech (Boob Tech? Breast-Computer Interface?) is amazing. We now have wireless, heated, smart breast pumps (https://www.eufy.com/collections/breast-pump), which women from days of yore (aka 25 years ago) could have only dreamed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointing_stick
Using a nipple isn't really intuitive. It's learned.
The nipple comes well after lots of crying and grasping for other things, but why would first experiences have anything to do with best experiences anyway?
I think most designers are deeply aware of this already, so why do we keep talking about design this way?