Nick made a great point last week, when he suggested that "aesthetics and usability are not good enough." Today, I'd like to continue this suggestion. I hope to show why ethical concerns are supervene on the standard concerns of design practice (aesthetics, usability), whether we choose to acknowledge them or not. By way of analogy, I've concocted two situations for a fictitious professional baseball player, Gerald. Gerald is the starting pitcher in tonight's game, which is of no particular significance to his team's season.

The baseball examples are in honor of the American philosopher John Rawls, whose pioneering essay Two concepts of rules gives this discussion much of its shape.

Maximizing Value

Imagine that Gerald is approached by a person previously unknown to him, called Michael. Michael informs Gerald that he is the personal aid to the president of a major American steel mill, and shows him his card. He tells Gerald he has discovered that his employer has bet the company's entire payroll against Gerald's team winning the game. This means that should they win, several hundred workers will go without pay that month, a fact that may have potentially devastating life consequences for them.

A Personal Project

Imagine now that Gerald is approached by his ailing father, John. John informs his son that he is in debt to a dangerous bookkeeper for much more money than he can afford to pay. If he fails to pay, he says, surely he will be violently assaulted. His last hope, John tells Gerald, is to bet on a baseball game that Gerald plays tonight, and to ask Gerald to do his best to ensure that his team fails to beat the spread. Gerald has no reason to disbelieve his father, or to imagine that he is exaggerating the consequences of non-payment.

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