No. 19 Miller’s Law
Translation
We can only juggle a handful of things at once.
Our heads hold only a few things at a time. Ask for more & something falls out.
That’s why phone numbers come in chunks.
Try this
Break long stuff into small chunks.
Where it comes from
In 1956, psychologist George A. Miller wrote “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two.”
He also spotted the workaround: group things into chunks.
In 2001, Nelson Cowan argued the real limit is closer to four.
- George A. Miller, “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two,” Psychological Review (1956)
- Nelson Cowan, “The Magical Number 4 in Short-Term Memory,” Behavioral & Brain Sci. (2001)
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Save this for the next time a form wants a 16-digit code in one box.
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