The Next Next Common Sense
that is the bird we notice. It has broken the pattern of the common fate, and it commands our attention. This fundamental cognitive tendency—to recognize patterns, iden- tify building blocks, and group related elements—has become even more crucial in today's information-saturated environment. Our brains are con- stantly working to identify components and structures that help us make sense of the overwhelming complexity around us. The items we pay attention to tend to number seven plus or minus two. The seven change all the time, but are for their brief moment in the spotlight the building blocks on which we understand the world. The dig- ital age has only intensified this cognitive pattern, as we navigate between multiple screens, applications, and information streams simultaneously. Even infants organize the visual world through patterns. Show an infant several dots moving together, and they will treat them as one unit. Send one dot off by itself, and they will be surprised. We recognize the sur- prise because the infant stops drinking their formula at just that instant. Our catalog of building blocks is vast and ever expanding. It is built up by the domains in which we move and affected by our experiences. What the novice sees and what the expert sees are two different worlds, even when they are sharing a common experience. When the experience of experts lets them see a situation, even a non-routine one, as an example of a prototype, they know the typical course of action right away. Their ex- perience lets them identify a reasonable action as the first one considered, and usually they don't bother thinking of any others. By contrast, novices have a much smaller catalog of prototypes. They can see the same experience but may lack a category to put it in. Instead of acting, they will first search for a reasoned understanding of what they see. Then they will act. The difference lies in the building blocks available to the expert and the novice. In the digital era, this distinction has become even more pronounced. Digital experts see patterns in code, data structures, and user behaviors that novices miss entirely. When examining a website or application, a dig- ital designer immediately recognizes distinct components—navigation
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