Background information
Gamer mouse vs. rugged phone - an absurd battle with an even more absurd outcome
by Kevin Hofer
Does this mouse improve your love life?
17.6.2019
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Since humans exist on this earth, they've tried to woo each other with animal teeth, feathers and other trinkets. These days we don't just decorate ourselves, but also our living rooms, cars and, of course, our PCs, including their peripherals. To learn what this has to do with a gaming mouse and Maslow's pyramid of needs, read on.
While peripherals had to mainly be functional in the early days of PCs, these days they all need to look impressive as well. Still, beauty is in the eye of the beholder: Apple builds simple, white office mice while Roccat prefers bulky, RGB-peppered gaming mice. Both styles are popular.
User Anonymous has gone the gaming route and chose the Roccat Kone AIMO. Thanks to its RGB lighting, they hope that women will start lining up outside their flat:
With their product review, user Anonymous has made it into our current community campaign. Will his plan for gaining girls' attention succeed? To answer this question, I first want to find out why we even bedazzle ourselves or our devices at all.
A more important need
US psychologist Abraham Maslow – yes, I'm seriously using him to prove a point – formulated the hierarchy of needs in the 1940s. According to it, us humans have essential needs. These include physiological needs – such as eating, drinking and sleeping – and those that serve to keep us safe. Then there are psychological needs, such as interpersonal relationships and the pursuit of recognition and appreciation.
The aim is to satisfy our essential needs. As soon as these needs are satisfied – which doesn't always have to be to completion – a human can concentrate on self-realization. The whole system is of course somewhat more complex and Maslow expanded it later. But this will suffice for the case of the RGB mouse.
In the hierarchy of needs, our gaming mouse can be placed on different levels. It could be a method to gain recognition and appreciation: A great mouse can gain the adoration of one's peers. The more the peripheral part is recognised by the group, the higher the social status of the owner becomes. On the other hand, the mouse can also be beneficial to interpersonal relationships: it could even be necessary to even gain access to a group of people. After all, the game flows that bit smoother with a specialised mouse. The mouse could even lead someone to find their future spouse – as Anonymous hopes.
However, the RGB mouse can also be on the level of self-abuse. The Roccat option will bring Anonymous closer to self-realisation. It becomes a part of him.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs shows three points: The mouse gives Anonymous the power of self-realization, makes him a member of a group, and could actually help him find partners. But why would a potential mate be attracted to Anonymous out of all people? A possible answer can be found in the design.
Shine bright like a diamond
Bling, glitter or RGB. Various studies prove that us humans have a preference for things that are reflective. The Japanese watch maker Taro Tanaka had already recognised this back in 1962. Tanaka compared Seiko watches with Swiss watches. He noticed that Swiss watches were shinier than Seiko watches and were therefore more pleasing to the eye. At that moment, Tanaka decided to outshine all Swiss watches – literally and proverbially. Tanaka subsequently formulated the «Grammar of Design», basic rules for the design of Seiko watches. One of these basic rules is that watches must shine.
What does this tangent have to do with our RGB mouse? Until Tanaka started working for Seiko as a designer, nobody really cared for the appearance of watches. Seiko was also relatively unknown outside of Japan at that time. It was only thanks to Tanaka's designs that the watch manufacturer achieved its international breakthrough.
Roccat is also distinguished by its design. The German company is particularly proud of its RGB lighting. It shines and attracts our attention. It remains to be seen whether we really like all that blinking. In any case, our attention is pulled towards it, as was Tanaka's to Swiss watches.
In addition to designers, researchers are also trying to find out why we feel attracted to the bling.
All that glitters is... water?
The field of evolutionary aesthetics – yes, it exists (and people laugh at me for my Master in Gender Studies) – deals with how evolution affects the human brain and thereby influences aesthetic perception and experience. Researchers have found that us humans find symmetry, curves and indicators of health and fertility appealing.
This sounds very abstract in relation to a gaming mouse. A specific study makes this connection clearer. In the paper «Taking a shine to it: How the preference for glossy stems from an innate need for water», researchers conclude that people are attracted to shiny things because they associate them with water. And water is a necessary resource to survive.
Stimuli that suggest water – even if they're not symmetrical – can make us humans feel attracted to them. For us, bright, shiny and reflective surfaces are an indicator of water and thus a vital resource for survival. From this point of view, we are tempted by evolution to approach such objects.
Here the connection to Maslow's hierarchy of needs can be made. Drinking is an essential need on a physiological level. So when we see something shiny that reminds us of water, the need is not satisfied, but still associated. Thus all levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs are addressed by gleaming objects. We feel completely connected.
So is that how girls work?
The RGB Roccat gaming mouse has the best prerequisites to make us humans feel attracted to it. But can you find a «wybe» this way? That depends on what your future partner is into. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. The Apple Magic Mouse mentioned at the beginning shines just as bright as the Roccat Kone AIMO. According to research then, we should find both products appealing. But they're still fundamentally different in terms of design.
So, my dear Anonymous: maybe your mouse will help your flirt game, but maybe it won't. For the sake of experimentation, I've shown an Apple Magic Mouse 2 and a Kone AIMO from Roccat to some representatives of the fairer sex. The overwhelming majority – 12 out of 13 women – find the Magic Mouse 2 more beautiful. Of course, my «study» isn't conclusive. Still, Anonymous, I must admit:
I'm afraid not!
Now, staring at all these shining, glittering and gleaming things made me really thirsty. I'm gonna take a big sip of water now.
Kevin Hofer
Senior Editor
kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.chFrom big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.
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