Dear Terry I agree with you, there indeed is an opportunity for a timely and highly pertinent PhD on what is perceived as "user's superstitions". I myself wanted to embark on such a venture, immediately following submission of my dissertation on 'daily use artefacts as full-fledged social actors', for my Master's degree in Sociology in 2001. But thus far I have never had the right opportunity to pursue the project. Below is a glimpse at the context and perspective in which I wanted to tackle the topic; just in case this may inspire further your student, or someone else on the list wishing to take over. To me, the context of the topic you raised is, first, both sociological and psychological, and artifactual in a second instance. In a socio-psychological perspective, the core of the issue is the ever lasting divide in human societies the world over, between the ruling elite and the rest of the ruled population. As we all know, this kind of human relationship is based on the former mystifying the latter as a means to efficiently 'perform' the ruling; i.e. having this 'domination' easily and benevolently accepted by the 'populace'. By all means, both soft and if needed harsh ones, the elite makes its myths strongly believed by the ruled, to the point that the entire ways of life of every individual are conducted along the diktat of those myths. Thus completely mystified, individuals become superstitious, i.e. life conduct not based on 'objective', pristine and imperative local chemo-physical environmental conditions. And superstitions hold as long as myths of a particular elite groups hold. The elite changes, superstitions change respectively. Among many world cases of such a mystification by the elite, here in West we all are daily experiencing what is known as "clericalism", the medieval scholastic and the current scientific (1). The European medieval clerical mythology was mainly based on the judeo-christian dogmas enounced and reinforced by the then ruling class through hordes of courtiers and clerks. And history books are replete with accounts of corresponding superstitions by the mystified and mesmerized 'populace'. Many of the dogmas and superstitions thus initiated in the Middle Ages Europe are still strongly part of the current *modus vivendi*here in the West and, since the 16th century, they are on the verge of becoming global the world over. To the medieval religious and divine monarchy power and dogmas, relayed to the populace through the function of the ecclesiastic and nobility clergy, there has been added, since the 15th - 18th century in European, the mundane bourgeois elite power and dogmas based on material wealth accumulation and conspicuousness(2). The scientific-bureaucratic middle class has then been instituted to act, and still acting as intermediary spreading, reinforcing and perpetuating those dogmas and superstitions. One of the current major bourgeois dogmas, conveyed via scientific-bureaucracy, is that any human action should be conducted in plain own 'enlightened' conscience, and not under the influence of any sort of superstition. All human acts should be reasoned and 'objectively' planned. And scientific and technical experts ('modern' breed of clerks) in 'properly' reasoning and planning of human actions are purposely trained and are largely made available to whoever, elite or commoner, is in need of their expert services; most of the time for a fee, and on rare occasions as a 'free' service to community. Again, as in the Middle Ages, the entire 'modern' mystification scheme is presented to the populace as one of the unavoidable necessities, if one wants to 'eternally' enjoy a 'good' life. No good life if not by the way of the expert services, even for the most banal of human act. But, contrary to the overt bourgeois aim, the hidden reality is that this myth of congenital incapacity for every human individual to ensure one's good life has resulted in new types of popular superstitions . Far away from the days of individual self-sufficiency, or from those days when one relied on local artisans, since the last three centuries industrialism has imposed on all avenues of life the unfathomable expertise by scientists and technicians, quite akin to prestidigitation to non-scientists lay persons. One among the currently triumphant prestidigitator experts is the designer, a 'product' of the industrialist ideology. Whether a reasoning 'concepteur' of mass produced artefacts, a technician planning the industrial production of these latter, or a stylist of their interface with users, these experts concur to put in the hands of the layperson (named 'consumer' by economists, another category of experts proponent of the same ideology) several series of "black boxes" to use. Most of the time without sufficient and clear explanation of what the box is, what it contains, nor how to use it best. It has been instituted that the expert designer be trained, hired and remunerated - by the ruling elite - to help 'produce' and/or sale manufactured artefacts, and not to educate the 'consumer' or users! As mentioned above, these latter are presumed endowed with an innate ability to "rational choice" and rational use of artefacts. And if needed, they should be further trained to rationalize all their reactions and actions. But in reality, most of the acts, behavior and relations, both practical and psychological, of users, especially towards and with black-boxed manufactured artefacts, are rather based on nothing but pure superstition and...serendipity! The list provided by Jaime Henriquez of superstitious behaviors by users of computers is the actual epitome of the double effect of mystification by the ruling elite, via the reasoned and planned performance of remunerated scientific and technical clerks. The 'modern' mystification, and the resultant new superstitions, started through the generalized outcomes of 18th-19th century physicists, chemists, and all sorts of engineers embodying scientific data into daily use artefacts. In dealing with those artefacts, we, the populace, having no other alternative, we become used to more or less live harmoniously with those Trojan horses. Institutionalized as they are, these are true mediated social actors. And specifically regarding computers, to many among us who are neither programmers nor computer wizards, these artefacts, more and more ubiquitous, are real 'black boxes'. Many individuals of my pre-computer age try by all means to avoid, whenever it is possible, the use of those strange things, no matter how 'friendly' they are made. And those among us who can't do otherwise, we use them at a tiny fraction of their full capacity. And when the use relationship is broken or goes wrong for some reasons unknown to the non-expert, and this happens so often, either we call for help from the experts when accessible (provided we have enough money to pay for the exorbitant fees, and/or we understand the hermetic jargon) , from younger computer-age generations (children and grand-children do much better, also some times help desk and friends); or...we just go without the full services we are supposed to enjoy! Thus frustration yields either resignation, fantasy (anthropomorphism), and reinforced superstitions...(3) In an artefactual perspective, in my other dissertation for a Master's degree in Design (1979), I attempted to address the issue (indirectly and lightly raised in this post) of generalized miscommunication between material artifacts (no ubiquitous computers at that time!) and users of these. In my submission, I emphasized the urgent need, on one hand, to train better designers in communicating complete - including use - artefacts related information to users; and on the hand, to train all users, (i.e. not only direct operators), to relate better (i.e. not superstitiously) to designed artefacts. I was then inspired by Michel Jullien's (4) proposal that Design expertise, instead of being confined only around artefacts production and sales, rather it should be extended as well to knowing better and responding to all users' - not only operators - concerns, while considering all various contexts of respective use of artefacts, including the outer physical and other socio-cultural environments (5). Definitely more than one PhD projects further to the above! Francois Montreal (1) CALAME, Matthieu LETTRE OUVERTE AUX SCIENTISTES. Alternatives démocratiques à une idéologie cléricale Editions CL Mayer, 2011 ISBN 978 2 84377 160 6 , 149 pages (2) VEBLEN, Thorstein *Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study in the Evolution of Institutions*. (1899) Macmillan, N.Y., 1902; London, 1915, 400 pages Also: Dover, 1994 (paperback edition, ISBN 0-486-28062-4<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0486280624>), and Penguin, 1994 (Classics edition, ISBN 0-14-018795-2<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0140187952> ) (3) UYS, Jamie (Film Writer and Director) THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY, 1980 (4) JULLIEN, Michel Le Domaine de l’usage : Relations Objets/Usagers/Milieu, IF (Industrialisation Forum), Vol. 9, (1978), No. 2-3 ; Cahier de l’Isuc No. 1. (5) BAICHWAL, Jennifer (Film Director) MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES, 2006 <514%20737%208300>