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6/29/01 6:33:00 PM, Joshua Allen <joshuaa@m...> wrote: >Yeah, depends on what you mean by "understand". There is the old rule >of thumb that people can't keep a list of more than 7 things in mind at >a time, yet we routinely have databases with millions of rows, and lists >on this mailing list can be as large as 80 greek words at a time. A very widely misunderstood rule of thumb. What's true is that most people can hold at most 7 items in *working memory* at any time. When you have a list in front of you and you're reading it, though, you generally need to keep at most *one* item of it in working memory; it does *not* follow that lists with more than 7 items are difficult to deal with. So, for example, it's nonsense to say that a listbox or menu shouldn't show more than 7 entries at a time, because none of the items displayed have to be held in working memory. OTOH, if the listbox only displayed one entry at a time, *then* you'd have concerns with working memory because in going through the list, you'd have to store all the items except the one currently being displayed in working memory.
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