myrmepropagandistThe temp setting in a kitchen refrigerator is a knob with numbers 1 -10
It is labeled "Temperature Control"
Next to 1 it says "min"
Next to 10 it says "max"
Which setting will make it the coldest?
1
10
Nuance for some reason.
Poll ended at .
Sublingual Multimedia@futurebird Maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle.
Leonardo Fontenelle@Jo @futurebird no, the truth is out there
Aubrieta@futurebird in case of a physical knob to turn: depending on which number comes right after "off": this is the warmest. At the other side of the scale it is "coldest".
"Min" being "the minimum change of temperature compared to initial temperature/room temperature".
David Smith@Aubrieta @futurebird I had an apartment with a thermostat that didn’t work like this. It went 0-10 *and then fan*, so my first January living there i inadvertently had the heat turned off the entire time 😭
Anke
llewelly@futurebird the answer probably depends on the setting of the freezer knob, because that is classic UI design.
@futurebird *for ancient UI design nerds, yes, this is a reference to a refrigerator knob issue described in Normans _The Design of Everyday Things_ , in which it turned out the refrigerator temp control knob was dependent on the setting of the freezer knob control in the attached freezer, which Norman presented as a design which seemed reasonable to an engineer, but produced dreadfully confusing behavior.
Brad@futurebird I think it’s helpful when there’s a legend that says something like:
5 initial setting
10 coldest
5 initial setting
10 coldest
Evan Prodromou@futurebird this is a good poll.
rag. Gustavino BevilacquaIt's like the "Define hot" meme.
Just yesterday I was complaining because the wire speed knob of my MIG welder doesn't express meters/second (but even versts/lunar month would be fine, I'm not so picky!) but just my password (how they know it? 1-2-3-4-5!).
The logic of fridge marketers (because the designers made what was told them) is beyond any humane logic sense.
Je ne suis pas goth@futurebird I answered "1" because I assumed that "min" represents "minimal temperature," but if it means "minimal cold", then obviously it's the opposite*.
One more proof that "intuitive" is just another word for "something I'm already quite familiar with."
Frank Aerror@myrmepropagandist On my fridge highest setting is the coldest.
Speed demon 🇪🇺 🇳🇴🇺🇦🇵🇸@futurebird Those should say "Effect" and min/max, or temp., with 1 and 10 switched.
Mx. Eddie R@futurebird
It makes me feel sad and arsoney.
It makes me feel sad and arsoney.
Not a Spring Onion"Let's maximize the temperature minimization."
Bruce Heerssen 
django@futurebird cursed, reminds me of @scottjenson toaster settings illustration problem
Joshua Chalifour@futurebird Interesting example of how people interpret stuff... I feel like they should have left the words off, the numbers were clear until the words unnecessarily complicated it.
liquidlamp@owlyph @futurebird How are the numbers clear?
Does 1 means "lowest temperature because its the lowest number," or does it mean "highest temperature because you have the compressor set to the minimuim?"
If anything, you should get rid of the numbers and replace them with two words: 'Cold" and "Not"
Helen in Wales@futurebird I have no idea, so would try setting it to 5 and hoping for the best.
Quinn Comendant@Dewines @futurebird This is the only correct answer and the reason every fridge I’ve ever seen has been at “5”.
Martin Vermeer FCD@futurebird The proper temperature setting of a refrigerator is 5 degrees C. "Temperature Control" clearly determines how precisely this value is kept, the stiffness of the thermostat. The long-term mean temperature is not affected by the knob, just how much it wiggles around it.
I'll let myself out
Jestbill@martinvermeer @futurebird Correct for a "one size fits all" fridge.
Wrong for a "cold box to store stuff in".
Good idea for an extra "cooling mode" switch in the back.
Wrong for a "cold box to store stuff in".
Good idea for an extra "cooling mode" switch in the back.
Cat@futurebird I am uncommonly bad at this sort of thing. Is "turn the thermostat up" hotter or colder? And that's a situation where you just have to dial in how many degrees you want it to be
Attie Grande@futurebird My rationale: it's a machine that produces cold... if you want more cold, you have to make the machine work harder, therefore you turn it "up". i.e: 10 is colder than 1.
It's a bit dumb, and certainly open to misinterpretation. I posit that a dial with temperatures would be more sensible, and has probably been within our technical grasp for a while (pretty sure it's on more expensive fridges!).
Hippo 🍉@attie @futurebird my rationale (and conclusion) too
Dries V.@futurebird it's the speed of the compressor. The higher the faster it cools and thus the colder it gets.
B'ad Samurai 🐐🇺🇦@futurebird my Subaru and Toyota’s wiper indicators are opposite. One is higher speed, one is larger duration. What a silly thing to never standardize.
James Gleick@futurebird This is possibly the best use of Mastodon poll I’ve ever seen. I voted, but with little confidence. And I own a refrigerator, too. I hope you’ll post the "correct" answer afterward.
@gleick @futurebird oh, you own one? Is your refrigerator running?
@evan @futurebird yes, and I'm old enough to remember that gag.
@gleick @futurebird I figured you would! 😉
Leo Ré Jorge@futurebird That's a big pet peeve of mine!
Space Catitude 🚀@futurebird
Clearly, the correct answer is to put the word "COLD" on there.
Clearly, the correct answer is to put the word "COLD" on there.
aburka 🫣@futurebird turn it to 11
(dubious) opinion haver 
@futurebird I have so many questions about this poll
I chose 1, obviously
Ross of Ottawa@futurebird I hope a sharpie is employed to annotate the controls after you figure it out.
ianto@ottaross @futurebird a Sharpie, or a small axe. Perhaps a mattock.
KanaMauna@futurebird It’s 2026 for God’s sake. Just give me a damn thermostat with a temperature I can precisely choose.
Twotired@KanaMauna @futurebird
Or “Cool - Cold”
Or “Coldest” next to the appropriate number.
Anything to give context. “Min - Max” adds no information, because I already know that 10 is more than 1.
My fridge has one to three ❄️. But this is a refrigerator; is the manufacturer trying to taunt me that my lettuce will get frozen no matter what?
joel cretan@futurebird having had to try to figure out this completely ambiguous labeling on my own refrigerator, I can confidently tell you that I have no idea and whoever did this is bad at their job
D@futurebird A refrigerator at max power is the coldest it can be.
Jenny Fx@futurebird I guess the latter but keep mine at 5 to be safe.
Luo Binghe baculum truther@futurebird I really appreciate "more cold" -- "less cold" thermostats for this reason. I know it defies the laws of physics, but counterargument: I know which way to turn it for which effect.
Sepia FanMine goes from 0 to 7, but between 0 and 1 you can feel a slight resistance like turning a switch on or off. So I guess 0 means off and 1 is lowest and 7 highest setting. But I'm not sure because the temperature difference between different settings doesn't seem to differ, and my fridge temperature is too high anyway. So it's probably defective and 1 could be highest?
I hope that helps :D
groxx@futurebird I've had two that looked like this, with an edge-on wheel in the middle:
min | 3---4---5 | max
I could never figure out if that meant "numbers to the left are minimum, turn right to show smaller numbers" or "turn it left, towards min, to minimize". or what "min/max" actually meant (temperature? power consumption? no indication at all!)
appliances are stunningly badly designed. I don't understand how humans can make stuff like this.
(yes I just read the manual after staring at it for far too long)
ermo | Rune Morling@futurebird It could also be a thermostat setting that uses degrees Celsius.
Typically, refrigerators would be at 4 or 5 degrees Celsius (0 being the freezing point of water).
This tracks with 1 being minimum and 10 being maximum (degrees Celsius).
mym@futurebird trick question the knob does nothing
Solar🌄Garden@futurebird I see this is a hot topic.
It has bothered me for over 50 years, encompassing many fridges.
I attribute the ambiguity to the lack of easily abbreviated ways of saying "less cool" and "more cool" in english.
They daren't put actual temperatures on the dial due to the many other variables affecting it, apart from the dial.
John-Mark Gurney@futurebird
Just terrible labels.
One way you can sometimes tell is when turning the dial if you hear a click and then the compressor kicks on. What ever way you were turning it makes it colder.
At least on one fridge I've seen, they labeled it colder warmer iirc. That was definitely more useful.
Richard W. Woodley ELBOWS UP 🇨🇦🌹🚴♂️📷 🗺️Certainly ambiguous but i guess they expect you to know intuitively that min max refer to amount of cooling rather than the temperature.