Derived from “A/B-Testing”
What does the “A/B” in Human A/B mean? Jep, another methodology and the direct follow up of Human Atomic Composing (HAC). It symbolizes the choice between two options, an A or a B. Originally it comes from “A/B-Testing” also known as split testing, a method to test two variations against each other under real-life circumstances. The option with the best feedback will be chosen. An example: I build a web shop and to offer the function “buy” or “add to cart” you use buttons. They can have different shapes, sizes, and colors (keep Atomic Design in mind). If I am not sure about the best option, i.e. if the buttons should be red or green, I test it with users. One user group gets variation A, and the other one variation B. The best-performing variation defines the choice. Why? Because major feedback equals what the users like and a shop is built for the user, for his navigation through the shop; you reduce subjectivity to provide the best possible user experience. This testing is not only important for creating new things, but it is also very well used on already existing products, which need to be updated after a while. i.e. if demands of a marked or from the user’s perspective change, so should the product as well, to maintain attractiveness and relevance. It’s all about iterations.
HAC is for opening up, to create awareness of how we’re all structured and how many hurdles, challenges, and options we have. And that it’s a matter of perspective, attitude, and behavior to change something for yourself if the pain is not endurable any longer. So awareness and pain are needed ingredients on the path forward. The A/B is now the purely practical part of everything. Mostly you already chose something, i.e. a career as a doctor. That’s an A. You don’t get along with what you are doing any longer. What could be the alternative? What is a B? I need to point out, that the alternative, the B, is mostly a derivate of who you are, it is mostly not a big jump between A and B if you break both down to their core elements (molecules and atoms). There are similarities, but the product (A or B) expresses different, brings different things along with, etc. The doctor’s B is a YouTuber with helpful and creative content. Big jump? Phenotypological, maybe. But if you take a closer look, not so much: both imply helping others, making them better, empathic dealing with the client/user, finding out things, the client/user wouldn’t on their own, and the list goes on. But even when both, A or B, is still open, it’s the same; everything is already inside you, and only the expression needs to be chosen. The A/B testing analogy is for encouraging that there is always an alternative and that the activation level to test something against the already known only depends on your suffering, awareness, and effort to go through discomfort (because at least B is something new and not known). But also, if you test two things against each other, you only know what you really like or what you are good at.
A short personal example: I was all my childhood and youth years playing soccer, quite high and good. There was potential. But was it really my thing? With distance, I must say, that after a while it became more a “must” than “oh yeah, let’s go again”. And this feeling stayed for a very long. I started to fall in love with triathlon, my new B. I did both, soccer and triathlon, for quite a while parallel. Until I decided that endurance sports were more mine. And I started to feel really good again. Until now I do not regret or miss playing soccer. It just turned out that the call and the benefits of my B were stronger. So I stayed. And believe me: At the beginning, I was not good at all.
Summed up
We face more and more difficulties through stress, less resilience, little empathy, no involvement, and several mental struggles, including identity insecurities over the years. We keep our illusion of an already decided/ready form, which we sustain. Until something tells us that something went wrong. It’s not disrupting, but I believe all of these “experiences” follow a system, a pattern we cultivated. And what has a pattern can be sorted. Human Atomic Composing serves to create new awareness and support with a grid/framework of methods and options to get out of your “old” you, to become a master of your own choices. So here we are, to find ingredients and tools to iterate ourselves by seeking discomfort in many realms, backed by the interplay of pragmatic, science-based, experiential, and spiritually influenced concepts. To make new decisions because we allow ourselves more options; here comes A/B into the game. In the end, it’s a chance to understand that there is always an A or a B! And to go out and try, especially the unknown. Have a cool journey!