On Wed, 5 Feb 2003, Peter Gutmann wrote: > Thomas Shaddack <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > >Second, where did the number 7 really come from? > > >From the OSI 7-layer model, which took it from the fact that the number 7 is > sacred to a certain tribe in Borneo (see "The Elements of Networking Style", > by Mike Padlipsky).
Probably more likely "Seven plus or minus 2," a classic paper in cognitive psychology that talks about short term memory (http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Miller/). It turns out that 5-9 is the range of items people can keep in short term memory. Along the way, it seems like seven plus or minus 2 has also become a design guideline in some parts of the user interface community.
