People are the most improtant part of, and the beneficiaries of, a computer and communications system. People are also a complicating factor: their assessments of information needs is sometimes faulty, their emotions may affect their performance, adn their perceptions can be slow. People are the most important part of the computer system. People however, are possible the most complicating factor in the system for three reasons. Faulty assessment of information needs: Humans often are not good at assessing their own information needs. For example, many users will acquire a computer-and-communications system that either is not sophisticated enough or is far more complex than they need. If all you need is a computer on which to type research papers, you don't need to spend $10,000 on a system. Human emotions affect performance: In information-rich environments, human emotions can profoundly affect performance. For example, for some people, one frustrating experience with a computer is enough to make them abandon the whole system. Hammering on the keyboard or bashing the display screen is certainly not going to help advance the learning experience. Human perceptions may be too slow: Humans act on their perception, which in modern information environments are often too slow to keep up with the equipment. You can be so overwhelmed by information overload, for example, that your decision making may be just as faulty as if you had too little information. These are the three elements that make humans the most complicating factor.