What would Emmy Noether Do? Math, Models and Mulling in UX Research
Summary
If you look across all disciplines, the one person whose achievements got to the heart of a behavior in nature was the 20th century mathematician Emmy Noether. While geniuses in physics received accolades for figuring out conservation laws in physics, she went an extra step, and this was a step most people didn't even know was there. She figured out where conservation laws came from. In this presentation, we are going to look at where Emmy would fit in high tech today. Today, our world is filled with a plethora of templates, one day courses, agile and lean approaches, blogs on how to get "quick wins" and many other forms of content directly or indirectly trying to satisfy our appetite for speed in high tech. This is reflected in a desire to get to key takeaways or insights as quickly as possible. Many times, these "lean" approaches can be incredibly useful, but not always. Sometimes in the rush to answer or iterate, something fundamental is missed. Insights that could have been discovered with just a little more up front thought and formalism of the problem space. Asking one more "why" question. And asking it like the kick*ss 20th century mathematician Emmy Noether.
Key Insights
-
•
Emmy Noether solved a major problem in Einstein's theory by zooming out to understand broader system behavior rather than focusing narrowly.
-
•
Noether's breakthrough linked conservation laws to symmetries of nature, foundational for physics and mathematics.
-
•
Stepping back to see the whole system is critical for deep insight, as emphasized by Jennifer Fraser.
-
•
Bridging different disciplines—math and physics in Noether’s case—can lead to breakthroughs not possible within silos.
-
•
Ecosystem mapping visualizes relationships and exchanges between system components, making invisible connections visible.
-
•
Ecosystem maps differ from journey maps by focusing on system-wide relationships rather than sequential flows.
-
•
Co-creating ecosystem maps with stakeholders helps reveal overlooked roles and fosters alignment.
-
•
In a youth entrepreneurship program, ecosystem mapping revealed the crucial mentor role missing from existing support networks.
-
•
Every analyst or researcher builds models to understand systems, but models must be shared and challenged to improve.
-
•
UX research and data science often work in silos despite sharing the fundamental activity of modeling complex systems.
Notable Quotes
"Energy might not be conserved locally in a smaller patch of space but everything works out when the space is sufficiently large."
"Noether’s breakthrough came because she was able to step back from the problem at hand and look at the broader system."
"The bridge was made between math and physics in a way that hadn’t been done before."
"In our haste to get answers quickly, we often ignore what system we’re working within and why."
"Everything everyone knows is only a model. It’s important to get our models out there where they can be challenged."
"Visualizing the ecosystem helps get alignment among stakeholders and provides insights into strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities."
"An ecosystem map depicts relationships between animate and inanimate objects in a system representing value exchanges."
"Journey maps and service design blueprints focus on flows within parts of a system; ecosystem maps focus on relationships across the system."
"We are all just modeling. UX researchers and data scientists differ more in language than in practice."
"What system are you trying to understand and impact? What’s the bridge between different ways of modeling it?"
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Garrett Hardin’s tragedy of the commons theory says ownership and regulation are needed to save ambiguous resources."
Amy ThibodeauOpening Keynote: Process and Ambiguity
October 23, 2019
"Decision making here is basically forge trading — people argue and withhold support until they get what they want."
Carl TurnerYou Can Do This: Understand and Solve Organizational Problems to Jumpstart a Dead Project
March 28, 2023
"Weave in great user stories that exemplify your key points to maximize engagement."
Bruce GillespieLearning from journalism: Balancing impactful communication with compassionate storytelling
March 13, 2025
"We don’t want anyone to change their favorite tools; we build plugins to share wireframes or prototypes directly."
Aurobinda Pradhan Shashank DeshpandeIntroduction to Collaborative DesignOps using Cubyts
September 9, 2022
"Drag and drop ease, and collaborative affinity diagramming in the tool, were unexpected but very welcome advantages."
Taylor Jennings Joe Nelson Alex KnollRepository Retrospective: Learnings from Introducing a Central Place for UX Research
March 9, 2022
"You have to keep the injection sites moving because of scar tissue, adding to the body hacking complexity."
Daniel J. RosenbergDigital Medicine Design
September 26, 2019
"You don't know if you're successful until your users are successful in accomplishing their goals using your product."
Jack MoffettUX Metrics That Matter and The Future of our Design at Scale Conference: A Community Conversation
September 22, 2022
"All of us have at least some facility in adjacent disciplines now because of AI assistance."
Christian CrumlishThe Pygmalion Effect: In Which a Vibe Coding Experiment Becomes a Million Lines…
August 14, 2025
"The COP became the beating heart of our project, enabling quick credibility and community excitement."
Alexia Cohen Adriane AckermanIncreasing Health Equity and Improving the Service Experience for Under-Served Latine Communities in Arizona
December 4, 2024
