The Codeless Code: Case 191 The Four Words of Distress / Part One 
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 Master Bawan came upon a monk struggling with the photocopy
machine. The monk was jabbing buttons in frustration, but
the copier sat silent.

Bawan shooed the boy away, saying: “Machines can sense
desperation. It unsettles them.” The master calmly pressed
buttons one by one, pausing to breathe between each. The
machine chugged to life, and the desired copies began to
appear.

The monk asked, “How is it that so simple a thing can sense
the subtleties of emotion?”

Bawan replied, “The lake knows when the wind is angry, for
she wrinkles her face and slaps the shore.”

The monk considered this.

At length he said, “When the physician senses my distress,
she attends to my needs. The designers of this machine’s
user interface would do well to follow her example.”

Bawan raised a finger. “Even the finest physician will give
you no relief if you only howl in pain and rend your
garments.  Instead, draw a deep breath and try the Four
Words of Distress.”

The monk asked, “What are these ‘Four Words’?”

The master said, “From least to greatest comfort given, they
are: Help, Cancel, and Undo. Offer them all to users of your
own interfaces, and when they have departed they will say,
‘Here labors a physician of supreme compassion, who
understands our fallibilities and spares us from
self-harm!’”

The monk said, “You spoke of but three words. What is the
fourth?”

Bawan hit the Off button and went out.