Elf Sternberg

Yeah, I understand what you're saying. I was addressing Don's point that there is a core set of competencies around laundry, like separating the delicates from the jeans, and the darks from the lights. (I did like Cheryl Mendelson (Of Home Comforts fame)'s observation that laundry labels are so confounding that it's no wonder so many college students, faced with their own laundry for the first time, fall into despair and nihilism.) Beyond that, however, I question the degree of difference so many dozens of settings on a washing machine will really have, and are really justified.

The core competencies of laundry are quite small compared to those of cooking, and I question the need for many of those competencies to be contained both in my head and in the machine. Which is really what we're talking about here: I know enough to not wreck my clothes. Having a machine that can work with me is a boon, but when getting to that state requires a programming degree it ceases to be a boon and returns to being a chore.