but i'm not flying an aircraft, i don't need to be able to make millisecond by millisecond readings in information! at the end of the day, the car doesn't currently have a boost gauge. any gauge is better than none and for my particular usage i don't feel that taking looks into account is necessarily to my detriment.
....I was only using the aircraft example to illustrate how ergonomic design takes into account human factors wherever it's applied. Whatever machine you are controlling, whether an aircraft or a motor vehicle, or a kitchen appliance, the same design considerations apply when the aim is to achieve the most efficient and safe operation.
You can't dismiss or ignore the known ways in which humans operate. Well, correction, you can ignore it all and merely be concerned about how equipment aesthetically looks to others, as you appear to prefer to do. Of course, well designed functional equipemt can also look good but aesthetics alone render something limited. There's nothing wrong with your attitude towards such things but, in my opinion, you are missing out.