This unit breaks down how we think and process information. These mental loads include cognitive, visual and motor. Anything we can do to reduce or ease the burden of these loads will help our user comprehend our work much easier. Therefor as designers we should always be looking to reduce mental loads by supplementing the visual and motor loads.
The other point is something that has stuck with me since I was a kid but was never better demonstrated then throughout the Kevin Smith movie "Dogma." What I'm referring to is the difference between beliefs and ideas, and how steadfast people are in their beliefs. Dr. Weinschenk hits on this as well in this unit. While trying to change someone's beliefs can lead to confrontation, if you can find a way to condition your message to go along with elements of their beliefs you may be able to sway their current way of thinking.
The last thing I wanted to call out was the understanding of the mental model. The basic notion is that every user comes into an experience with certain expectations and understanding based on their past experiences how your design should work. They know where to look for the on button, they understand the function of the enter key, a headline is at the top of the page etc. Designing with this in mind will allow for a lot easier load on your users as it is part of what their are pre conditioned to understand and accept.
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