On the note: does anyone know about some actual studies that measured information registering speed on gauges VS written numbers? I'm still kind of puzzled about it and cannot reliably say, when reading a number is faster than evaluating a gauge.
Not sure about screens versus gauges since a screen can mock the appearance of a physical gauge but I do recall a lecture during a UI/UX class I took long ago that about analog gauges being easier and quicker to understand than seven segment displays. Something about the brain needing to interpret the actual number for the seven segment display versus quickly understanding the approximate speed from the needle on the gauge.
Gauges give you a nominal position. A point where the needle rests during normal activity. You can quickly scan the needles and only have to care if their position is out of place. Likewise scale, you don't have to calculate if it's beyond the reasonably expected level, you can simply see where it falls on the dial. With digits you have to examine each of them with specific knowledge of what those numbers mean. That takes valuable attention away from the more immediate tasks at hand.
