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People in this age are expected to read and write, but using a computer in powerful ways is considered magic and unobtainable, this is to everyone's detriment.
by glhaynes 17y ago
People in this age are expected to read and write, but using a computer in powerful ways is considered magic and unobtainable, this is to everyone's detriment.
I think that's just it: it seems (and for most people, actually is) far harder to learn to work a computer in a powerful way than it is to learn to read and write. The number of facts you have to know to properly administer a modern OS is staggering. One could reasonably argue that the iPad has gone too far in the "easy" direction, but it seems difficult to argue against the idea that computers thus far have been "too hard". If we can provide the ability for people to achieve powerful results with their computers without having to learn the intricacies of their OS/hardware, we're doing good and unleashing precious talent. Every minute spent (by anybody who's not a sysadmin) dealing with file system errors and driver conflicts is a minute not doing productive or creative work.
- r0s 17y agoI agree with this. Part of the problem is full featured computers have been the only game in town for a long time. Really they have been oversold to people who only need something like an iPad. I just think it's disappointing that, given a chance to learn and explore, most people choose not to. Certainly literacy is much less of an obstacle than computer literacy. Maybe it's too optimistic to favor a higher standard. The barriers between information and people have never been lower though.
- glhaynes 17y agoI guess I'm just not sure that it is a higher standard for the average non-computery person to have to learn a bunch of otherwise-irrelevant-to-their-task computer junk. Am I worse off for not [having spent the time to] know much about my Honda works? Occasionally, yes; but, overall? Definitely not!