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Kids who go to med school tend to be the ones who excel in math, chemistry, and similar ”logical thinking” subjects. They usually do reasonably well with comput

by nikanj 6y ago

Kids who go to med school tend to be the ones who excel in math, chemistry, and similar ”logical thinking” subjects. They usually do reasonably well with computers. In my experience, the contrast is stark to another high-paid professional group: lawyers.

whitepoplar 6y ago
Oh my god, agreed. I have known many lawyers, my father being one, and the amount of hubris and tech-derision is insane. You could give lawyers a computer that prints money and they would shrug and tell you to get it out of their office.
- brendawalsh 6y ago
  I don’t know how old your dad is, but I remember mine had an IBM XT and used WordPerfect, w DOS 3.3, I think. I remember WordPerfect being very popular in law offices, but also dictation machines, so who knows?
  - ghaff 6y ago
    >I remember WordPerfect being very popular in law offices, but also dictation machines, so who knows? There was a period during which PCs (as well as other word processors) were coming in when computers were seen as being increasingly important (in law and elsewhere) but the management at many companies weren't sold on it being a good ROI for professionals, especially those billing by the hour, to use them directly. There was definitely a period of time in many places where there were computers but it was secretaries/paralegals/etc. who actually typed on them. And, remember, a lot of young professionals in the late 1980s had never really learned to type, even hunt and peck.
  - nikanj 6y ago
    I swear some law offices still have those XTs and WordPerfects
Chlorus 6y ago
Do tech support for a hospital and this attitude will very quickly dissipate. >In my experience, the contrast is stark to another high-paid professional group: lawyers. Database systems like WestLaw & word processing systems in the 80s and 90s were killer apps for law offices, so if lawyers are tech illiterate it's a recent phenomenon.
brendawalsh 6y ago
Anecdotally, I disagree with this, for both lawyers and doctors. I know several doctors my age and younger that cannot stand using any computer or laptop, while my best friend’s father, a surgeon, had one of the first HP color flatbed scanners (SCSI) and the only person I knew to have an ISDN line. My cousin is about a decade older than me, and I remember spending the night at his house with his TRS-80 and Apple II computers. He is an attorney.

by nikanj 6y ago

whitepoplar 6y ago

Oh my god, agreed. I have known many lawyers, my father being one, and the amount of hubris and tech-derision is insane. You could give lawyers a computer that prints money and they would shrug and tell you to get it out of their office.

brendawalsh 6y ago
I don’t know how old your dad is, but I remember mine had an IBM XT and used WordPerfect, w DOS 3.3, I think. I remember WordPerfect being very popular in law offices, but also dictation machines, so who knows?
- ghaff 6y ago
  >I remember WordPerfect being very popular in law offices, but also dictation machines, so who knows? There was a period during which PCs (as well as other word processors) were coming in when computers were seen as being increasingly important (in law and elsewhere) but the management at many companies weren't sold on it being a good ROI for professionals, especially those billing by the hour, to use them directly. There was definitely a period of time in many places where there were computers but it was secretaries/paralegals/etc. who actually typed on them. And, remember, a lot of young professionals in the late 1980s had never really learned to type, even hunt and peck.
- nikanj 6y ago
  I swear some law offices still have those XTs and WordPerfects

Chlorus 6y ago

Do tech support for a hospital and this attitude will very quickly dissipate. >In my experience, the contrast is stark to another high-paid professional group: lawyers. Database systems like WestLaw & word processing systems in the 80s and 90s were killer apps for law offices, so if lawyers are tech illiterate it's a recent phenomenon.

brendawalsh 6y ago

Anecdotally, I disagree with this, for both lawyers and doctors. I know several doctors my age and younger that cannot stand using any computer or laptop, while my best friend’s father, a surgeon, had one of the first HP color flatbed scanners (SCSI) and the only person I knew to have an ISDN line. My cousin is about a decade older than me, and I remember spending the night at his house with his TRS-80 and Apple II computers. He is an attorney.