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People generally say "time cures these problems" but I'm starting to wonder. Things change so rapidly, someone who is 60 now and is learning to use a mouse and

by sjs 15y ago

People generally say "time cures these problems" but I'm starting to wonder. Things change so rapidly, someone who is 60 now and is learning to use a mouse and keyboard might be utterly lost in 20-30 years with whatever advances have been made. When I'm 60 in ~30 years maybe I'll be clinging to ancient things like notebooks and tablets because I know how to use them, and kids will point and laugh while they use the modern stuff.

rokhayakebe 15y ago
At 60 you will be able to cope with new technologies almost just as easily as a 15 year old. The reason being you have had some interaction with technology over the years, so you have something to refer to. The 70 year old of today probably did not get to ever play with a computer.
- doyoulikeworms 15y ago
  Subsequent advances in technologies always require a bridge to the past in order to be successful. Understanding how to use today's technology is very useful for understanding tomorrow's, no matter how different. A button will likely continue to be a button, whether you press return, click, tap, or telepathically hit it.
- DannoHung 15y ago
  Yeah, but his point is that something totally, completely new, like say, a direct brain interface, is going to be so radically different that he'll have a hard time becoming acquainted with it given his existing experience. In my interactions with older relatives, the thing I find that they have the biggest problem with is that they don't try to explore how the computer behaves because the are afraid of breaking something. So, personally, I think that Apple should advertise it's guest mode for OS X additionally as a "Learn New Things" mode where they very clearly explain that any changes they make are not going to be permanent and that by shutting off the computer, everything can go back to normal (maybe create a simulated web as well). Then there could be a series of tutorial on making significant, (normally) permanent changes to the computer's behavior.
- code_duck 15y ago
  The 70 year old of today did see a dizzying array of new technologies arrive before the PC or mobile phone, though and many of them learned to use VCRs, camcorders, color TVs, compact disc and cassette players, etc. without a problem. Are computers fundamentally different due to their abstraction and lack of physicality? What if the technology of 2050 is fundamentally different in a way we can't even understand?
- sjs 15y ago
  Good point. I like to think I adapt well enough, I quickly learn to use most new things simply by prodding at them and observing the results. However as I get older I get slower and less patient with that sort of thing, and I'm only 28. Hopefully I was just extra awesome before and not actually slow now ;-)

by sjs 15y ago

rokhayakebe 15y ago

At 60 you will be able to cope with new technologies almost just as easily as a 15 year old. The reason being you have had some interaction with technology over the years, so you have something to refer to. The 70 year old of today probably did not get to ever play with a computer.

doyoulikeworms 15y ago
Subsequent advances in technologies always require a bridge to the past in order to be successful. Understanding how to use today's technology is very useful for understanding tomorrow's, no matter how different. A button will likely continue to be a button, whether you press return, click, tap, or telepathically hit it.
DannoHung 15y ago
Yeah, but his point is that something totally, completely new, like say, a direct brain interface, is going to be so radically different that he'll have a hard time becoming acquainted with it given his existing experience. In my interactions with older relatives, the thing I find that they have the biggest problem with is that they don't try to explore how the computer behaves because the are afraid of breaking something. So, personally, I think that Apple should advertise it's guest mode for OS X additionally as a "Learn New Things" mode where they very clearly explain that any changes they make are not going to be permanent and that by shutting off the computer, everything can go back to normal (maybe create a simulated web as well). Then there could be a series of tutorial on making significant, (normally) permanent changes to the computer's behavior.
code_duck 15y ago
The 70 year old of today did see a dizzying array of new technologies arrive before the PC or mobile phone, though and many of them learned to use VCRs, camcorders, color TVs, compact disc and cassette players, etc. without a problem. Are computers fundamentally different due to their abstraction and lack of physicality? What if the technology of 2050 is fundamentally different in a way we can't even understand?
sjs 15y ago
Good point. I like to think I adapt well enough, I quickly learn to use most new things simply by prodding at them and observing the results. However as I get older I get slower and less patient with that sort of thing, and I'm only 28. Hopefully I was just extra awesome before and not actually slow now ;-)