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I personally tend to dislike people who proudly claim their ignorance about computers, usually with the underlying purpose of distinguish themselves from me, th

by fbnt 15y ago

I personally tend to dislike people who proudly claim their ignorance about computers, usually with the underlying purpose of distinguish themselves from me, the supposedly technical rat. I mean, I don't know jack about ancient literature or medicine, but it's not something I'm proud of, and I don't go around bragging on my ignorance for sure. Not sure if this is the case, but it's something I noticed more than once in my daily life.

Peaker 15y ago
I don't think he takes pride in ignorance. I think he's criticizing computer interfaces for requiring obscure knowledge unnecessarily. And I completely agree with that. I think current computing UIs are horrible, in the same way that the Nokia UI was bad, but only became visible upon the release of the iPhone.
wladimir 15y ago
Right, I've also seen this and wonder where it comes from. I think it's part of them acknowledging that knowing about computers in this age is very important, and feel that they should learn more about them, but are reluctant due to time constraints / feeling then can't understand the maths / etc.. so they find excuses why it is uncool. Technologists aren't free from this "fallacy" either. For example, when they hate on marketing ("I don't want to learn about marketing as it's all bullshit"), or when people from one technical field hate on another ("back end? man, that's just engineering, it's all about UI these days..."). In the case of hate on computers, it's usually combined with some component of nostalgia; What do we need computers (and computer people) for? Weren't we better off in slower times, without all the flashy stuff?
- phlyingpenguin 15y ago
  My favorite comparison in proclaiming ignorance is the English (or pick your non-science teacher category) teacher that proclaims they can't "do" math. Asking the opposite question, is it okay for any teacher to be illiterate? Just because something is difficult does not make it okay to shrug off as unnecessary. IMO If you claim to be a programmer, you ought to have a whine-free good grasp (at least) of the tools necessary to be successful.
- tomjen3 15y ago
  I don't believe it is fair to compare it with marketing. Most tech guys could learn much of it if they needed to but like me they find marketing to be dirty and scummy. Unfortunately things don't get sold on their technical merits...
- daleharvey 15y ago
  this article had a completely opposite point, there was no disregard for computing, he specifically says he loves what can be done with modern computing. the ignorance stated was trying to bring up a point that I fully agree with, a lot of us dont actually care about the computer, I dont program because I like typing out arbitrarily defined syntax, I dont learn algorithms because they are "fun" I build applications that work on the computer because I want people to use them, I want to build tools that help peoples lives or help them do their jobs
  - wladimir 15y ago
    I was not specifically talking about the case of the article. And I did mention your case in my post; you might not care about the back end (algorithms, bit/byte pushing, compilers, etc) but it is important anyway. Your pretty UIs for helping people in their lives (I don't mean to discount that -- it's really important) won't go anywhere without the infrastructure. Everyone has their preferred area, and the fields together are important. We could just as well stop boasting how our work was somehow better so we can be proud we don't care about someone elses work...
crazygringo 15y ago
I think it's different -- for example, many of us love to drive cars, and are very happy we don't have to understand anything under the hood. This was not the case, say, 80 years ago. Computers are still at the stage where, to use them to their full potential, you have to understand their inner workings far more than many people would like. I'm a programmer, but I feel the same way -- I look at programming as a means to an end, and even get depressed when I realize the proportion of my life I've spent delving into CSS float or z-index intricacies, or the finer points of compatibility with IE.

by fbnt 15y ago

Peaker 15y ago

I don't think he takes pride in ignorance. I think he's criticizing computer interfaces for requiring obscure knowledge unnecessarily. And I completely agree with that. I think current computing UIs are horrible, in the same way that the Nokia UI was bad, but only became visible upon the release of the iPhone.

wladimir 15y ago

Right, I've also seen this and wonder where it comes from. I think it's part of them acknowledging that knowing about computers in this age is very important, and feel that they should learn more about them, but are reluctant due to time constraints / feeling then can't understand the maths / etc.. so they find excuses why it is uncool. Technologists aren't free from this "fallacy" either. For example, when they hate on marketing ("I don't want to learn about marketing as it's all bullshit"), or when people from one technical field hate on another ("back end? man, that's just engineering, it's all about UI these days..."). In the case of hate on computers, it's usually combined with some component of nostalgia; What do we need computers (and computer people) for? Weren't we better off in slower times, without all the flashy stuff?

phlyingpenguin 15y ago
My favorite comparison in proclaiming ignorance is the English (or pick your non-science teacher category) teacher that proclaims they can't "do" math. Asking the opposite question, is it okay for any teacher to be illiterate? Just because something is difficult does not make it okay to shrug off as unnecessary. IMO If you claim to be a programmer, you ought to have a whine-free good grasp (at least) of the tools necessary to be successful.
tomjen3 15y ago
I don't believe it is fair to compare it with marketing. Most tech guys could learn much of it if they needed to but like me they find marketing to be dirty and scummy. Unfortunately things don't get sold on their technical merits...
daleharvey 15y ago
this article had a completely opposite point, there was no disregard for computing, he specifically says he loves what can be done with modern computing. the ignorance stated was trying to bring up a point that I fully agree with, a lot of us dont actually care about the computer, I dont program because I like typing out arbitrarily defined syntax, I dont learn algorithms because they are "fun" I build applications that work on the computer because I want people to use them, I want to build tools that help peoples lives or help them do their jobs
- wladimir 15y ago
  I was not specifically talking about the case of the article. And I did mention your case in my post; you might not care about the back end (algorithms, bit/byte pushing, compilers, etc) but it is important anyway. Your pretty UIs for helping people in their lives (I don't mean to discount that -- it's really important) won't go anywhere without the infrastructure. Everyone has their preferred area, and the fields together are important. We could just as well stop boasting how our work was somehow better so we can be proud we don't care about someone elses work...

crazygringo 15y ago

I think it's different -- for example, many of us love to drive cars, and are very happy we don't have to understand anything under the hood. This was not the case, say, 80 years ago. Computers are still at the stage where, to use them to their full potential, you have to understand their inner workings far more than many people would like. I'm a programmer, but I feel the same way -- I look at programming as a means to an end, and even get depressed when I realize the proportion of my life I've spent delving into CSS float or z-index intricacies, or the finer points of compatibility with IE.