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I'm not surprised at all. (I actually assumed this, when the talk about "digital natives" was en vogue.) As it happens, we tend to accept technology that was mo

I'm not surprised at all. (I actually assumed this, when the talk about "digital natives" was en vogue.) As it happens, we tend to accept technology that was mostly sorted out when we were born for granted and this tends also to be the kind of technology we're least prone to investigate. E.g., when I was born, high frequency (HF) was mostly sorted out. But, just before this, it was a hot topic in research and hobbyist magazines. To me, however, it had always been a given and I'm probably the last person to ask about this. There is no comparison to the kind of knowledge an individual who followed the emergence of a technology with some interest may have. (These will be always a minority, though.)

bentcorner 4y ago
This is a great perspective. I can troubleshoot a lot of PC issues but would be pretty helpless with diagnosing a grounding issue or wireless interference. I recall my dad identifying a DOS-era virus that my cousin and I introduced to a PC via a DOOM cheat downloaded over a BBS, and he showed me the assembly and patched out the virus for us so the cheat continued to work. I would have a hard time doing the same thing.
wink 4y ago
I tend to agree with your assessment, but I see a key difference is that computers are simply versatile and you can make them do everything you want (skills in configuring/coding notwithstanding) but even big leaps seem so much easier than working with electronics or hardware. So even the people in my parents generation who were good with hardware could do some fun stuff, but the possibilities of any computer (and access to the internet) can do so much more if you want to solve a problem or create something - that's where I think the comparison breaks down. To solve something in a mechanical or electronic way I need a very high level of skill/knowledge, but to do it with software (even just making several tools work together) enables much more in less time/less knowledge.

bentcorner 4y ago

This is a great perspective. I can troubleshoot a lot of PC issues but would be pretty helpless with diagnosing a grounding issue or wireless interference. I recall my dad identifying a DOS-era virus that my cousin and I introduced to a PC via a DOOM cheat downloaded over a BBS, and he showed me the assembly and patched out the virus for us so the cheat continued to work. I would have a hard time doing the same thing.

wink 4y ago

I tend to agree with your assessment, but I see a key difference is that computers are simply versatile and you can make them do everything you want (skills in configuring/coding notwithstanding) but even big leaps seem so much easier than working with electronics or hardware. So even the people in my parents generation who were good with hardware could do some fun stuff, but the possibilities of any computer (and access to the internet) can do so much more if you want to solve a problem or create something - that's where I think the comparison breaks down. To solve something in a mechanical or electronic way I need a very high level of skill/knowledge, but to do it with software (even just making several tools work together) enables much more in less time/less knowledge.