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People reason that if a skill is important, people need to become good at it, and becoming good requires starting early in life. This reasoning isn't valid for

by wrp 1y ago

People reason that if a skill is important, people need to become good at it, and becoming good requires starting early in life. This reasoning isn't valid for computer use, and I have an anecdote to illustrate why. When the internet was yet fairly new, I was assigned to teach basic computer use to a class of Saudi Arabian soldiers. Many of these guys were fresh out of the desert, some even still adjusting to the idea of wearing shoes. They had no idea what to do when placed in front of a computer. Imagine if your dog got up on its hind legs, rested its paws on the keyboard, and poked its nose at the screen. To cut the story short, I led them through this and that and by the end of a month, they certainly couldn't touch-type, but they were designing their own web pages. They were so enthusiastic that they were sneaking into the lab after hours (evidently to search online for pics of naked ladies). My point is that computer interfaces are designed to be simple and intuitive, so you don't need an early start to practice like you do with a highly complex task like playing a musical instrument. There is really no developmental benefit to early screen use.

gspencley 1y ago
That's an interesting thought experiment. Counter-anecdote: My grandmother has been using computers in some capacity or another since the 1980s. And she is still, by most definitions, completely and utterly "computer illiterate." Her biggest blocker is that she's terrified of making a mistake and breaking something. She would never dare explore a settings menu and tweak things just to find out what is or is not possible. So she calls her relatives to help her with the most basic of task ... and this has been going on for 40-50 years of her life. I wonder if she had been introduced to computers younger in life if that fear of breaking things could have been overcome and replaced by a curiosity and enthusiasm to explore the digital space. I'm also open the possibility that this fear is a personality trait and impacts her in other areas of life as well. We are just trading anecdotes after all ;)
- aflag 1y ago
  Maybe it's just not as useful to her so she doesn't bother learning?
  - gspencley 1y ago
    Possibly but I would expect her to use computers a lot less if that were the case. She is an Apple user - probably for the best since she doesn't want configurability and values consistency and predictability and everything being interoperable. But she upgrades regularly and, until her eye sight started to physically hinder her ability to read emails and perform tasks on a computer, she used them quite a bit for if it were a matter of "I just don't need this thing." To add context: she was a public school educator. Began as a teacher, was actually my school Principal in grade one. So she had a need for computers in her professional life and continued to use them in her personal despite tons of evidence that she has no idea how lol
    - aflag 1y ago
      Would she have been a better principal or teacher had she been better at using her computer than she is. If apple works well enough for her then that's the point isn't it? That picking up what you need isn't hard and you can do it even if you have little interest in doing so.
- wrp 1y ago
  I have many colleagues in the humanities who are the same, even though they have been heavy users of personal computers since the beginning. They seem to just reject retaining detailed operational knowledge. This seems to be distinct from the issue of becoming comfortable with interfaces.
- colonCapitalDee 1y ago
  I've found that the most valuable skill when using a computer is the willingness to fiddle with settings and see what they do and what works, paired with an intuition for which settings are likely to break things in a way that's extremely painful to fix.
- theshrike79 1y ago
  > Her biggest blocker is that she's terrified of making a mistake and breaking something. She would never dare explore a settings menu and tweak things just to find out what is or is not possible. It's a mindset thing. My grandfather was a tinkerer by nature and he was the type to wander into C:\Windows and just start deleting crap "because it took up so much space" :D He was used to opening things and fixing them if they broke, but kinda lacked the mental model to fix a computer. Taught me a lot, when I was the one who had to fix his adventures =)

by wrp 1y ago

gspencley 1y ago

That's an interesting thought experiment. Counter-anecdote: My grandmother has been using computers in some capacity or another since the 1980s. And she is still, by most definitions, completely and utterly "computer illiterate." Her biggest blocker is that she's terrified of making a mistake and breaking something. She would never dare explore a settings menu and tweak things just to find out what is or is not possible. So she calls her relatives to help her with the most basic of task ... and this has been going on for 40-50 years of her life. I wonder if she had been introduced to computers younger in life if that fear of breaking things could have been overcome and replaced by a curiosity and enthusiasm to explore the digital space. I'm also open the possibility that this fear is a personality trait and impacts her in other areas of life as well. We are just trading anecdotes after all ;)

aflag 1y ago
Maybe it's just not as useful to her so she doesn't bother learning?
- gspencley 1y ago
  Possibly but I would expect her to use computers a lot less if that were the case. She is an Apple user - probably for the best since she doesn't want configurability and values consistency and predictability and everything being interoperable. But she upgrades regularly and, until her eye sight started to physically hinder her ability to read emails and perform tasks on a computer, she used them quite a bit for if it were a matter of "I just don't need this thing." To add context: she was a public school educator. Began as a teacher, was actually my school Principal in grade one. So she had a need for computers in her professional life and continued to use them in her personal despite tons of evidence that she has no idea how lol
  - aflag 1y ago
    Would she have been a better principal or teacher had she been better at using her computer than she is. If apple works well enough for her then that's the point isn't it? That picking up what you need isn't hard and you can do it even if you have little interest in doing so.
wrp 1y ago
I have many colleagues in the humanities who are the same, even though they have been heavy users of personal computers since the beginning. They seem to just reject retaining detailed operational knowledge. This seems to be distinct from the issue of becoming comfortable with interfaces.
colonCapitalDee 1y ago
I've found that the most valuable skill when using a computer is the willingness to fiddle with settings and see what they do and what works, paired with an intuition for which settings are likely to break things in a way that's extremely painful to fix.
theshrike79 1y ago
> Her biggest blocker is that she's terrified of making a mistake and breaking something. She would never dare explore a settings menu and tweak things just to find out what is or is not possible. It's a mindset thing. My grandfather was a tinkerer by nature and he was the type to wander into C:\Windows and just start deleting crap "because it took up so much space" :D He was used to opening things and fixing them if they broke, but kinda lacked the mental model to fix a computer. Taught me a lot, when I was the one who had to fix his adventures =)