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This argument comes up in every conversation about non-computer people, and I don't buy it. I don't know anything about how my car works, and I wouldn't be able

This argument comes up in every conversation about non-computer people, and I don't buy it. I don't know anything about how my car works, and I wouldn't be able to get a Formula 1 car out of the driveway, but I do know how to use it for ordinary tasks. Moreover, if my lack of knowledge got in the way of my everyday life, I would learn something and use that knowledge. The car equivalent of the sort of people the author is complaining about isn't you and me, it's someone who doesn't know where the steering wheel is and refuses to learn because all they need to know is gas pedal -> go forward, and the car should figure it out from there and/or is a Magical Voodoo Machine that they can't touch. In short: complete and willful ineptitude vs. mastery is a false dichotomy.

Dylan16807 13y ago
Maybe not that bad, but certainly someone that calls in for help every time they need the parking brake. On the same car, for years.
eieio 13y ago
But many of the things the author lists are not as basic as using a steering wheel. Why in the world would an average user need to care about when "www" should be in a url? Or even need to know when the term "download" is appropriate? Yeah, if you work with word and double-space things a lot you should know how to do that. But I haven't encountered many people who don't know how to double space. And yeah, at this point people should know how to google things. That's a little more problematic, but I rarely run into people who don't know how to use google at this point either. Some things on the list are important. A lot of things on the list are things that are minor annoyances that are likely similar to what my mechanic experiences when I try to describe my problem to him.
- icebraining 13y ago
  Or even need to know when the term "download" is appropriate? If you use a word, shouldn't you know if it's appropriate?

Dylan16807 13y ago

Maybe not that bad, but certainly someone that calls in for help every time they need the parking brake. On the same car, for years.

eieio 13y ago

But many of the things the author lists are not as basic as using a steering wheel. Why in the world would an average user need to care about when "www" should be in a url? Or even need to know when the term "download" is appropriate? Yeah, if you work with word and double-space things a lot you should know how to do that. But I haven't encountered many people who don't know how to double space. And yeah, at this point people should know how to google things. That's a little more problematic, but I rarely run into people who don't know how to use google at this point either. Some things on the list are important. A lot of things on the list are things that are minor annoyances that are likely similar to what my mechanic experiences when I try to describe my problem to him.

icebraining 13y ago
Or even need to know when the term "download" is appropriate? If you use a word, shouldn't you know if it's appropriate?