211–220 of 295 posts
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Hypothetically, if you needed python couldn't you either compile it to binary or just install the runtime ? I don't see how a language would be coupled to the version of Linux.
Doing so means putting all Python packages into a single opaque OS-level package. Not fun when your build system and related infrastructure, were all designed to work with OS-level packages.
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> who understands concepts way more complicated than the IP protocol or a browser Do you need to now IP protocol to use the internet? Old people generally don't like change, they have things set up as they like them.
If you need to configure a computer, understand the difference between an email and a webmail and imap, what is a certificate and why it matters, you need a basic understanding of how these things work.
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Even as a ~20-30 year old, libraries and them acting as community "hubs" seems so foreign already. Part of me worries about the growing individualist and transactional nature of our social lives that the internet is causing [citation needed, I know]. Part of me thinks that the easy way now where we can do IRS forms (and everything) online and to our door of our houses, will make us weak. There is some old Roman bit a…
You are definitely onto something. I'm going to skew this comment towards something similar. As an early twenty-something, I'm urging more friends and family to stop using the internet loosely - meaning, use the medium as a tool but not as a form of entertainment. Extensively, use it as little as possible. I'm not saying reject the medium but rather try to be acutely aware of how it affects things: perception, mind,…
This is a shockingly small number. For comparison, Pew reports that 24% of Americans have not read a single book, in whole or in part, in 2017. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/23/who-doesnt-r...
I didn't read a book for probably 2 years at some point. That doesn't mean I'm poorly educated or ignorant. I was reading a lot, I was just reading articles rather than books. I still don't read a lot of books. I just don't enjoy them that much. I'll read short fiction and poems, but I just don't really like novels.
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What’s the connection between reading books and the internet, aside from literacy? They’re such different things, I’m not clear on the connection between reading and the internet.
> I’m not clear on the connection between reading and the internet. Prior to the internet, books were the only way humans consumed large amounts of textual information. Now, we have web pages, which 89% of people use, whereas books, which have never been more accessible, still linger at 76% usage. One assumes of the 89% of people who use the Internet, 100% of them use web browsers, web sites, and thus read lots of te…
I don't think that follows. If you use Instagram, YouTube, Imgur, 9GAG, and such, you barely need to read any text. Same for Facebook, depending on the people you follow.
It’s reasonable to assume that 11% of the adult US population is still illiterate [1]. I know this is not unique to the US, and that these people may very well be as happy as anyone else. Still, if we sometimes point out that HN is a bit of a bubble, well there’s a big bubble I can’t wrap my mind around well into the 21st century! I would certainly be surprised if an illiterate person made heavy use of the Internet (…
I think functionality illiterate people can still use smart phones. Certainly not to their full capabilities though.
I'm disappointed that countries set such a high barrier to entry for immigrants (TOEFL level 6.5-7) when local people probably can't even achieve the same.
My Dad is in his early 70's and has never used the Internet. In fact, he never even had a cellphone until this year when I bought him a flip-phone and convinced him to accept it. I think he's plenty capable of learning such technology, he just doesn't see any compelling reason. And I think that's a perfectly reasonable choice -- I'm certainly not going to tell a senior citizen what they need to be happy. He is starti…
Does the US IRS have an auto-fill feature for tax software? In Canada you sign up at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA is Canada's IRS) and get a log on. Then at tax time you can download free tax software from links on the CRA website, click auto-fill to populate with your info and then click the e-file button. That's it, done. My dad in his mid 70s probably wouldn't do it so your dad may not either if it was available…
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I didn't read a book for probably 2 years at some point. That doesn't mean I'm poorly educated or ignorant. I was reading a lot, I was just reading articles rather than books. I still don't read a lot of books. I just don't enjoy them that much. I'll read short fiction and poems, but I just don't really like novels.
What about non-fiction?
It’s reasonable to assume that 11% of the adult US population is still illiterate [1]. I know this is not unique to the US, and that these people may very well be as happy as anyone else. Still, if we sometimes point out that HN is a bit of a bubble, well there’s a big bubble I can’t wrap my mind around well into the 21st century! I would certainly be surprised if an illiterate person made heavy use of the Internet (…
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If literacy involves writing, then most kids are illiterate. Remember the three R’s? Now it’s down to two. Well, maybe one (American kids have long been using calculators). But a deeper question is, what do we actually lose if people can’t write by hand or do arithmetic?
Writing typically refers to composition, not penmanship. I’m not actually sure penmanship has suffered much from ubiquitous computing. It would be interesting to do a study on it.
Still, turns out being able to type well and quickly is far, far more important in my line of work.