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Kids can't use computers, and why it should worry you

coding2learn.org

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Re: Kids can't use computers, and why it should worry you

#151

Post by jlgreco »

glhaynes wrote: post #88
jlgreco wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it is trivial to do, and regularly required? Would you say they don't need to know how to change a tire too? Add more windshield fluid? Wash their windows by hand? Open their glovebox?

Being able to change a tire is a great skill to have because it may be very beneficial for safety. The rest are blatantly obvious things that nobody has to learn nor devote time to doing while they could be doing something else. Well, except maybe for adding windshield fluid… but they do that for me when they change my oil. :)

I suppose we have different perspectives on what the general public is capable of.

To me, changing your oil yourself is somewhere on par with being able to connect to wifi yourself. Sure, you'll often just get other people to do it for you when you are having other more extensive work done on the car, but having to get somebody to do it for you seems sort of like having to call "Geek Squad" to connect to your home wifi. Far more prevalent than you would hope or expect.

Re: Kids can't use computers, and why it should worry you

#152

Post by venomsnake »

scott_karana wrote: post #126
venomsnake wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it does not have ECU or diesel pump I could fix pretty much everything else and bring the car in movable condition. You just need to obtain some manuals and a screwdriver. And I am not car enthusiast. The problem is that the computing devices are moving to be the center of people lives. You must know how something works just to be able to protect yourself.

Just a screwdriver? That's a bit of a simplification. Even excluding electronic components, you'd need a fair bit of skill (and machinery) to rebuild a VANOS system, install fresh synchros in a transmission, blueprint an engine...

Actually I have owned only pre-90s car (the period when cars were cars and not Playstations on wheels). They were simpler and lighter affairs. You could fire up and drive an atmospheric diesel car with all fuses blown and without any electricity and broken alternator.

But that is offtopic. I don't want people to resolder chips on their mobile devices. But we must educate to not freeze like a deer in headlights when something move from it just works to it just doesn't work.

Re: Kids can't use computers, and why it should worry you

#153

Post by astral303 »

angersock wrote: post #97
simonsarris wrote: post #36

I get the feeling that the author was judging the person he was helping far more harshly than the perceived judgement she might have passed on him. Maybe she was tired, clearly she was frustrated, but it wasn't obvious that she held the author in any disdain, though the author seemed to perceive it. What we're sure of is that the author held her in such low regard. I wonder if she picked up on that. I suspect she did…

The computer is a device that, most of the time, just gets in the way of doing X. I responded to this in somewhat more detail down below, but I'll be really blunt here: Their own fucking unwillingness to seek out knowledge and have the patience to learn to solve problems is what gets in the way of getting things done. And every IT person with bad manners or an unwillingness to teach whatever they know and answer ques…

Just like their fucking unwillingness to learn how to fix a car that won't start is what gets in the way of them getting to work? Oh yeah, it was easy, the clutch pedal switch failed, duh, that's a $5 part and 10 minutes to replace. What do you mean, you missed a day of work for that, you fucking idiot?

Re: Kids can't use computers, and why it should worry you

#154

Post by buckyball »

Making things foolproof results in better fools.

But, I really would like to admit that things like "WPA2 Enterprise" or "Proxy" are really at least more than special in terms of common language. Looking at the TV analogy OP made, I would like to throw in this piece of information:

Even getting a new TV up and running is some kind of rocket science nowadays. This is what it is like in Germany right now:

Step 1: buy TV at local dealer.

Step 2: At home, the TV is asking you to tell him what kind of signal you have:

   * Cable, analog
   * Cable, digital
   * DVB/T (terristical, antenna on roof or indoor)
   * Sat, satellite analog
   * DVB-S, satellite digital
   * DVB-S2, satellite digital h264 HD
Step 3: Call son or husband of daughter to setup this strange device: "All I wanted is to watch TV!!!!eleven!"

And that is not even close to the confusion happening when the wifi and apps settings are popping up.

Re: Kids can't use computers, and why it should worry you

#155

Post by aristidb »

wvenable wrote: post #127
aristidb wrote: post #60

Even the most savvy computer user will make stupid mistakes... For example I once wondered why my display didn't work when I had apparently accidentally hit the "Input Source" button so the display was no longer set to DVI and didn't know how to get it to work... I guess I "can't use a computer" in the author's mind?

I assume you eventually fixed it yourself. So therefore you can use a computer. This is not about stupid mistakes.

No, I called IT support and they fixed it for me.

Re: Kids can't use computers, and why it should worry you

#157

Post by WalterBright »

Morphling wrote: post #134
ender7 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To extend your car analogy, I wonder if the author knows how to fix his own car? I certainly don't. I know it involves pistons and carburetors and...tubes.

I can't say that I can pop the hood of my car and instantly know what's wrong, but I can change oil, tiers, lamps and battery and add necessary liquids. I don't know if that's a lot, but I like to think I know something about cars.

Actually, if you keep the fluids changed and topped up, your car will likely not break. What kills most cars is simple neglect.

Re: Kids can't use computers, and why it should worry you

#158

Post by GhotiFish » 

  "Without reference to Wikipedia, can you tell me what the 
   difference is between The Internet, The World Wide Web, a 
   web-browser and a search engine?"
uh... well the last two are pretty easy, but... the first two.

I actually don't know, I've used those two terms interchangably to be honest. I guess if I was pressed I'd say that the world wide web is what the colloquial internet actually is, and the internet is the package of protocols the world wide web runs on? I can't imagine many people are going to get this one right.

Re: Kids can't use computers, and why it should worry you

#159

Post by wonderyak »

fsckin wrote: post #138
ender7 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To extend your car analogy, I wonder if the author knows how to fix his own car? I certainly don't. I know it involves pistons and carburetors and...tubes.

If you read the article, you would know the answer. "A hundred years ago, if you were lucky enough to own a car then you probably knew how to fix it. People could at least change the oil, change the tyres, or even give the engine a tune-up. I’ve owned a car for most of my adult life and they’re a mystery to me."

And thats where it falls apart.

If he were more honest with himself he'd say something like 'I know I can go online or pick up a manual and figure anything about my car that I'd want to.'

Letting it remain a mystery is just perpetuating the ignorance people seem to cling to like a life raft.

Figuring things out is fun and you learn new skills.

Re: Kids can't use computers, and why it should worry you

#160

Post by d0m »

angersock wrote: post #30
TallboyOne wrote: post #4

I hate these idiotic titles. It feels like I see at least 5 titles a day that are broad sweeping generalizations that all have the same tone. Of course kids can use computers, don't be stupid. Maybe a small subset can't. If that's not what the article is about, then don't put it in the title. And also.. I went to read the article, saw the extremely arrogant TLDR and closed it.

Go back and read the article and come back when you've got something useful to say.

I also found the TLDR quite arrogant and frustrating. It's like if I'm sending an e-mail to someone and I write in the subject "Just read the damn email".

Maybe the words TLDR aren't chosen correctly. I view it more as a "Here's a summary of the article". It's not that the text is "too long" but mostly that there are billions of articles to read. I'd be more than happy to read yours if you can just grab my attention and make it interesting in the summary. I.e. Like a trailer.

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