I wholeheartedly agree with the authors premise that many young people don't know much about computers beyond how to use day to day applications but I think there is a disturbing element that he didn't cover. Ninety Five percent of the problems any computer user faces is about five google searches and twenty or so webpages worth of skimming away from being solved. The solution is probably presented with screenshots and a step by step breakdown. Almost everyone has an extra screen in their pocket with which to find this information if the problem is "can't connect to the internet." As long as the user can follow directions they don't need understand the finer details of what they are doing or why they are doing it, they just need to do it. The more you just do it the more you end up knowing about computers. My mom couldn't upgrade her RAM about five years ago. After visiting her and seeing how slow her computer was I wrote down her model number and had a RAM upgrade shipped to her house. She refused to put it in, waiting a year until I came back for a visit to have me install it. About two years ago she bought a decent laptop and took a laptop repair and maintenance class. The class sounded pretty amazing; they taught a woman who couldn't replace her desktop ram how to replace screens, keyboard, RAM and every other part that wasn't soldered in. She thinks that she could probably diagnose, find the parts for and replace any part on her laptop that isn't soldered in now. Doesn't really relate to the kids part of the story but it shows how a low functioning user can change if they put a bit of effort into it.
Yeah, I think it comes down to not being afraid (more than is healthy) of technology and having basic problem solving skills. A lot of this is frustrating because we look at these people's inability to troubleshoot even the most basic things and extrapolate that out and come to the conclusion that these people must suck at everything. But I'm not convinced that they really do suck at everything. I think there's something about technology that is just too mystical for so many (most?) people. But for those of us who have been behind the veil, it just seems silly.
If the user is aware of their actions, then they'd be able to understand the final details, don't you think?As long as the user can follow directions they don't need understand the finer details of what they are doing or why they are doing it, they just need to do it.
I could lecture you on the adiabatic contours of the Otto cycle engine. I have a degree in this shit. That does not mean you need to know what I know in order to check the timing on your car's motor. There's an admirable pragmatism to knowing enough to solve your problems, knowing enough to tell when your out of your depth, and knowing that knowledge beyond these two milestones is only worthwhile if it interests you. I agree with cgod on registry hax. There is no part of my brain that is rewarded with knowing the structure of Windows metadata. I'd rather use the computer for what I bought it for, thanks. I once had to install Knoppix and a brand new motherboard in order to reassemble a 4-disk ZFS RAID5 cluster in man-down formation in order to resurrect my photos. I pulled it off. I got my photos. And fuck Knoppix, fuck ZFS, fuck RAID5 and fuck "finding that out" when I got my damn photos. That shit is tedious, yo, and my life is not enriched one iota by delving into the intricacies of sudo calls.
I mean, why not get a masters in computer science? I just need it to work, that's enough for me. If I sometimes know what the values I'm editing in my registry are and it's helpful knowledge that's great, but I don't really feel the need to endlessly examine what's happening every time I edit my registry. What's keeping me? The knowledge is only valuable so far as I can get my shit to work, so I guess need is stopping me.
I think that's what the article is talking about. That lack of need is what's making us computer illiterate. I'm not criticizing you in any way. I'm just saying that as technologies become more and more user-friendly and do everything for us, there'll be less and less of a need for us to know what exactly we're doing. You already know to clean your registries. I would say the author thinks you can use a computer.
I'm not talking about cleaning my registries, but ah well. There will always be a level of knowledge that a normal competent user will not be very knowledgeable. Every thing this guy is complaining about is one seach away from not being a problem. Specialization is real and valuable, I don't think this guy would recommend that the average user edit their registry values but would probably give an approving nod to anyone that did.
Agreed. Isn't he saying though that it may have gotten to the point where some don't even know what to google search for?