The Tlog - a technology blog » Geeky stuff

For the Portuguese-speaking paranoids out there…

Pedro Timóteo — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 22:11:16 +0000

… go read this post of mine (including the comments).

You’ll never look at a blog that hasn’t had any new posts for a while the same way again.

Computers and "normal" people… again

Pedro Timóteo — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 11:16:47 +0000

The last mini-site was quite successful, and I’ve seen many places linking to it in the last couple of days. I’ve also been reading some opinions and discussions about it.

Some people thought it was funny; some didn’t. So far, so good. Many said that they know people exactly like this – in many cases, “mom” or “dad”. But I also saw some comments accusing not only me, but computer techs in general, of being “elitist”, of not understanding that to most people computers are just a tool, not a way of life, and that not understanding computers in depth isn’t a sign of lack of intelligence.

I have to agree with those comments, of course, but there’s another truth that people are simply incapable of accepting: that most people simply refuse, stubbornly, to learn even the most basic things. It’s as if it would be “beneath” them. They actually get offended because they’re expected to remember a password they chose a week ago, or to read prompts before clicking on “OK” or “Yes”.

What does remembering a password have to do with “computers”? You have to remember stuff lots of times in your life. Even if you have a really bad memory, there are ways around that – and I don’t mean a post-it on the monitor.

Someone on Reddit used the usual metaphor: that just because you drive a car, you’re not required to be a mechanic. That’s true; however, it’s the wrong comparison. The correct one would be as if you refused to learn to drive, even to learn which pedal did what, how to turn, and so on, but still demanded to be allowed to drive, even though you were likely to crash into a building each time you did so.

Would most people put up with these “I don’t want to learn how to drive, I just want to go places in my car” characters? Of course not. But, yet, it’s how most people behave about computers. They don’t want to learn, they feel offended if one suggests that they learn anything.

Computers, and operating systems, aren’t still as easy to use as they could be, but, these days, basic usage (again, I’m not talking about programming, or systems administration) is simpler than what most people do in their jobs. You don’t have to be a genius, or an “expert”, to use a computer. But you have to learn the basics, which even a child can do… unless you do what almost everyone does: loudly demand your right to ignorance.

Much like all irrationality is apparently excused, as long as it’s got to do with religion, it seems that all deliberate ignorance, and resistance against learning even the most basic aspects of something you have been doing for years, is fine, as long as it’s got to do with computers.

Elitists? Some of us are, sure. But most are simply baffled at how irrationally stubborn most people are. Many act as if they made a vow: “I will not learn anything about computers; to do so would diminish me.” At least, it’s what it looks like.

Computers and the Internet according to "normal" users

Pedro Timóteo — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 16:30:39 +0000

Yes, it’s a new mini-site! This time, with a bit of humor to it (reminds me of the “Customerese-Portuguese” dictionary I wrote when I worked at IP Global).

So, here it is: Computers and the Internet according to “normal” users.

To give you a taste…

Computers get slower and slower with time; this is perfectly normal, and the only thing to do is to go to the store, and get them to format and reinstall everything (which isn’t a problem, because other than Windows, Office, all those cool toolbars and that nice purple ape buddy, there isn’t anything installed).

Computers ask “Are you sure?”, and similar questions, all the time, because they’re made for idiots. Since you’re an intelligent and educated person, you know that you can always simply click on “Yes”, without reading. It certainly saves time.

…and I shall DESTROY THE WORLD!!!

Pedro Timóteo — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 10:24:26 +0000

I absolutely loved this guide on how to destroy the Earth. From the intro:

This is not a guide for wusses whose aim is merely to wipe out humanity. I (Sam Hughes) can in no way guarantee the complete extinction of the human race via any of these methods, real or imaginary. Humanity is wily and resourceful, and many of the methods outlined below will take many years to even become available, let alone implement, by which time mankind may well have spread to other planets; indeed, other star systems. If total human genocide is your ultimate goal, you are reading the wrong document. There are far more efficient ways of doing this, many which are available and feasible RIGHT NOW. Nor is this a guide for those wanting to annihilate everything from single-celled life upwards, render Earth uninhabitable or simply conquer it. These are trivial goals in comparison.

This is a guide for those who do not want the Earth to be there anymore.

Long, but a great read.