To be or not to be a Geek

Life Technology
61

I haven’t bothered, and won’t be bothered to read through this whole thread, but I understand sandman’s not a computer guy and others say that’s because he’s either lazy or stupid. Obviously those people are wrong and, I would bet, are all under 30 years old so they don’t understand.

I did see a post early on in this thread where someone said “I learned a few basics about computers at age 14 and that was enough to carry me through life.” That’s the freakin’ point. They didn’t have PCs when sandman was 14 (or me or my father). I remember learning briefly about computers in one class in high school, back in 1978, but if I recall correctly computers then took up a whole room and were primitive beasts operated with punch cards. No pcs, no apples, no ipods, no filesharing, no internet, etc.

Contrary to what the “you must be an illiterate idiot” crowd are saying, technology for some reason is still communicated in complex, foreign terminology, not plain english. I’m not convinced it has to be that way, but for some reason that’s how it is. Tech speak IS a foreign language.

As we all know, learning Chinese is a giant pain in the ass, for which there is no shortcut and which requires consistent hard work. That is, unless you’re a small child. Most of us with small children have marveled at how they learn not just one language, but two or three, effortlessly just because they were fortunate enough to be raised surrounded by such language. I know I’ve struggled like hell with chinese, but my 6 year-old girl has mastered oral and is now well along with written chinese. Is it because she’s a child prodigy? No, it’s because she grew up surrounded by Chinese.

Same for techie, computer, geek stuff. Anyone over age 40 had to learn such stuff by hard work and dedication as an adult. Anyone under age 30 grew up surrounded by such stuff, so it was as easy and natural as it is for my girl to speak Chinese.

The only thing that’s surprising to me is that those kids from generation Z, or whatever, are so young and naive that they don’t understand those basic facts.

62

Ok, I was wrong. They did have PCs and they even had Apple in 1978. Here’s what they looked like.

Clearly one would’ve been on the geeky end of the spectrum to have owned such a thing back then or have learned how to communicate with it.

63

[quote=“flike”]

If so then I gotta say I’m havin’ doubts in yer ability to correctly identify a ‘Fisher Price’ experience, frankly. Fuck. Apple should abandon its biz model so you can dodge the US$0.99 to play skeeball for free on an iPhone, give me a break. :laughing: [/quote]

Games are one example of the overall trend outlined in the last 7 pages of this thread. Pick nits all you want, but you’re pretty obviously full of crap.

[quote=“Mother Theresa”]
The only thing that’s surprising to me is that those kids from generation Z, or whatever, are so young and naive that they don’t understand those basic facts.[/quote]

I can’t tell you how many times a 15 year old best buy employee has tried to convince me that I need an “ipod” to listen to a “podcast.” These kids aren’t growing up with computers necessarily-- they’re growing up with facebook, “apps,” and other shiny dumbed-down crap and some of them clearly aren’t learning a thing.

64

Forumosans,
Ask yourself a simple question: why do we only have one Scottish member, the Sandman? Yes, that’s right - because of Sandman.

  1. His Luddite attitude and aggressive nature (not to mention his irrational hatred of Chiayi County) are a turn off for his fellow Scots and they don’t want to be associated with that.
  2. Sandman enjoys being the sole Scot of the village - gives his wee ego a boost. In fact, rather than welcoming his fellow Scots, he attacks any new Scottish posters in the hope that they will leave.
65

[color=#BF0000]djlowballer, if you have nothing to add to the disscussion, then don’t, but I won’t lock the thread because you can’t argue anymore., the reason I didn’t temped it, it’s because I thought it makes a good disscussion. So guys, stay on topic, don’t get personal, and don’t answer a post by an emoticon. (igorveni co-mod)[/color]

66

At least I ain’t the one talking down my nose at others for livin’ a ‘Fisher Price’ computer experience whilst playing games on a smartphone. :laughing:

67

[quote=“almas john”]Forumosans,
Ask yourself a simple question: why do we only have one Scottish member, the Sandman? Yes, that’s right - because of Sandman.

  1. His Luddite attitude and aggressive nature (not to mention his irrational hatred of Chiayi County) are a turn off for his fellow Scots and they don’t want to be associated with that.
  2. Sandman enjoys being the sole Scot of the village - gives his wee ego a boost. In fact, rather than welcoming his fellow Scots, he attacks any new Scottish posters in the hope that they will leave.[/quote]
    And anyway, what the fuck? I mean really, what the fuck? Read the thread. It remained perfectly civil. Until one individual started making the nonsensical assertion that non-computer literate people are illiterate and extremely lazy. When called on his arsehattery, he then tried to DEFEND his claptrap. Not just to me but to pretty much every single other poster on the thread apart from beautiful spam, who also had absolutely nothing cogent to say and decided to resort to bitching about my salary and making yet more of the mindless “people who aren’t interested in computers are stupid.”
    These people are SO dense that even with a whole threadful of people pointing out the stupidity of their positions, he’d rather just lock the entire thread.

And yet its ME getting accused of “trolling?” Of seeking a “wee victory?”
Someone calls me illiterate and extremely lazy for NO REASON other than I don’t share an interest in his damn HOBBY! :unamused: – not just “someone” but a fecking computer geek, fer chrissakes!! – then I WILL defend myself. If that’s “trolling” so be it.

68

Just having fun Mr Sandman. I agree with ya. Just thought that if others were taking silly potshots at you i would join in with some of my own nonsense. :slight_smile:
Some of these posters are wee kiddies with no f’ing idea. They’re 25 going on 15.
Go ahead and ask djlowballer how old he is. :slight_smile: Or if he’s ever had a job other than teaching ESL in Taiwan?

It’s funny how people react to your salary. As you say, good enough for the Rock but it hardly puts you in the “automatic invitation to Davos” category.

69

I dunno if you are joking or just haven’t read the thread?

70

There is a reason for this. Thanks to design from companies like Apple, we live in a world where if a solution is immediately apparent, users will move on very quickly. The average user is not going to follow the flowchart of spending half an hour Googling every problem, when there are simpler devices on the market that “just work”.

71

[quote=“almas john”]Just having fun Mr Sandman. I agree with ya. Just thought that if others were taking silly potshots at you I would join in with some of my own nonsense. :slight_smile:
Some of these posters are wee kiddies with no f’ing idea. They’re 25 going on 15.
Go ahead and ask djlowballer how old he is. :slight_smile: Or if he’s ever had a job other than teaching ESL in Taiwan?

It’s funny how people react to your salary. As you say, good enough for the Rock but it hardly puts you in the “automatic invitation to Davos” category.[/quote]

Yeah, Almas. As much as I tend to think Sandman sometimes pumps himself up more than Arnie in the 70s :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: , I’m wondering about the people that claim to be technology experts on here (the people he is arguing with).

In real life, have they ever (like some of us) been involved in R&D, created mock ups, held positions of responsibility in corporations etc.? It is one thing to be criticized by true industry experts, quite another to be criticized by overseas technology hobbyists that teach for the requisite period of time each day, while nerding out on computers in their spare time and pretending they’re the next Jonathan Ive.

As much as it pains me to admit, Sandman’s right in one respect…there is a oversupply of native techies in Taiwan whereas people that can communicate effectively and act professional are in short supply amongst the foreign population. The latter is clearly more valuable than the former. And the hobbyists are at the bottom :laughing:

72

Oh…I thought this was said. I am not a teacher and neither are a few others trolling around on tech forums. The only time I taught was as a TA for a year while I finished Gen-ed and at the local high schools as a volunteer(teaching computer skills). My specializations are in Cryptography and 3-D graphic optimization. I used to work for BMW in Munich designing a 3-D design tool to simulate properties of metals when exposed to machine presses. My current work is in my Crypto background. A large hunk of my job is making a clean experience for the end-user because you do not know what their skill level will be. In many cases you need to leave the options open for power users while idiot-proofing the experience so the average user does not inadvertently lose work. It is lots of mock-ups, meetings, and BS.

My gripe with apple isn’t their devices(I am typing this on a MBP), or their “fisher price” method to computing, rather the side effects that a closed platform will have on computing. With OSX apple proved it is possible to keep power users very happy while providing the every user with a safe and clean experience. With iPhone OS, iPad OS, itunes, the app store, etc they are breeding customers to accept paying for stuff that was free, or compromising on hardware, because users with no clue think it is a requirement for the apple experience. It is a great business strategy for apple and their shareholders, but for users this sort of world is to their loss.

73

[quote=“almas john”]Some of these posters are wee kiddies with no f’ing idea. They’re 25 going on 15.
Go ahead and ask djlowballer how old he is. :slight_smile: Or if he’s ever had a job other than teaching ESL in Taiwan?[/quote]
Perhaps you didn’t read igorveni’s notice to cease taking this thread in a personal direction?

And how do you know those same forum members aren’t actual engineers, experts in their technological fields?

I have a better idea. Instead of repetitively bumping up a thread that serves no productive purpose (and sadly this is the hottest thread in the Tech subforum all week), why don’t you folks create actual useful tech related threads or contribute to an existing one?

74

That’s right. You probably don’t.

On another note, Chewey has been FORCED INTO ABJECT SUBMISSION! And has grudgingly had to AGREE with meeeeeeee! :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: The world today is a brighter place. I might even go down the market and make some derisory comments to the Chiayi turkey rice lady! :thumbsup:

75

And you my friend are just pissed because Apple apparently doesn’t see the need to this for the iPad. :laughing:
I can’t wait for my birthday. I know what I’m asking for.

76

Damn! I hate it when I’m wrong. Mixed you up with another newbie. Sorry for the slanderous suggestion that you were in the Educational Services Field.

I read it but - in a crazed moment of caffeine-stoked delusion - cast his warning aside like a soiled Cleanex. I will now leave this thread, my head hung low, and seek penance with my spanking implements.

77

I’m interested though… How do people working in the computer field (or whatever) feel about people buying a computer that is far too powerful for what they need? Isn’t it a bit like buying a Harley Davidson when all you do is drive to work?

78

Damn! I hate it when I’m wrong. Mixed you up with another newbie. Sorry for the slanderous suggestion that you were in the Educational Services Field.
[/quote]
No need to apologize!! He did mention that he was once a TA. :laughing: :laughing:

79

I try to help people learn this as much as I can. I have piles of computers that were “too slow” that only needed minor maintinence of the OS. Apple,dell,gateway and more are represented. The only thing that pushes limits of a computer is stuff like gaming or video editing. When somebody I know asks me for new computer advice I can usually restore the speed and battlerig it so it stays fast. Some people do just want to spend money on a new machine but for many it is a cost that they might have trouble budgeting for otherwise.

80

[quote=“Mother Theresa”] I haven’t bothered, and won’t be bothered to read through this whole thread, but I understand sandman’s not a computer guy [quote]and others say that’s because he’s either lazy or stupid[/quote]. Obviously those people are wrong and, I would bet, are all under 30 years old so they don’t understand

.Contrary to what the[quote] “you must be an illiterate idiot” crowd are saying[/quote], …[/quote]

Would it not be better to DO bother before pointing your finger?
It is unfair to make a judgment towards a “crowd” or “others” (younger?? :astonished: dudes) if you can’t find where it started.

As said before, one person might have totally wrongly called Sandman “lazy or stupid”, which was obviously utter juvenile, thus the reaction of linking Computer interests with boredom and only for geeks was as wrong.