56 lines
2.7 KiB
Plaintext
56 lines
2.7 KiB
Plaintext
From: Richard P. Wilkes <RICK%mit-mc.arpa@csnet-relay.csnet>
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Date: 10 July 1983 08:23 EDT
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From: Steve Kudlak <FFM>
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To: BILLW at sri-ai
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cc: Info-micro at brl
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Re: more computer education
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I must flame just a little!!! Why do we always here what seems to be these
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obligatory statements about "obsession with computers" and yet no one moans how
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bodybuilders have an obsession with muscles; sports people have not only an
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obsession with sports but most of the time with a whole worldview that
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emphasizes competion over cooperation, cultivates the "us and them" way of
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seeing things and much much more.
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The obsessions of MBAs and the business community are legion and much more
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widespread in comparison to computer people. They dress up in funny wierd
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outfits (from my point of view) and will often refuse to accept anyone who is
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not dressed in the same funny wierd outfits. People make beaucoup bucks by
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writing books telling people how to do thier funny wierd outfits so that they
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have a better chance of success. The funny wierd outfit we are told must be
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done exactly right, and can only be in a very narrow range of styles and colors
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and if you don't it right it is a real disaster...And these people are not
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obsessed!!??
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Furthermore it belies a fundamental misunderstanding of the use of computers
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to compare them continually to videogames. Most of the uses of computers are a
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great deal different from videogames. To imply that skills in using a computer
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are the same as those used to play videogames is so mistaken that it is not
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funny.
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What bothers me is that these miscopnceptions seem to have persisted for so
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long. Either people have done a very bad job of clarifying what uses computers
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have, and how they could be used, or perhaps there is some real emotional
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technophobia that is still operating or perhaps both.
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It seems to me that this gibberish and garbage and paranoia has to be cleared
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away in order that computer education can proceed in a reasonably pleasent
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manner. After all it would be a real drag to try to teach someone how to use a
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typewriter, a camera or a car if they were vaguely and intensely afraid of them.
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If these fears could be ameilorated(sp??) and the potentials and limits of
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computers could be understood neither as vague terrors nor as panaceas then
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perhaps we could begin to have a true and beneficial computer education.
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Enuff flames...
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Have fun
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Sends Steve
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P.S. Is there anyway to respond to these wire stories?? If one has comments
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or rebuttals or kudos for a story is there any easy way of communicating this to
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the author.
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Call The Works BBS - 1600+ Textfiles! - [914]/238-8195 - 300/1200 - Always Open
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