[OT] the uses of computing

Joakim via Digitalmars-d-learn digitalmars-d-learn at puremagic.com
Sat Oct 18 12:42:50 PDT 2014


On Saturday, 18 October 2014 at 00:06:10 UTC, ketmar via 
Digitalmars-d-learn wrote:
> On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 23:31:45 +0000
> Joakim via Digitalmars-d-learn 
> <digitalmars-d-learn at puremagic.com>
> wrote:
>
>> You do realize that most people are clueless about how to fix 
>> those also, right?
> most people are stupid.

No disagreement there, but even the smart ones can only learn so 
much.

>> Would you require that how to fix all that mechanical stuff be 
>> taught in schools too?
> but it is! or at least it was. it's all simple physics, you 
> know. not a
> rocket science.

Many people do not learn simple physics in school, and even if 
they did, wouldn't necessarily be able to figure out how to fix a 
specific mechanical system like a washing machine from the 
general physical principles.

>> Kids would never leave school if they had to learn all the 
>> stuff everybody says they should be forced to learn. ;)
> nobody should be *forced* to learn: it's pointless. yet kids 
> are very
> curious, and they can be taught *alot* of things if they think 
> that
> they are "just playing". make it interesting, and you'll be 
> amazed how
> much kids can learn almost without problems.

Yeah, we agree if you truly mean making most of what they learn 
optional, not just "fun" but still required.  Most of the stuff 
we force on kids today, like multiplication tables, how to divide 
numbers by hand, or memorizing historical dates, is utterly 
useless.

>> Yet, civilization is made up of people like you, who would all 
>> miss those mechanical systems far more than computers.
> it's a huge difference between "i miss my washing machine" and 
> "all our
> communication and data processing systems are foobared".

Yet, I bet you they'll want that washing machine working far more 
than the internet.

>> They should use tools like Automator instead, no programming 
>> needed:
>> 
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automator_(software)
> i wasn't talking about sorting out file mess. i was talking 
> about
> tabular data processing, for example, with some logics and 
> calculations
> that can't be done automatically without programming.

Isn't that what people use Excel macros for?  There are 
specialized tools for the job, that are more limited than full 
programming languages but easier to use for the average person.

>> Tablets are optimized for basic usage
> what is "basic usage"? i really don't know what tablets are 
> for. what i
> can do with it? watching movie? listening music? reading book? 
> yes,
> tablets can do this... badly. what else?

All of the above, anything you'd use a portable computer for that 
doesn't require much typing and would benefit from a larger 
screen than your smartphone.  I wouldn't say they do it all 
badly: it's the most portable "TV" you could ever have, if you 
use it to watch video.  And you're not limited to the junk on the 
idiot box, you can download any video from the web and watch on 
the go.  Most websites benefit from a larger screen also.

> i can listen music with my N900, and it fits in my pocket.
>
> movies? on tablet screen? no, thanks.
>
> books? "electronic books" are better.

I've watched parts of movies on my 4.7" smartphone screen, which 
happens to have the best display I've ever used.  Tablets are 
even better for video.  I don't read books anymore, but with 
their high-res displays up to 200-300 ppi these days, reading 
text is very nice on tablets too.

> tablets are like XML: bad for everything.

Now that's just low, you can't compare anything to the utter junk 
that is XML. :)

>> Most people just need a basic appliance that isn't going to 
>> catch viruses or require registry hacks.
> give 'em wooden board with painting. it's great!

It's a little better than that. ;)

>> It is completely different, because there are tools like 
>> Automator to help you automate your workflow without needing 
>> to write anything.
> oh, please. i can do batch renaming with wildcards, and for any
> task that is more complex than that there *is* a need to write
> logic. scripts. "graphic programming" is a dead end. people 
> drop icons
> in favor of alphabet 'cause alphabet is just better.

Actually, the progression went the other way, people dropped text 
UIs for graphical UIs. :) I'm not saying _you_ need to leave the 
terminal, but for most people GUI tools like Automator are enough.

>> If you need to communicate something on paper- well, nobody 
>> uses paper these days
> i wish that the goverment of my country knows about that. and 
> banking.
> somehow they still insist to have everything written on paper.

Well, the government is the most backwards part of any country.

>> For most people, that is a better route, particularly if they 
>> don't need to modify the script as they go and just need it 
>> written once.
> so instead of spending ten minutes to write the script they'll 
> spend a
> day searching for someone to hire and pay him money. great. 
> thanks to
> such people we have "don't put your pet into microwave"-like
> instructions. and that instructions are pointless 'cause such 
> people
> never reads any instructions anyway.
>
> most people are stupid, but that's not what scares me alot. 
> what really
> scare me is that most people *love* to be stupid and fight for 
> the
> right to be stupid with passion.
>
> p.s. me too. i can't force myself to take English courses for 
> five
> damned years!

I wouldn't be so quick to call it "stupid" as much as learning 
takes effort and you only have so much time and effort to learn 
so much stuff.  Better to focus on the stuff that interests you 
and leave the programming to others, at least for most people.

On Saturday, 18 October 2014 at 00:11:18 UTC, ketmar via 
Digitalmars-d-learn wrote:
> On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 03:05:58 +0300
> ketmar via Digitalmars-d-learn 
> <digitalmars-d-learn at puremagic.com>
> wrote:
>
> p.p.s. just in case: i'm not talking about personalities here, 
> sorry if
> i was offencive.

Nothing offensive about what you wrote.


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