Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

• 

  Ryan, 4 Dec 2000 @ 2:31pm

  
  

  No Subject Given

  I highly agree with this article. I went into electronics engineering having no electronics experience. I did learn the internal workings of a copmuter on cooperative work terms, and I consider that a blessing. I probably know more about the internal workings of a computer than a good 2/3 of my class, and there is still a lot that I don't know. We have no classes on computer hardware, and just a few on networking. However, we have fabulous lab instructors, from whom I've learned as much as from my profs. Lastly, at least in the US and Canada, there's Radio Shack. They have these fabulous little project books for all types of electronics - communications, digital, even solar power, to name a few.
  Regarding demand, I once had a professional engineer tell me that engineers support technical development in society like a pyramid, with the engineers at the bottom, creating a basis for everything else. Unfortunately, he said, these days, the shift is to have less at the bottom and more people managing them, mostly because a lot of people aren't willing to put in the effort anymore for an engineering or computer science degree. The result is less support for more structure until the pyramid is reversed. I don't have a problem with giving tech classes to more liberal arts people - in fact, I encourage people to learn more, especially when they say, "Oh, it's too confusing and there's so much to know!" My girlfriend, a history major, could definitely use one or two of these classes. It just fumes me when these people who do only have one or two classes think that they know all there is to know about computers and where they are heading. My solution? Read. Then play. Or even the reverse, though the former can be much cheaper. The only way to really understand how something works is to make it work yourself.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    Ryan, 4 Dec 2000 @ 3:19pm

    
    

    Too true

    Reading and then playing are often the best ways of learning (that's how I taught myself html, web design and etc as a hobby during my molecular genetics and business degree). I'm a real fan of independent and life long studying, in this era that we live in we have to stay on top or risk becoming obsolete.
    
    In terms of teaching girlfriends, I think it's our responsiblity to teach our girlfriends not to fear technology (and the business world). I taught my girlfriend basic IT, Genetics and business (and a little Nano ;) ), whilst she was studying for her degree in English literature.
    
    Let's bring it back to the Garage (or maybe now more accurate, studio apartment).

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  mhh5, 4 Dec 2000 @ 4:54pm

  
  

  not so true...?

  I think Mike was right on to point out this article totally ignores other opinions. All right, we need hardware engineers. No one can argue against that. But do software engineers really need to know that much hardware? Isn't that why they're *software* engineers and not *hardware* engineers? Are the best race car drivers the best mechanics? At some point, you need to just accept that a black box can work, and move on from there. If everyone just worried about making or figuring out black boxes, we might not ever figure out what to do with them! I think this article glosses over that point.
  
  And as for girlfriends, you guys make it sound like teaching a bit of IT is better than sex. Geez, guys, there's more to life than hardware and IT.... right? RIGHT?!? :)

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    Mike (profile), 4 Dec 2000 @ 5:05pm

    
    

    Re: not so true...?

    Part of my point, also, is that for years people have been complaining that you need to be a computer expert to make things work, and that the real revolution will come when we start being able to use computers without knowing what's going on inside of them. So... I don't think it's bad that people are not learning to completely understand what's going on inside computers, so long as the actual computer usability is keeping up with it.
    
    As for the whole girlfriend/teaching about computers thing, another advantage is that it gives you a chance to show off your really geeky side, and if she sticks by you after that... well... you've got a winner. ;)

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • 

      Ryan, 5 Dec 2000 @ 12:34pm

      
      

      Re: not so true...?

      Some very good points here that I either did not consider or blindly charged over. Both Mike and mhh5 made great points that you don't have to know what's going on to be effective, and you really don't. I still advocate tinkering around and knowing what goes on "under the hood" - I guess I got that from my dad telling me to find the answer myself when I was a kid (so that I'd learn exactly what was happening, not because he was a bad father). You don't have to be a mechanic to drive a car, but knowing what is going on can't hurt, and can help in diagnosing a problem or tweaking for optimum performance.
      

      Regarding the teaching thing, I just used my girlfriend as an example. I encourage everyone that computers aren't really that complex. Well, they are, but that's only if you want to know them well, as us geeks do. As previously mentioned, you can be effective without knowing why or how it works, and I try and get people to understand that while still encouraging them to just play around. It can be tough at times, as I'm sure many of you know.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  u2604ab, 4 Dec 2000 @ 8:10pm

  
  

  The south shall rise again!

  more on this later...

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]