> Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 13:10:33 -0600
> From: Dale Hoogeveen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: DOS GUI
[ No Dale, I'm not "picking on your post"; it's just that yours is at a
point in the digest where I feel I can throw in my two cents...! ]
> There are so many technical things already in many people's lives that
> they must pick and choose which ones to learn in depth. For us to
> demand that they learn batch files (or Linux scripts) and the command
> line before they use Email or surf WWW, is kind of like requiring them
> to learn the scientific names and original habitat of the ancestors of
> the flowers they plant in their window boxes.
..or rather, learning to read instead of listening to the "audio book",
or watching the VCR tape.
Between audio, video/film, computer, and other means, there isn't a
single fact unavailable to someone who cannot read. Computers permit
even simple written text to be spoken - and do a good job of converting
speech into text. It is concievable that a person could receive a valid
( and deserved ) Doctorate degree today, without EVER cracking a real,
physical book. ( There are quite a few disabled people that come close
to this "extreme example" every year.)
However, this doesn't mean that learning to read is no longer required,
even if a special format for the text is necessary. An illiterate
person may get a lot of enjoyment out of TV/radio programs, movies, or
even "books-on-tape"...and may decide that such things fulfill all they
need in life for enjoyment. Unfortunately, most of us realize that they
are wrong; they make that decision from a position of ignorance - and
they realize it themselves as soon as they begin to read.
Whether it is cars or computers, your experience is ALWAYS enhanced when
you KNOW more about it, how it operates, and why it does the things it does.
And this has never been more true than in the case of computer hardware
and software. Those who never progress beyond a "point-and-click" mode
of interaction with computers are the modern equivalent of illiterates.
BTW - this message written in a w95 DOS box...
- John T.
- John T.
-- Arachne V1.5a;alpha, NON-COMMERCIAL copy, http://home.arachne.cz/
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