Re: They don't need our stinkin' manuals??

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>]

John Fleming wrote:
>
> 
> When parents run into problems with the computer, who is it they
> usually ask?  The kids.
> 

You know, the myth of wiz-kids is widespread in our culture, but I
don't believe it.

In the course of my present jobs, I work with a number of
programmers. The 18 to 25 year olds I work with are very sharp, no
question. One or two have some very impressive accomplishments for
any age. 

However, I also work with programmers who have been twenty years at
their craft and even thirty years. Believing their own press, the
younger ones sometimes sneer at them as old farts and has-beens, but
these attitudes only last as long as they see their work. In
virtually every circumstance, the older the programmer, the faster
they work and the more bug-free the results. Maybe the wiz kids will
be as good in another twenty years, but they may have simply reached
their full potential earlier.

I see no reason to think that non-programmers are any different.
True, growing up with technologies gives you some advantages. But
experience is an advantage, too, and one that the young can't hope
to match. And, these days, experience should include some knowledge
of how to deal with change and be flexible.

And should any middle-aged people out there still feel intimidated
by the young, I leave you with a quote from Harlan Ellison's review
of a video game. Anticipating comments that a 14 year old could
probably learn the game better than he could, he wrote, "So what? A
14 year old can't paint the Sistine Chapel or f*** with any degree
of expertise."

OK, I'll climb off the soap box.

-- 
Bruce Byfield, Outlaw Communications
Contributing Editor, Maximum Linux
604.421.7189 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com

"The Queen was in her chamber, a-combing of her hair,
There came Queen Mary's spirit and It stood behind her chair,
Singing, 'Backward and forward and sideways may you pass,
But I will stand behind you till you face the looking-glass.'"
- Rudyard Kipling, "The Looking-Glass"

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