Computer Savvy

[Otis_Kat]

I know a lot about computers, but not enough to solve major problems or make a career out of it. I don't know jack shit about programming.

Does this make me worthless?

No, just because I have different interests and skills that don't involve computer programming and whatnot does not mean I am stupid or worthless.

I'd like to see the people who rag on me and others completely design and wire the electrical system of a house, without burning it down and obeying all national regulations. And am I stupid because of the computer issue? The weekly engineering colleges asking me to apply and the full schooler ship offered don't seem to think so.

http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_nono.gif

[Shadowpawn]

Knowing about programming doesn't make computer savvy actually. That term varies depending on the context. The simple act of knowing how to naviagte the web and use computer applications is enough to make one computer savvy (however that definition is changing now that most twentysomethings were the kids coming up with computers...so computer savvy would be more technical now.)

I think being computer savvy should detail having a board knowledge of how the computer actually works, starting from it's "thought" process, it's mode of communication and various modules that make up thing you take for granted every day. That is...what I think computer savvy SHOULD be.


However, the afore paragraph had NOTHING to do with your rant so I'll just say this. Being an electrician makes you more computer savvy that you think. Your knowledge of circuits could come in handy when designing the hardware of a computer. To answer your question...no...you aren't dumb so stop getting bent out of shape about what others say.

[Otis_Kat]

I know people say not to get upset about what others think, but when you have to deal with those people as part of a team and in school/work, what they think of you does have some importance.

I just needed to blow some steam by making that post.

[Shadowpawn]

Well, when your consistently in an environment that's counterproductive to your ego, it would seem important then. If you want you could always tell them their field of study is highly unstable and prone to outsourcing. If they are students this will scare them shitless. Just pull some random facts and statistics out of the blue to give it an air of authority.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Shadowpawn on 2007-09-08 20:24 ]</font>

[Uncle_bob]

Savvy is a dumb word.

[KodiaX987]

Programmer does not equal knowing much about computers.

If you can keep a computer alive and well and make it work nicely according to global standards, then congratulations: you're pretty damn good at using a computer.

If you can program things, then nice work: you can make programs.

But, those two abilities don't depend on each other.

It used to happen often, back in the olden days, that some people in a company would need a custom-made software for a small task. Those guys weren't real programmers; they were more like handymen. They could punch a bit of code, but not much. But as time went on, the small software got bigger and bigger, and the handymen tried to code and ended up with a big bloated monster riddled with bugs. A frightening amount of programs are on the market, coded that way. I get first-hand experience with those at work, since the software we use for engineering and for the drilling machine are both full of bugs that make no sense whatsoever. Think no two printed page is the same in a multiple job. Or, crash to desktop completely at random, even when the program is idle.

[Blitzkommando]

Just because you can write doesn't mean you know how to write. That's how programming compares to being 'savvy' with computers. Just knowing how to write a program doesn't mean you know how to fix the computer or build a computer. My strength isn't in programming either. I can tell if something isn't running correctly, but I have no way of correcting it myself. And I'm okay with that. My interest in computers is more the hardware and design side. If you give me the parts I can build you an excellent computer (and network if need be). What I can't do is create a program to manage your computer or network.

It's no different than not having a background in calculus but going in to learn BASIC or FORTRAN or COBOL. Do you need to know calculus to do well with those? Not at all. Could it help? Possibly.

You're simply good at a different part of computer technology. Nothing wrong with that.