Is it just me, or is America getting dumber every day? Some say America has been dumb for a long time and I'm finally realizing it. I personally think that there's just way too much "stuff" out there that requires common sense to own.
Think back 30 or so years. Everything was easy to operate thus giving the illusion that people were non-stupid. Few people owned anything more complicated that a blender and no one owned a computer. It takes a very minimal amount of common sense to operate a blender. Chances are that if you don’t have enough common sense to own a blender you won’t live to be 10. Even 15 years ago only a few people owned computers. It would cost you a fortune and you had to know what the hell you were doing. In fact, I think it all comes down to that. People not knowing what the hell they’re doing.
In think it’s OK to own something and not know exactly how it works. I have tons of things that I use on a daily basis and still don’t know (or really care) how they work. My TV, my VCR, my cat, my car, my microwave oven, and my air conditioner all fir into this category. Not coincidentally, all of these things also fall into the category "shit I don’t try to fix when it’s broken".
Let me use an example. I know shit about cars. I’m lucky if can change my oil without hurting myself or the person helping me change my oil. I’m OK with the fact I know shit about cars. I have enough common sense to operate a car, but the fact remains I know shit about cars. What I want to stress here is that I know that I know shit about cars. By that logic, I will not attempt to install a car stereo in my car. I will not attempt to put a new engine in my car. If my car is doing something funny, unless the problem is painfully obvious (e.g.: car is out of gas, car is on fire, car isn’t where I parked it last, etc…) I will either seek the guidance of someone who I know is good with cars or have it professionally fixed. Why? Because If I try to fix it, I won’t know what the hell I’m doing, thus making me a stupid person. In addition to being stupid, I’ll probably kill my car and some innocent bystanders in the process.
Notice above how I said, "someone who I know is good with cars." I know two people who are good with cars and about a dozen or so who think they are good with cars. Quite shocking, those dozen people also seem to think they are well versed in all sorts of other subjects they don’t know shit about.
I read in an article that said in a couple of years people won’t be buying computers anymore, they’ll be buying two year ISP contracts and getting a machine for free, much like cellular phones. This is fucking scary. I stand firmly by my opinion that there are many people out there who lack the common sense required to own a computer. The only way these people will be able to own a computer without destroying it is for them to own a computer that punishes you when you do something bad. I don’t care if it punches you, slaps your wrists, or kick you in the nuts, the computer has to find a way to tell the user that what they just did was indeed bad in terms that the average user will understand. Obviously the negative reinforcement they employ now isn’t strong enough. What exactly happens when someone is doing something they shouldn’t be? Let’s look at a few scenarios.
Case 1: A person tries to delete a file that is vital to their computer’s well being in an attempt to free up disk space.
Computer’s reaction: Makes a dinging noise and says "are you sure"?
End result: They end up taking the computer into me because they were fucking with shit they didn’t understand.
Case 2: An inexperienced person tries to install a hard drive into their computer.
Computer’s reaction: just sits there and takes the punishment.
End result: They end up taking the computer to me because they were fucking with shit they didn’t understand.
Case 3: A person gets an error message they don’t understand and takes the computer to their friend who says that he knows how to fix it.
Computer’s reaction: Stops working completely when the friend, attempting to remove the case, accidentally unscrews the power supply and it falls, shattering the video card, or when the friend spills his beer on the motherboard, whichever comes first.
End result: I think were starting to see a pattern emerge here.
Now if I built computers, here’s what would happen
Case 1: A person tries to delete a file that is vital to their computer’s well being in an attempt to free up disk space.
Computer’s reaction: The first time it happens the computer beats the user’s nose with a rolled up newspaper and says in a strong tone "No! Bad!" The second time the computer slaps the ignorant user firmly and restates it’s previous warning. The third time sadly, the user is shot in the temple and is left to bleed, his corpse a grim reminder to all the other users.
End result: I don’t have to deal with it and the gene pool improves.
Case 2: An inexperienced person tries to install a hard drive into their computer.
Computer’s reaction: The first time it happens the computer screams in pain and shoots blood from the floppy drive as soon as the case is removed. If the user if brave enough to try it again, the computer does the same thing except it bleeds cool acid blood like in Alien. If the user still doesn’t get the message and is still alive from the acid attack the computer proceeds to lay eggs inside the unfortunate user’s stomach. The eggs mature within two weeks and then burst through the user’s stomach as full fledged baby computers, killing the victim instantly.
End result: I don’t have to deal with it and the circle of life is completed.
Case 3: A person gets an error message they don’t understand and takes the computer to their friend who says that he knows how to fix it.
Computer’s reaction: It soon as the computer’s "neighborhood computer moron" sensors go off it immediately springs into combat shooting beams of anti-matter at the offender. Once he has been slain, the computer proceeds to rip his body limb from limb. The computer then sends each major body part to a different country, with the brain and heart being cremated first. This prevents the self-proclaimed moron from causing any more damage and also prevents the moron from regenerating.
End result: I don’t have to deal with it and the world becomes a little bit better for everyone.