the non-computerate

Mayayana wrote (in a thread in the '7 'group that started out about
Adobe):

I think that when you get adept with computers
it's easy to forget how much work that took. It
took me months to get the hang of image editing.
(That was the original thread subject. This is wider.)
Now it seems simple, but for someone new it's
dozens of menu items that are not self-explanatory.
For people who aren't linear thinkers and don't
have a touch of OCD, doing anything on a computer
is pure tedium. They don't want to know any more
than they have to.

I think we all need to be reminded of that from time to time: that there
are people who're not interested in computing any more than necessary -
or, within computing, aren't interested in some aspect more than they
need to be: image editing, word processing, programming (including web,
script, and other things, not just C and the like).

What we need to remember is *these people are not thick*: they're just
not _interested_, either in computing as a whole, or the specific aspect
we are. I see the same attitude in myself towards food preparation: I
_know_ I could save money, be healthier, and have extra wonderful
experiences if I were to just ... - I'm just _not interested_, and will
never be. Mayayana's last sentence, though only 11 words, is a big one.

The same probably applies to many if not all aspects of life: car
maintenance; gardening; DIY generally; language(s); grammar. We could
probably all save money, avoid being ripped off, and so on by learning
more about many things. But we _choose_ not to. And trying, beyond a
point, to interest us, is just likely to make us grumpy - because we
know we are in the wrong (though that's arguable), and someone who
"knows" they are in the wrong is one of the grumpiest.

I say trying _beyond a point_ is unproductive: of course, it is
intensely rewarding when someone "sees the light", as in "now I see what
you're getting at" - which is why we all try (-:. But it's best to be
able to see when to give up! (And I'm probably as bad as any, at not
seeing.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Eve had an Apple, Adam had a Wang...