[WEB4LIB] RE: of mouse balls and such

[Paul H. Gray]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: web4lib at webjunction.org
> [mailto:web4lib at webjunction.org]On Behalf Of Jennie McKee
> Sent: Monday, January 03, 2000 3:31 PM
> To: Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: [WEB4LIB] RE: of mouse balls and such
> . . .
> Computers are tools and using tools is an acquired skill . . .

- BINGO -
I couldn't read this without remembering my first efforts at using a hammer.

Not being able to simply walk up to a tool and immediately be able to use it
with skill is NOTHING to be ashamed of or embarrased about -
NOR does knowing how to use a tool well make anyone superior
(I dislike the 'mainframe mindset' referred to in a previous posting as much
as anyone)
NOR does the fact that everyone in the world cannot walk up to a tool and
immediately use it with skill mean that the designer of that tool was
somehow negligent or thoughtless.

It simply means that there is a new skill or concept that a person needs to
learn.  Somewhere I got the idea that was what schools (of which many of our
libraries are a part) were all about.

On a tangent -- How can we expect to seamlessly interact with machines --
when we have trouble communicating with PEOPLE.

I wish I had a dollar for every time I have stood under a sign reading in
14" tall letters COPIERS and had to bite my tongue when someone stood FACING
THAT SIGN -- and asked me ---
Where are the copiers?