tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2357567517901566907.post634014293103039659..comments2023-07-20T01:28:37.674-07:00Comments on Errors Explored and Revealed: Digitally Dumbed Down While Ascending the Tower of Babelamber ladeirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01898153440272630339noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2357567517901566907.post-7791177060702950862011-02-09T14:03:10.993-08:002011-02-09T14:03:10.993-08:00I just saw a rerun of the PBS special,
"Digit...I just saw a rerun of the PBS special,<br />"Digital Nation". One young, self-satisfied<br />turk know-it-all proclaims (with all the authority of certain young folk) that all<br />print media will be extinct in ten years.<br />He's very likely wrong, because print allows<br />for no concerns about server shutdowns, batteries and laptops gone dead, stolen, etc.<br />Ya don't need any extra energy to read print,<br />it's a done deal, often more portable and expendable (other copies available) than expensive electronics. <br /><br />But these embarrassing pronouncements have<br />been uttered before; here are only two for darkly delightful delectation:<br /><br />(1) "Too cheap to meter". That prediction was about nuclear power providing electricity almost free to America --by golly, why even <br />bother to chart (via meters) the cost? When I<br />look at my ComEd bill I don't find anything<br />"free" there--"smart" meters aside. No one else does either. <br /><br />(2) "With computers we'll become a paperless<br />society." This is the forerunner of the young<br />turk I mentioned earlier, many years before the internet. This pronouncement was of course proven as equally laughable as that in (1). Have printer sales fallen off sharply compared to PCs, Macs and laptops? I'll hazard a "no".<br /><br />Be careful what you predict, it could come back to haunt you.amber ladeirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01898153440272630339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2357567517901566907.post-11835733429720822692010-10-17T23:36:37.062-07:002010-10-17T23:36:37.062-07:00We don't disagree, I see now. Both of us don&#...We don't disagree, I see now. Both of us don't<br />seem to find all that many very truly talented<br />humans around the landscape. I just reserve the<br />term multitasking for a very high level of action, something extraordinary, that's all. Which logically leads to agility, skills, etc., being regarded as rare, not common.amber ladeirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01898153440272630339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2357567517901566907.post-4903394988672890122010-10-16T13:41:13.647-07:002010-10-16T13:41:13.647-07:00Rubbing your belly while patting your head is a mu...Rubbing your belly while patting your head is a multitask. Piano is a bi-lateral instrument that requires multitasking skills.<br /><br />The old saw about walking and chewing gum correctly identifies the limitations some face.<br /><br />Parenting is all about acquiring skills needed to handle thinking for two or more while dealing with a variety of tasks. Anticipating and getting ahead of a inquisitive child is masters level coursework.<br />Multiple children should get you a PhD...<br />IF you can master the necessary skills, without resorting to restraints or constant threat of bodily harm, you're mostly qualified to handle any challenge.<br /><br />Interacting with a population at-large is some serious multitasking. Being able to process, identify, sort and prioritize obstacles, dangers and threats while also recognizing assets along the way is called "street smarts". <br /><br />I think any disagreement between us arises from you giving people agility, talents and skills they've neither demonstrated nor exercised. While I readily accept that a certain percentage operate barely above autonomic.<br /><br />Some of those even get elected to office.Rehctawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07995444077162800445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2357567517901566907.post-3436433552483904132010-10-16T08:13:31.285-07:002010-10-16T08:13:31.285-07:00Thanks, Watcher, for your response. I'm lookin...Thanks, Watcher, for your response. I'm looking<br />forward to our meet up on the 23rd. It's great that Steve and Gloria can make it. <br /><br />You and I disagree a bit with respect to multitasking, probably because I narrowly define it. I once jammed along with WFMT,<br />singing and dancing while playing on my<br />MIDI-ized keyboard, but here my two hands<br />were only occupied by the one task. So some would say I multitasked that day, but I wouldn't. Probably too, what some are describing are quickly sequential actions;<br />lacking simultaneity, this is also not<br />multitasking. (Whoever carries out two<br />different actions with their two hands <br />simultaneously IS multitasking, in my view.) <br /><br />I must agree with you that some are more agile and talented than others, we see<br />that everyday.<br /><br />Now I'm going over to your blog. <br />Have a great weekend, you and yours!amber ladeirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01898153440272630339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2357567517901566907.post-9273334229878551272010-10-14T11:17:28.949-07:002010-10-14T11:17:28.949-07:00Multi-tasking is a talent. Just as it can be natur...Multi-tasking is a talent. Just as it can be natural for some to sing or play a musical instrument there are people for whom handling multiple tasks comes easy. Where humans differ is in competency. Or more accurately, their own confidence in their own competencies. <br /><br />To some degree multi-tasking is a requirement, for everybody, in everyday life. Some people just suck at it. There are many who are challenged holding a single task-oriented thought or concept. Their efforts can cause more work, confusion, problems etc. for everyone around them.<br />But at the end of their day, they smile contentedly as if to say "Hey, That was easy. I just did a bad job.".<br /><br />Consider the drivers you encounter each and every day. Talk about being "suddenly faced with evidence of their less than-accomplished brilliance"! For some, just turning the engine over over-taxes their abilities. Then they join YOU on the road.<br /><br />Just another task added to your own list of things to track. Over time you develop a sense about who and what is deserving of a wide-berth while they blunder on like Mr. Magoo; oblivious.<br /><br />I can't knock it though. Bill Engvall has made a nice living off the phenomena.<br /><br />Here's your sign!Rehctawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07995444077162800445noreply@blogger.com