[geeks] modern education?

[Greg A. Woods]

[ On Monday, December 17, 2001 at 23:02:13 (+0000), David Cantrell wrote: ]
> Subject: Re: [geeks] Software Bloat
>
> TBH, I don't think that the average person *can* learn much about computers.
> Just like the average person is not capable of painting great works of art.
> They're too complex.  I doubt it's possible to teach the ability to examine
> problems and create solutions, and to pull together all the disparate bits
> of knowledge and all the seperate skills that they possess into a functioning
> whole.  And I don't really care that most people will never be able to
> wax lyrical about microprocessor architectures or the comparitive merits of
> different programming languages.  I have skills they need, they have skills
> I need.  No problem.  Those people fix cars, keep the trains running,
> cook exquisite meals, and make large quantities of beer for me.

My problem is I think I can do anything (anything that doesn't involve
highly trained motor skills, that is, as I lost out in that department)
-- and if I don't know how to do it then I can bloody well learn how in
no time flat.  For some unknown reason I have the same expectations of
almost everyone else with more than two neurons in their skulls.  As a
result I have a hard time delegating things to other people (who at the
same time I don't trust to do the job "properly" :-).  I'm only slowly
beginning to realize that it's not worth my time to try and do many
things as not only would I take longer to do as good a job as an expert
in that job would, but I've got better things to do!  ;-)

I don't know how true it is any more (or really how true it was then),
but when I went to highschool in Saskatchewan private schools were
pretty much unheard of (except for what we now call "developmentally
challenged" kids, and some private French-language schools).  The public
school system was just too damn good for private enterprise to compete
against.  My 81% average (3.2 GPA) high school marks were just barely
good enough to get me into the best Saskatchewan university, but were
about 15% better than was necessary anywhere else in Canada at the time,
even at the better universities.

-- 
								Greg A. Woods

+1 416 218-0098;  <gwoods at acm.org>;  <g.a.woods at ieee.org>;  <woods at robohack.ca>
Planix, Inc. <woods at planix.com>; VE3TCP; Secrets of the Weird <woods at weird.com>