The Glade 4.0

We studied that hellish book in depth in grade 10.

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

You two are something else.

And you're a civil engineer ...

_________________

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

At least I'm predictable, I guess. Have a sore spot for that kind of stuff.

That's because you're a civil engineer ...

_________________

Here I was figuring it was just because he was civil.

What fun would the world be, if everyone was a genius? Then people wouldn't feel better because they know more than others.

_________________


Dream as if you'll live forever...
...Live as if you'll die tomorrow

Vivere Senza Rimpianti

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

Very true, we might all be out of a job if everyone knew everything about everything. That's why I need an IT guy, because I'm challenged I'm that area.

_________________


Dream as if you'll live forever...
...Live as if you'll die tomorrow

Vivere Senza Rimpianti

I had to teach my roommate how to do copy+paste the other day.

I had to show an IT girl how to put her truck in 4WD the other day; I had to show an IT guy where the USB port was on the back of the office desktop.

_________________
"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

I had to put a bandaid on someone the other day.

_________________


Dream as if you'll live forever...
...Live as if you'll die tomorrow

Vivere Senza Rimpianti

How new was she to her car? I had to teach my brother how to defrost the windshield the other day. Also I don't understand how the IT guy didn't know that.

It's interesting how those in the IT field view ability to be comfortable and experienced with the use of a computer as measure of intelligence.

It's understandable, I suppose. I cringe when people ask me "stupid" math, science, history or geography questions. Second nature to me, so it should be for everyone else.

Still, it's never intelligent to underestimate people based on a brief or narrowly focused encounter.

I've found I almost never overestimate people, but frequently underestimate them. Especially my 2-year old son. He's learning so fast he's constantly astounding me.

Being comfortable and experienced in the performance of your occupation after several years doing the job is most certainly a measure of intelligence. If using a computer is a requirement of our job, it would behoove you to learn to use one at least at a basic competence level. Failing to do so is at best a measure of idiocy. (At worst, its a measure of laziness or irresponsibility.) What's amazing is how many people remain inexperienced at using a computer after a decade of using one.

Ever notice most IT departments have absolutely zero responsibility to provide "how-to" support? If they do it at all, it's either (1) to prove to you there's no technical problem, or (2) because they are being nice. This is because they are there to fix things that are broken, not to show you how to use the computer. You got hired for the job, you're already supposed to know how (or your manager is supposed to get you trained.)

It's the difference between knowing how to drive a car, and knowing how to fix a car. The users are drivers. Don't ask your IT department how to make a left turn. They are not driving instructors, they are mechanics.

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

What do you consider a good measure of intelligence?

_________________


Dream as if you'll live forever...
...Live as if you'll die tomorrow

Vivere Senza Rimpianti

Further on the competence and experience with computers thing, it comes across in other ways too.

If the helpdesk gets a call from someone who wants help making a complex excel spreadsheet, they tell them to go get stuffed. If they don't, and instead decide to escalate it to me, I first tell the client I can't help with that, then I tell the helpdesk to go get stuffed.

Why?

Because not only is showing the users how to use Excel not part of my job, but using Excel is also not part of my job. I haven't used Excel for anything more complicated than making a D&D map grid. I don't know how to do it. And since it's not part of my job, I do't want to know how to do it. I have no use for it, and it doesn't interest me.

I've had users make an issue of this. Then they are stupid, not for their inability to make their spreadsheet, but because they are insisting on asking their mechanic to perform surgery. It has nothing to do with my job, so bugger the hell off with it.

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

I judge people's intelligence by their ability to think critically. This can be tested conversationally, or by watching someone do their job in your workplace. It's almost never a quick process, and I try not to label someone smart or otherwise without multiple encounters. If I can't meet someone in person (you folk), then I try not to even comment on intelligence since my interaction with them is limited.

college education is quite different here (science degree, never had to touch anything english related). That being said, I would use maybe 20% of what I learnt, and most of those in the "oh ya, I learnt that in school" moments.

That being said, if I chose to persue a masters degree or research job some day, it would probably be useful. Out in the commercial world, text books are not as user friendly as experience.

Ugh. Yes.

You need "some new accounting software installed" for your classroom? Fine. Oh, it's Microsoft Dynamics: GP? And you want it next week? **** you, you realize this means I have to deploy an entirely new server because we're not letting your students access the SQL servers that run important and sensitive data, right? Okay, I busted *** and got it working.

What do you mean, why isn't the database schema set up? It's because I don't know the first damn thing about accounting; you run through the wizard and tell it how to define the columns and what formats you want this **** in. It walks you through it! And, wait, didn't you get this software because you went off to some wonderful conference where they told you how wonderful it is, and how to teach it? Didn't they bother teaching you how to use the program!?

_________________
"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Personally I think the easing of difficulty comes from the fact that college attendance used to be almost a dynasty - if your parents went to college, so did you, if your parents didn't, then you didn't. We decided we didn't like that and the only real way around it is to make college easier. The real issue is if college were actually "hard" then it would be virtually impossible for someone to successfully attend college and graduate without their parents paying for it. Even if you get a full ride you still have to pay for things like books and support yourself and that means you have to work. If college required, say, 3 hours of outside study per week per credit hour for the average person, then you'd never be able to hold down a full time job and go to college. 15 credit hours would be 60 hours per week plus 50 hours per week working.....add in 10 hours for commuting and feeding yourself and you're already at 120 hours per week, you don't have enough time to sleep let alone do anything else. How are you going to hack that for four years? You'll burn out way before that. College would be reserved for only the upper middle class and rich.

I will say this.... I know nothing about vehicles. I do not **** care one god damned bit about how it works. There are these guys and gals who get paid well to do that ****. They are called Automotive Technicians (mechanics). And by the same token, I understand completely when a person who is capable of dismantling my car and putting it back together (and probably better running then it started) while drunk, and half asleep after suffering from an epileptic seizure cannot figure out how to check his Hard Drive cables to make sure they are plugged in. That is my job, I am a screwdriver monkey. I am happy with getting inside of a computer tower and fixing it.

In fact, I consider it professional courtesy: he does not do my job, and I will not do his.

As far as the OP...

It may be a waste of time for some people, but I genuinely feel it is helping me. It may not be making me less of a dickhead to others, it may not even be making any noticable difference to anyone here on the Glade, but I can tell the difference.

I was a slacker, stoner, **** throughout most of my youth... my teens are still hazy, there was too much booze, pot, LSD, Meth and other **** for me to be a worthwhile human being. Because of that I did not develop dick for study habits.

So for a lot fo the things I am going over through my college courses, there has been a lot of learning, yes things I probably should have learned in High school. but I squandered my youth, and now I am putting myself into debt to get to not be a dumbass anymore. And I am now, that I am technically (credit wise) in my Junior Year of college: I am really getting a worthwhile education. I do sincerely believe now; however, that an adult values from the education more than a teenager and works harder to get it.

_________________
Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

I'm frequently asked to do tech support by friends and relatives...does that qualify me as an 'IT guy'?