U23405@UICVM.BITNET (Michael Steiner) (09/30/88)
I think that computers can easily help or harm people depending on how they are used. One of the helpful aspects of computer use is that they can enable us to solve problems faster and/or more efficiently. One of the harmful aspects of computers is that people often believe that computers are "intelligent" and don't question them. One of the most horrible (not the best choice of a word, I agree) uses of a computer I have seen is an automated time-clock. All the data (including employees' names) had to be entered as a series of numbers, and there were only numerical prompts. Most of the documentation that came with the machine was simply lists of code numbers to be entered for each function, along with abstract descriptions of each function. Not only do I object to such un-user-friendly and constraining software(/hardware), but also to the concept that a worker's productivity can be measured by how much time he spends working. (This is ridiculous because it doesn't take into account the speed at which someone is working, and discourages hard (faster) work.) Many times I have seen software that was so poorly designed that I would have nothing to do with it. I used to read books about the merits of structured programming, and I thought "Most people in computer work must have read these, and since these tips are obviously helpful, they should be using them." However, since then I have noticed that many people in computer fields don't even see the benefits of these structured techniques. Concerning education about computers, I believe that computer classes should be a required _supplement_ to most curricula. People should be required to take a couple of "computer classes", but the emphasis should be on problem solving, algorithms, and warnings (like "don't let computers intimidate you"), instead of strictly on learning a programming language and how to operate a certain computer. In these classes, an introduction to Pascal (or C; I'm a C programmer) would be useful, but shouldn't be emphasized too much. In these classes, emphasis should also be put on learning a little bit about operating systems and computer architecture (simple stuff, like disks, CPUs, memory, common errors, file editing). This was my first contribution to The Computers and Society Digest, so please don't flame me too much if you disagree with my views. Any replies, comments are appreciated. Michael Steiner