bard@THEORY.LCS.MIT.EDU (Bard Bloom) (04/30/87)
Mark Edwards writes, in part: > The reason I did get zapped was I was not careful. I was more careful > thereafter. Things like taking the plug from the wall before I put my > fingers in a box were also second nature because I was zapped. True enough, but I think it misses the point. The kind of fear the original poster was talking about was a groundless one, not based on experience. More importantly, that kind of fear keeps novices from doing anything at all. How often have you, whoever you may be, had to assure someone that moving the cursor around in the editor was safe? This is quite different from an experienced person's fear, which is localized and constructive and does not interfere with doing things. "Caution" might be a better word than "fear". The analogy with literacy might work here, too: a good reader is cautious about believing things she reads; a poor reader may be afraid to read at all. -- Bard