COMPUTING WITH CLASS
ATTITUDINAL COMPUTING
ne of the worst con-
demnations a teacher
could hurl at me as a
student was this:
“You've got a bad arti-
tude” or “You've got a
real attitude prob-
lem.” Today that as
sault has been ab-
breviated to simply,
“You're copping an
attitude.”
I never liked people who used these
phrases. Maybe it's because the charge
wis too vague. Did they dislike mv at:
tude because it differed from theirs, or
was it intrinsically misguided or illogical?
Had they said, “You're approaching this
situation in a way that will not produce
the results you want,” I might have paid
more attention. Or had thev said, “With
vour present point of view, it will be diffi:
cult for you to see the Big Picture,” 1
might at least have wondered what they
thought the Big Picture was.
So if you're intimidated by computers,
I'm not going to tell you, “You've got a
bad attitude.” Rather, ll use one of the
longer phrases above and then uy ww
explain myself (something my teachers
never got around to doing).
In order to succeed with computers
vou need to approach them with a certain
smugness, believing that you're smarter
than they are. They mav be a whole lot
faster and a bit more accurate, but never
forget— they have the 1Q of a carrot.
In fact, most of your difficulty in relat
ing to computers will result precisely
from the fact that they are dumber than
vou are. They have a much smaller
vocabulary. They are incredibly limited in
their ability to understand what vou try to
wll them. Your biggest frustration will
result from learning to communicate in
computer baby talk.
How do vou talk to a toddler? To
achieve anv success ac all, you'll need to
use one swlable words spoken slowly
and succinctly in short sentences. If vou
sav, "I want this room clean by the time |
getback.” and then walk awav. vou'd bet-
ter check vour health insurance before
vou cross the room again
A more successful approach might be
to say, "Pick up vour green ball © Then
watch to see whether this simple com:
mand is understood before vou sav.
"Now, put it in your toy box over there”
as you point in the general direction of
the box. Use the same technique for ralk-
ing to vour computer.
As fundamentalists, we are very well
versed in the concept and practice of awe.
[Us appropriate to have a healthy respect
for the wonder and the power of the
Deity. However, the same attitude toward
computers results in wasted energy and
misguided effort. Computers are too
dumb to know or care whether you stand
in awe of their vast accomplishments and
power. So don't be intimidated by such
statements as, “This computer can do in
one and a half seconds what it would take
30 men 20 vears to do.”
Viewing a computer in this way places
a barrier between vou and the computer.
[Us far better to think, “If I whisper the
right nothings into its electronic ear this
computer can do for me in the next
second and a half what I would have to
pay 30 men to do over the next 20 vears.”
Think of the computer as an extension of
vourself—a willing worker, a happy ser
vant, a genie waiting to do vour every
bidding,
Finally (and this is really giving the
computer the benefit of the doubt) think
of the computer as wanting to do what
vou ask. It's like a game show where
behind one of the doors waits wealth,
power, and fame. The only penalty for
opening the wrong door is that for the
moment you stay poor, powerless, and
obscure. The way to open doors is to
learn computer baby talk.
Think of the computer as a powerful
baby that can make you powerful too if
you're willing to get down on your hands
and knees and learn to talk on its level.
Probably a more appropriate analogy is
that of a baby the size of King Kong, If it
moves the wrong way it can knock over
buildings. But since most of the buildings
are. made of paper, your damage is
limited to how many boxes of continuous
form paper you have and the condition of
vour ribbon.
The computer will listen to you and try
to do what you ask. It wants to be your
friend. Who was it that said, “To have
friends, one must show himself friendly”?
Little did they know they were teaching
the way to thwart a bad attitude toward
computers.— Dave Ruskjer, a
Dave Ruskjer is President of Touch Talk
Technologies, Mayo, Maryland.
ADVENTIST EDUCATION » FEBRUARY - MARCH 1989 41