Took a Pascal computer language class in '79. Yeah, punch cards. Hated it. Did not graduate college, was unsure what I wanted to do.
I had three years of drafting in high school. Ended up working for a couple of different companies. Pen on mylar, and pencil on paper.
In the late 80’s, GIS (Geographic Information Systems) exploded onto the scene. Wasn’t called GIS back then though. Was called AM/FM. Automated Mapping and Facilities Management. All my drafting experience had been in mapping. That and some computer experience made me a good fit.
I’m still in GIS.
Regarding the OP, I certainly have some blind spots when it comes to computers. I’m an admin on a few servers, and manage them, but don’t do any network stuff. Never used any Apple products.
Don’t know much about cell phone tech either. I did write an app for my android a few years ago just to see what it was all about. I mostly just use the phone for calls and texts and reading.
Though I did have a project in the early 90’s to map out tower locations with GIS. There was no good software to do that at the time. I actually had to use a facilities management application that was designed to map out the location of wires and HVAC in buildings. I managed to kludge it together, it was really more of a schematic than a map. it actually worked well. I hadn’t a clue what I was doing except that the DB had to be right and everything had to connect together.
Also mapped landline phone networks in GIS. Digitizing non-scaled paper maps into a to scaled GIS mapping system. That was interesting. Digital base maps at the time sucked.
Now work for County Gov. Parcel mapping and spatial analysis. And of course internet presence. It’s been quit a trip.
Based on movies such as Free Guy (which I liked btw), there are a LOT of folks who don’t understand the technology that impacts their lives, and they aren’t limited to RW nuts or old people. Based on the pushback against nuclear energy, vaccine, and many other technologies, I’d have to say that some level of anti-technology pushback is pretty broadly based and crosses political, social, economic, and age groups.
I know this is a rant directed mainly at right-wingers and conservatives, but technology blindspots really are in a lot of people, and young people who grew up with technology aren’t immune…nor do they magically understand the technology they use. They know how to USE it, in most cases, but they don’t really understand it or how it works.
Even someone who has been doing technology since I was in my 20s (i.e. I’ve been in IT for over 40 years now…long before it was even called 'IT") has blind spots. I had to get folks on this board to show me how to embed a video in a post and copy images in.
Yeah XT. Me too. Been in IT for 35 years, but needed a hand making a remote connection to my mom’s computer. I got help here on the SDMB (you guys are great by the way)
It is hard to keep up. You really can’t know everything.
And some things you just have to let slide.
I used to do all of my car repair work. Rebuild carbs and transmissions, whatever. Work on a new car? Ha, haahahahahah.
Yeah, for me, it was originally Data Processing. This changed to Information Services, which morphed into Information Technology. IT seems to have stuck.
For a lot of right wingers, science is liberal black magic. It’s why they were hostile to the vaccine and basic precautionary steps like mask wearing; science is a trick liberals use to manipulate their world.
“Witches are burned, but wood is also burned, and wood floats, but ducks also float, so, if someone weighs the same as a duck, they’re made of wood, therefore, they are a witch .” - Monte Python and the Holy Grail if anyone needs a reference.
Yeah, it’s unbelievable how aggressively hostile they are to science and learning at precisely the moment in history when nations need to be smart, innovative and literate in science to secure their future and the future of the planet.
Guilty as charged.
In my defense, when I was a kid only Dick Tracy could communicate remotely by speaking into his watch (even Don Adams had to use a whole shoe!). Just being able to call from a remote location is magical enough for me-- I don’t need much beyond that. Of course, I do value texts also. If someone is sending me an address or a name or directions or something like that I prefer to receive a text I can refer back to in the future. To that end, I delete texts about twice a week to make room so I can receive more texts. It has been a year since I was below 90% of capacity and several years since I was below 80% capacity for texts. For me to read or send an e-mail, I have to drive home, fire up the computer, wait for it to achieve life, then use one of nine websites I use.
By comparison, I am quite advanced. My former in-laws have never used an ATM; they wait for the bank to open and go cash a check! They are fine with credit cards, but ATM cards are very suspicious to them. (I vaguely remember being mildly uncomfortable myself when I first got one of those about thirty-five years ago.)
Years ago some comedian said the “phone” function was just the least used app on his phone.
Back in the early eighties when ATMs were just coming online my girlfriend and I were going on a date to San Francisco one Sunday morning. Hardly any merchants accepted them yet so she wanted to draw some cash from her bank. As we were tooling up El Camino we passed a branch and – Oh look! There’s an ATM right out front.
We stopped and the installation was so new, cement dust was still on the sidewalk from sawing through the wall. She inserted her card to ask for $40 and the machine spit out two dollar-size pieces of paper that said, Wasn’t that easy? Now go back inside and apply for a real ATM card.
“Ahhh! I hope that didn’t hit my account!” She called on Monday (no online banking yet) and they hadn’t.
Back in the day, you had to take your check into the bank to deposit. Then you could use conveniently placed ATMs to deposit your checks. Now, you open your banking app and deposit it from your couch.
Unless you are an old person I’m getting to be that definition but I still like the convenience of depositing a check with my phone. Not that we get many checks any longer.
Years ago, a Doper posted something to the effect about phones and texts:
“All the science fiction writers assumed we would all want our own personal video communicators. Turns out, we all really wanted our own personal telegram systems.”
And it’s not even clear if many olduns know it. There is a surprising diversity of opinion over the proper spelling, and even some debate about the proper pronunciation.
Based on the pushback against nuclear energy, vaccine, and many other technologies, I’d have to say that some level of anti-technology pushback is pretty broadly based and crosses political, social, economic, and age groups.
I’m getting to be that definition but I still like the convenience of depositing a check with my phone. Not that we get many checks any longer.