# Too old, so I'll just stand in the dirt with a stick **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 27, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557 "2011-12-27T20:08:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/61 "2012-01-01T05:04:59Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > …OK, now that is just weird. Why is this person even pursuing a CS degree? I don’t get it… It’s the latest techno babble schools are selling. I know of another person who has worked with computers, Data Processing and the like, all their life…they can’t use email, web browsers, look up anything on the web or even simple point and click games without assistance. (sans solitaire) But, they can sure print the hell out of a document from Word or Excel…as long as the printer has paper in it. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/62 "2012-01-02T20:38:18Z")
> [@Jamicat](#): > > But, they can sure print the hell out of a document from Word or Excel…as long as the printer has paper in it. :rolleyes: And when they print something, it _stays_ printed, dag nabbit! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/63 "2012-01-02T20:54:23Z")
> [@Jamicat](#): > > I know someone who is 1/2 year into a **computer science degree** … > > Who has never owned a computer…doesn’t know what Firefox is…and couldn’t operate my laptop to access their email account…even after it was turned on and on the Google home page. > > What the hell are they teaching in _Computer Science_ these days? :dubious: Traditional computer science curricula are more about algorithm analysis, computer architecture, and mathematical underpinnings than they are about how to turn the computer on or change the paper. In all the years I’ve worked in IT, it seemed there were always one or two people in my department or group who didn’t own PCs because they didn’t see the need for one in their lives outside the office. Yet, these people tended to be damn good programmers. In the last five or ten years, admittedly, this position is more difficult to obtain, in much the same way as mobile devices, as the decision not to have a computer in your home may be overridden by one’s employer. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/64 "2012-01-02T21:17:48Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Child. I programmed BASIC on a teletype, and FORTRAN on punch cards. High five! Kids today and their “personal computers.” Real nerds played games on mainframes. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/65 "2012-01-02T21:44:06Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Ouch. When I took CS, we learned what magnetic cores were. I’ll see your magnetic cores and raise you tally marks on the cave wall. No, not really. I didn’t study CS in college, but I’m pretty sure that if I had, I would have learned about magnetic cores, which I only actually learned about many years later in a historical context. Certainly I would have had to do all my computer assignments on decks of IBM cards. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/66 "2012-01-04T01:38:30Z")
Total hijack, does anyone else remember holiday wreaths made out of those punch cards? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/67 "2012-01-04T02:07:45Z")
Yes, I do. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/68 "2012-01-06T02:38:08Z")
> [@phall0106](#): > > OMG–I just got an email from this friend, complaining about the GPS and the MP3 player that her boyfriend has bought for her–both of which she refused to use. > … I’m not sure why this is bothering me so much. It bothers me when anyone, at any age, gives up. And as a “senior” (but not old), it’s easier to just hit the couch and say “I don’t need to learn any new stuff. I’m fine just coasting…” Well, when you’re coasting, you’re going downhill. And when you give up learning new stuff… THAT’S when you get old. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/69 "2012-01-06T02:46:32Z")
I’m only 26 but all that shit is too complicated (and expensive, and time-consuming, and distracting) for me, too. I just got my first computer two years ago, for goodness sake. And I only got a cell phone because the phone line in my apartment is damaged and my slumlord wouldn’t fix it without me paying for it. Though I will say I am coming around to texting as a method of communication, and I am addicted to facebook. Tech fogies come in all ages. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/70 "2012-01-06T04:23:38Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > …and I am addicted to facebook. That is NOT an improvement. You can learn how to ride a bike without immediately pedalling off a cliff… ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/71 "2012-01-07T04:38:03Z")
I think the world peaked around 2008. That’s just when the iPod Nano reached its third generation, which is the model I still have (the thing is built like a tank!), and before the 3D movie craze, the worst of the Facebook epidemic, and smartphones that attach themselves permanently to people’s bodies like Alien facehuggers (seriously, people, can you just relax and smell the roses for one second without looking up details of how smell works and the history of rose cultivation on Wikipedia on your goddamned iPhones?). Nothing since then looks like an improvement to me, that I can think of. (When I finally get a perfect solution for downloading movies online, and ebook readers become commonplace enough in this godforsaken outpost of civilization where I live that getting one becomes the obvious thing to do, I might get back on the bandwagon.) ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/72 "2012-01-07T13:11:07Z")
Well, yesterday was my 45th birthday and at work, I taught myself how to do some neat stuff with Adobe Acrobat Professional. I then revamped a few documents we had, tested them, posted them to our webpage, and then taught a (younger) fellow employee (not the friend listed above) how to do the cool stuff I’d figured out and done. I guess maybe I’m just the exception to the norm–I like learning new things and find it challenging (not overwhelming). Figuring out what I did yesterday was a complete rush. ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/73 "2012-01-07T21:41:26Z")
Personally, I’m waiting for the iStick app to use on my new eDirt. I’m 48. I keep up with the tech, but you know, sometimes the prospect of going through _yet another_ learning curve can be daunting. If it’s important enough to me, I’ll dig in. Think of it this way. How are you gonna be able to operate your personal Star Trek style transporter if you aren’t up to speed when they come out? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/74 "2012-01-07T23:51:05Z")
> [@Jumpbass](#): > > I keep up with the tech, but you know, sometimes the prospect of going through _yet another_ learning curve can be daunting The thing about new tech, though, is that there’s really nothing difficult about it. Stuff becomes more user-friendly all the time. I’m sure that when the Star Trek transporter comes out, it’ll be incredibly intuitive. It’ll probably work with simple voice commands or even read your mind. Look at the evolution in user-friendliness from DOS to Windows 7. I know for certain that I could operate an iPhone within two second of turning it on. I still don’t \*want \*an iPhone. I just don’t need it for anything. And not feeling that I have to get one just because all the fourteen year old punks have one is… liberating. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/75 "2012-01-08T00:53:12Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > The thing about new tech, though, is that there’s really nothing difficult about it. Stuff becomes more user-friendly all the time. I’m not so sure about stuff getting more user-friendly. Today I got a new mouse, which required new software. The instructions that came with the software? “Install the software.” It’s no wonder we’re on the horn all the time with our grandkids. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/76 "2012-01-08T02:02:33Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > I still don’t \*want \*an iPhone. I just don’t need it for anything. And not feeling that I have to get one just because all the fourteen year old punks have one is… liberating. Yup. I’m still quite happy with the old motorola flip phone I’ve been carrying for 38 months now and only use maybe an hour a month. No need for anything more than that. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/77 "2012-01-08T02:09:20Z")
Well, you gotta admit sometimes tech instructions don’t make it easy. When I bought my optimus smartphone, the manual starts out with instructions about how to activate it. How to unlock it so you could activate it was about a third of the way into the manual on about page 52. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/78 "2012-01-08T02:39:01Z")
Its not just older people. I’m middle aged (34) and consider myself to be reasonably techie. Bill, who is 25 years older than me is much more of a geek. He’s wrote a couple of my favorite apps. (anyone remember TRON? I can play it on my droid) I have a new intern. She is a delightful young lady (22). I was showing her how I did a certain task on the comp and dropped down into the CMD level. She had no idea that Windows wasn’t actually operating the computer. She also had never heard of Watership Down. She is teaching me how it feels to be old. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/79 "2012-01-08T14:40:43Z")
> [@phall0106](#): > > _snip_ > > I have a friend, who is about my age (maybe a year or two difference). For Christmas, her boyfriend got her a Kindle. I thought this would be a great gift for her, as she reads all the time. Her reaction? First, she couldn’t figure out how to turn it on. and that she has no use for any of it. _snip_ > . > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > In most cases I imagine it’s learned helplessness, or ignorance on purpose - they don’t want to make any effort at all to learn, so they just don’t. To be absolutely fair, that tiny slide switch on the bottom of the Kindle is not exactly well marked or intuititve. While playing around with my Kindle, I somehow managed to delete the preloaded Kindle User’s guide from the device. I was able to restore it by downloading it from the web, however. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557/80 "2012-01-08T18:11:07Z")
> [@digs](#): > > That is NOT an improvement. You can learn how to ride a bike without immediately pedalling off a cliff… facebook is great. 😃 I love seeing what all the people I’ve moved away from or have moved away from me (this includes my entire family) are up to, and I have tons of fun with my RL friends on there as well - plus the ‘event’ function has proved very handy in getting us all together at the same time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-old-so-ill-just-stand-in-the-dirt-with-a-stick/607557.md?page=5)