Hello! I'm reading my friends' friends journals, and your post popped up in my browser. I just wanted to say that you are not ignorant about computers in any way! (OK, literally, I'm sure there are factoids out there that you are ignorant of. But you do not come across as any type of ignorant in the area of computer technology.)
I've been in the software industry for 25 years (developer - 15 years; tech writer - 10), and I don't know how to build a computer or install an OS that's different from what the PC was originally designed for. For me, this probably has a whole lot more to do with lack of interest, rather than lack of brain power, but since we're talking about knowledge, I guess it doesn't matter. The point is, you know a lot more than I do, and a lot of people consider me to be an expert.
Regarding the failure to communicate, I think one issue here is jargon. The woman clearly is not familiar with the correct terminology. If you were to try to have this discussion with her again, you might put a little time up front into defining terms, so you both have the same understanding. I had to do this with a guy I worked for a couple of years ago. I built him a website, and the conversations we would have where he tried to communicate what he wanted - your story sounded familiar! He's a smart guy, but he just has a completely different area of expertise from mine. Teaching him some key terminology (and what those things mean) helped our communication a lot.
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You're a lot more than "conciously ignorant"
Date: 2007-03-03 12:32 am (UTC)I've been in the software industry for 25 years (developer - 15 years; tech writer - 10), and I don't know how to build a computer or install an OS that's different from what the PC was originally designed for. For me, this probably has a whole lot more to do with lack of interest, rather than lack of brain power, but since we're talking about knowledge, I guess it doesn't matter. The point is, you know a lot more than I do, and a lot of people consider me to be an expert.
Regarding the failure to communicate, I think one issue here is jargon. The woman clearly is not familiar with the correct terminology. If you were to try to have this discussion with her again, you might put a little time up front into defining terms, so you both have the same understanding. I had to do this with a guy I worked for a couple of years ago. I built him a website, and the conversations we would have where he tried to communicate what he wanted - your story sounded familiar! He's a smart guy, but he just has a completely different area of expertise from mine. Teaching him some key terminology (and what those things mean) helped our communication a lot.