Is it better to have never dreamed than to have dreamt and then had those dreams swept away?
How many times can you endure being built up just to have everything crumble before your eyes?
Perhaps ignorance really is bliss.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Comments on "Is there life after Windows?"
Courtesy of Independent.co.UK
I am now a Linux user. Not only am i a user but I'm also using the same distro mentioned in this article. Yes my version is 8.04 vs 8.10 but there isn't all THAT much difference between them.
I thoroughly enjoyed the article and the feedback comments at the bottom really make it complete. That fact that they bothered to identify what most average users use their computer for (browsing, IM, Office, and music) was a relief. For years i have argued that most of the garbage on a standard PC isn't needed by home users. At best, they need a thin client and they'd never notice the difference. Finally an article has addressed what i've felt has been obvious for a long time. One of the reasons for making the switch for myself was specifically because the bulk of what i do daily can be done on any platform.
When reading the feedback of the 4 testers I found myself having flashbacks. Every lesson learned over the years of dabbling came flooding back to me in an instant as i read the words of the reviewers.
My first reaction to this was that none of the 4 testers had the same problem. As maddening as this can be, i think it's a sign that things have really come a long way. Everyone views their computer in a different way. For some people it's a media center where they have their music collection that gets them through the day. Some people base it's performance solely on how Office behaves. Others use it excusively for browsing and checking sports scores. This is what it comes down to. Developers shouldn't tell people how to use their machines. People have to tell developers how they use it and developers should react accordingly.
The feedback comments seem to really focus in on the tester named Tony Messenger. He tried to zero in on codecs being the issue which seemed to me to be his way of seperating himself from the rest of the pack. The reality is, this was a vanilla install and therefore didn't have any mp3/flash/adobe plugins enabled because of EULA's that need to be agreed upon and other fun stuff. If this had been a virgin install of Windoze, he would have had the same problems. Perhapse it's been too long since he's had a clean install or maybe he's never even used a clean install before.
Someone like Mr Messenger needs to heed the advice of Yoda and "unlearn what you have learned". The harsh reality is that this is a fairly typical response for someone who has used Windoze exclusively. It's easy for commenters to sit back and say "all you need to do is enable this via add/remove and it'll grab the packages for you and do the work". I would laugh if someone had the same problem if it was their first time on a Windoze machine. "Didn't you know you're supposed to install flash so you can view youtube? Duh!" It was only after reading the simple documentation about mp3's + linux that i understood why it's like that out of the box. Just because it's logical doesn't mean it's common sense!
Finally, the tester named Androulla Polydorou hit the nail on the head with their comment: "I had a few problems at first, such as finding the right icon to turn up the volume. I think perhaps I'm so used to Windows that I'm not used to searching around for icons." There's a glimmer of hope yet! Rather than attacking Mr Messenger about his inablility to deal with the "codecs" issue I'd hoped that the feedback comments would have zeroed in on this instead. Here was someone who was able to acknowledge their own personal bias based on history and they seem acutely aware of how it's influencing their testing experience. Whether you're using a Mac, PC, or *nix, you should be aware of what you're used to seeing. The benchmark has already been set.
Do I think Ubuntu/linux is ready for the people en masse as an alternative? No. There are still dependencies and "quirks" which need to be resolved. People will not be willing to make the jump until they know they can do everything they're used to doing on their old PC. They're willing to roll the dice and deal with their AV's and malware if it means their machine runs the way they're used to. Installing windoze apps under Wine can still be a nightmare.
In the end, people don't like change. When WinXP launched, the die hards said they were sticking with 98 or 2k forever. Where are they now? Running XP. Vista/7 are drastically different from XP and once again users will not have a choice. In 2 years there will be less grumbling because users will be acclimated to the new environments and resistant to the newest release. Facebook recently changed their layout again. Everyone wants it to revert back to the old way. Nevermind the fact that when the "old" version launched 6 months ago, people grumbled and wanted it to go back to the version before that. The changes held and there was no mass exodus. The world did not stop spinning.
I would like to say that i really liked this article. It never announced a verdict one way or another. It presented the facts and left everything open ended. My only grumble that i have is that they should have given users vanilla installs of a Windoze OS on identical hardware for a side by side comparrison. Hindsite is 20/20 and this doesn't keep me from enjoying what i read. I look forward to reading further articles on this topic as time goes by.
I am now a Linux user. Not only am i a user but I'm also using the same distro mentioned in this article. Yes my version is 8.04 vs 8.10 but there isn't all THAT much difference between them.
I thoroughly enjoyed the article and the feedback comments at the bottom really make it complete. That fact that they bothered to identify what most average users use their computer for (browsing, IM, Office, and music) was a relief. For years i have argued that most of the garbage on a standard PC isn't needed by home users. At best, they need a thin client and they'd never notice the difference. Finally an article has addressed what i've felt has been obvious for a long time. One of the reasons for making the switch for myself was specifically because the bulk of what i do daily can be done on any platform.
When reading the feedback of the 4 testers I found myself having flashbacks. Every lesson learned over the years of dabbling came flooding back to me in an instant as i read the words of the reviewers.
My first reaction to this was that none of the 4 testers had the same problem. As maddening as this can be, i think it's a sign that things have really come a long way. Everyone views their computer in a different way. For some people it's a media center where they have their music collection that gets them through the day. Some people base it's performance solely on how Office behaves. Others use it excusively for browsing and checking sports scores. This is what it comes down to. Developers shouldn't tell people how to use their machines. People have to tell developers how they use it and developers should react accordingly.
The feedback comments seem to really focus in on the tester named Tony Messenger. He tried to zero in on codecs being the issue which seemed to me to be his way of seperating himself from the rest of the pack. The reality is, this was a vanilla install and therefore didn't have any mp3/flash/adobe plugins enabled because of EULA's that need to be agreed upon and other fun stuff. If this had been a virgin install of Windoze, he would have had the same problems. Perhapse it's been too long since he's had a clean install or maybe he's never even used a clean install before.
Someone like Mr Messenger needs to heed the advice of Yoda and "unlearn what you have learned". The harsh reality is that this is a fairly typical response for someone who has used Windoze exclusively. It's easy for commenters to sit back and say "all you need to do is enable this via add/remove and it'll grab the packages for you and do the work". I would laugh if someone had the same problem if it was their first time on a Windoze machine. "Didn't you know you're supposed to install flash so you can view youtube? Duh!" It was only after reading the simple documentation about mp3's + linux that i understood why it's like that out of the box. Just because it's logical doesn't mean it's common sense!
Finally, the tester named Androulla Polydorou hit the nail on the head with their comment: "I had a few problems at first, such as finding the right icon to turn up the volume. I think perhaps I'm so used to Windows that I'm not used to searching around for icons." There's a glimmer of hope yet! Rather than attacking Mr Messenger about his inablility to deal with the "codecs" issue I'd hoped that the feedback comments would have zeroed in on this instead. Here was someone who was able to acknowledge their own personal bias based on history and they seem acutely aware of how it's influencing their testing experience. Whether you're using a Mac, PC, or *nix, you should be aware of what you're used to seeing. The benchmark has already been set.
Do I think Ubuntu/linux is ready for the people en masse as an alternative? No. There are still dependencies and "quirks" which need to be resolved. People will not be willing to make the jump until they know they can do everything they're used to doing on their old PC. They're willing to roll the dice and deal with their AV's and malware if it means their machine runs the way they're used to. Installing windoze apps under Wine can still be a nightmare.
In the end, people don't like change. When WinXP launched, the die hards said they were sticking with 98 or 2k forever. Where are they now? Running XP. Vista/7 are drastically different from XP and once again users will not have a choice. In 2 years there will be less grumbling because users will be acclimated to the new environments and resistant to the newest release. Facebook recently changed their layout again. Everyone wants it to revert back to the old way. Nevermind the fact that when the "old" version launched 6 months ago, people grumbled and wanted it to go back to the version before that. The changes held and there was no mass exodus. The world did not stop spinning.
I would like to say that i really liked this article. It never announced a verdict one way or another. It presented the facts and left everything open ended. My only grumble that i have is that they should have given users vanilla installs of a Windoze OS on identical hardware for a side by side comparrison. Hindsite is 20/20 and this doesn't keep me from enjoying what i read. I look forward to reading further articles on this topic as time goes by.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Idle Time
You'd think that while being unemployed now I'd have lots of time to blog and spew my semi-coherent thoughts onto the interwebz. Then you lok at my posting history this month and realize something is missing.
The adjustment to this amount of free time is hard for someone like me who needs structure of stuff going on. I spend a lot of time trying to find things to queue up to do so that i can just be "busy" for a while. This consists of everything from working on a computer, to going for a walk or bike ride, or playing obnoxious amounts of Star Craft. In between all of that excitement I've been teaming up with a friend trying to come up with the next big business idea that will make me rich. Of course these plans won't get off the ground but they seem to have some real potential. Nothing like getting a Philosophy graduate to help you think outside the box!
I think part of what's keeping me from posting lately is i'm afraid to think too deeply these days for fear of shaking my blind confidence and hopes of finding a job again. If i focus in on what's going on around me and the reality i'm going to have to face in the coming months, it's damn scary. The last thing i need to do is get scared or even nervous because my confidence will be shaken when i interview and it's all down hill from there. The best way to prevent that is to just ignore the obvious as long as i can.
Is this a cop out? Maybe i'm in denial. Perhapse i'm subconsciously setting myself up to fail. Can it just be as simple as trying to keep my chin up like everyone tells me to? Do i even believe anymore? Is this the right time to start reevaluating "faith" in general?
See? There's still plenty bouncing around inside the ole skull!!!
The adjustment to this amount of free time is hard for someone like me who needs structure of stuff going on. I spend a lot of time trying to find things to queue up to do so that i can just be "busy" for a while. This consists of everything from working on a computer, to going for a walk or bike ride, or playing obnoxious amounts of Star Craft. In between all of that excitement I've been teaming up with a friend trying to come up with the next big business idea that will make me rich. Of course these plans won't get off the ground but they seem to have some real potential. Nothing like getting a Philosophy graduate to help you think outside the box!
I think part of what's keeping me from posting lately is i'm afraid to think too deeply these days for fear of shaking my blind confidence and hopes of finding a job again. If i focus in on what's going on around me and the reality i'm going to have to face in the coming months, it's damn scary. The last thing i need to do is get scared or even nervous because my confidence will be shaken when i interview and it's all down hill from there. The best way to prevent that is to just ignore the obvious as long as i can.
Is this a cop out? Maybe i'm in denial. Perhapse i'm subconsciously setting myself up to fail. Can it just be as simple as trying to keep my chin up like everyone tells me to? Do i even believe anymore? Is this the right time to start reevaluating "faith" in general?
See? There's still plenty bouncing around inside the ole skull!!!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Mexican soldiers deploy to Juarez
Courtesy of dailymail.co.uk
My initial comment about this was how much I love the caption under one of the pictures.
"Bringing out the big guns: Armed federal police prepare to patrol the streets as they arrive in Ciudad Juarez yesterday"
What strikes me the most about this article is not the number of murders in one month (250) but the fact that there's already 2500 troops there. This is a city of 1.6 million people and there were 250 people killed last month. This isn't a city, it's a war zone.
Questions worth considering upon reading this article:
Is sending in more federal troops merely going to displace this problem while murder rates drop to "an acceptable level"? What will be the measure of progress? Is this "iron fist" rationale the best way to deal with organizations that are above the law? How long can an occupation of a city like this continue? How long will it take before the local military officers get bought out to look the other way? What's to stop the cartels from working with the military against each other and thus letting the military do their dirty work (by raiding, arresting, and hampering) in the struggle against their opponents?
My initial comment about this was how much I love the caption under one of the pictures.
"Bringing out the big guns: Armed federal police prepare to patrol the streets as they arrive in Ciudad Juarez yesterday"
What strikes me the most about this article is not the number of murders in one month (250) but the fact that there's already 2500 troops there. This is a city of 1.6 million people and there were 250 people killed last month. This isn't a city, it's a war zone.
Questions worth considering upon reading this article:
Is sending in more federal troops merely going to displace this problem while murder rates drop to "an acceptable level"? What will be the measure of progress? Is this "iron fist" rationale the best way to deal with organizations that are above the law? How long can an occupation of a city like this continue? How long will it take before the local military officers get bought out to look the other way? What's to stop the cartels from working with the military against each other and thus letting the military do their dirty work (by raiding, arresting, and hampering) in the struggle against their opponents?
Thursday, February 26, 2009
MyFace/SpaceBook
Social networking sites have gone from popular, to overboard, to irritating, and now they're getting downright obnoxious. Everyone has to add clutter to their page to show their individuality. I liked facebook once upon a time because it was clean. I did the myspace thing because it was easier to keep tabs on music groups. Myspace was (in my eyes) for people who can't spell HTML and yet wanted a gaudy 'pimped out' page. Facebook was once for those that wanted to stalk easier because of how lax people had their security settings and were gullible enough to fill in all of their personal info.
Today, both sites are overrun with widgets, plugins, apps, and overall bling which i find to be obnoxious. I don't care about what you're doing via twitter, who you superpoked, or what music plays every time someone loads your page.
I've decided to create a name for these people. They will be the ones that 'pimp out' their pages. They are the ones that toss so much multimedia content on their page that it's slow to load irregardless of connection speed and machine performance. These are the people who have a ton of youtube clips embedded in addition to different apps that spam their friends into submission to join them.
Both sites have picked up more and more traits of the other and it's getting difficult to tell them apart. Because of the blending that has happened between both sides, i've decided that they need a new name. A name that not only reflects what has happened to the sites, but also their users.
I propose MyFace.
MyFace will be used by me as an insult referencing these people. MyFace is my new catchall word for these sites and their individuality craving, bling polluting, bandwidth consuming, eye sores that people create.
Oooo... someone has just sent me a beer on MyFace and i need to go return the favor!
***********
(EDIT)
http://www.myface.com/
Looks like i'm going with spacebook instead of MyFace. Doh!
Today, both sites are overrun with widgets, plugins, apps, and overall bling which i find to be obnoxious. I don't care about what you're doing via twitter, who you superpoked, or what music plays every time someone loads your page.
I've decided to create a name for these people. They will be the ones that 'pimp out' their pages. They are the ones that toss so much multimedia content on their page that it's slow to load irregardless of connection speed and machine performance. These are the people who have a ton of youtube clips embedded in addition to different apps that spam their friends into submission to join them.
Both sites have picked up more and more traits of the other and it's getting difficult to tell them apart. Because of the blending that has happened between both sides, i've decided that they need a new name. A name that not only reflects what has happened to the sites, but also their users.
I propose MyFace.
MyFace will be used by me as an insult referencing these people. MyFace is my new catchall word for these sites and their individuality craving, bling polluting, bandwidth consuming, eye sores that people create.
Oooo... someone has just sent me a beer on MyFace and i need to go return the favor!
***********
(EDIT)
http://www.myface.com/
Looks like i'm going with spacebook instead of MyFace. Doh!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
People Amuse Me
I love people watching. When i do this, some days i can almost hear a British/BBC voice doing a commentary as events are unfolding.
Yesterday the city closed off a major street near me because of a sink hole. Cops blocked both ends of the street and bridge for obvious safety concerns. I wandered over there to check it out for myself as a pedestrian because i honestly had nothing better to do and it was a nice day out.
It was approximately 5pm when i was on the scene. I wish i had a web cam to set up and stream this because it was just too funny for me. Here's a squad car parked blocking traffic with caution tape up and the road is clearly closed. As i walked by i saw no less than 3 cars try to turn onto the street and go under the caution tape. These people were promptly discouraged by a quite angry police officer who was not afraid to yell at them.
Here's an example of what i heard:
"Hey! The road is closed."
"Where do you think you're going?"
(my favorite...)
"Why do you think i'm parked blocking traffic? I don't care if you need to go through. You need to go around. I'm hear to keep you safe and i don't care where you think you need to go."
I've seen similar things happen with people and police officers when they're blocking traffic and it never ceases to amaze me. I normally do my polite head nod or wave acknowledging that i see them and go on about my business while keeping out of their way.
Once upon a time i thought i wanted to be a police officer. For various reasons, i decided that it wasn't for me. I can't help but think what i would have said in those situations. In hindsight i don't think i would have been nearly as diplomatic with these people. Perhaps it's for the better that i never went into that career field after all... :)
*******
Last summer while riding my bike i saw a car cut around an ambulance into oncoming traffic because they clearly were in a hurry. The ambulance hit their lights and waved the person to pull over and proceeded to ream them out. Technically this would be an illegal stop and the ambulance drivers could have gotten in hot water. Yeah. Right. Good luck finding me someone who will prosecute THAT one.
*******
These incidents are funny at face value for me but they're also saddening when i stop to think about it. Is it a lack of respect for authority figures that i see? Is it people being too selfish and into their own personal lives/interests to consider others? Is this summed up as "me first" mentality? Is this just blatant stupidity? Have we as a society lost all sense of etiquette?
I try to not read too much into peoples actions but it's hard. Their actions are funny to me but after a while i can't help but wonder what inspired them. I've always believed that "actions speak louder than words" and so these people are saying a LOT about themselves.
Pardon me for ending abruptly. There's a bridge that's out and i need to go have another laugh at other peoples expense.
Yesterday the city closed off a major street near me because of a sink hole. Cops blocked both ends of the street and bridge for obvious safety concerns. I wandered over there to check it out for myself as a pedestrian because i honestly had nothing better to do and it was a nice day out.
It was approximately 5pm when i was on the scene. I wish i had a web cam to set up and stream this because it was just too funny for me. Here's a squad car parked blocking traffic with caution tape up and the road is clearly closed. As i walked by i saw no less than 3 cars try to turn onto the street and go under the caution tape. These people were promptly discouraged by a quite angry police officer who was not afraid to yell at them.
Here's an example of what i heard:
"Hey! The road is closed."
"Where do you think you're going?"
(my favorite...)
"Why do you think i'm parked blocking traffic? I don't care if you need to go through. You need to go around. I'm hear to keep you safe and i don't care where you think you need to go."
I've seen similar things happen with people and police officers when they're blocking traffic and it never ceases to amaze me. I normally do my polite head nod or wave acknowledging that i see them and go on about my business while keeping out of their way.
Once upon a time i thought i wanted to be a police officer. For various reasons, i decided that it wasn't for me. I can't help but think what i would have said in those situations. In hindsight i don't think i would have been nearly as diplomatic with these people. Perhaps it's for the better that i never went into that career field after all... :)
*******
Last summer while riding my bike i saw a car cut around an ambulance into oncoming traffic because they clearly were in a hurry. The ambulance hit their lights and waved the person to pull over and proceeded to ream them out. Technically this would be an illegal stop and the ambulance drivers could have gotten in hot water. Yeah. Right. Good luck finding me someone who will prosecute THAT one.
*******
These incidents are funny at face value for me but they're also saddening when i stop to think about it. Is it a lack of respect for authority figures that i see? Is it people being too selfish and into their own personal lives/interests to consider others? Is this summed up as "me first" mentality? Is this just blatant stupidity? Have we as a society lost all sense of etiquette?
I try to not read too much into peoples actions but it's hard. Their actions are funny to me but after a while i can't help but wonder what inspired them. I've always believed that "actions speak louder than words" and so these people are saying a LOT about themselves.
Pardon me for ending abruptly. There's a bridge that's out and i need to go have another laugh at other peoples expense.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Ironies in life (II)
- Getting laid off exactly 2 years to the day that i ended my last "professional" job which lead to my ongoing job hunt.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Do Something About It
"If you don't like your situation, then do something about it."
These are words I live by. A long time ago I became empowered the first time I left a job that I didn't like. In hindsight, the feeling was quite liberating. No longer was I stuck going somewhere and doing something i grew to hate. Taking control of my destiny for the first time like that had a lasting impact on me and my approach to life in general today.
How should someone like myself then deal with a person who is in denial over how much they hate their job and has no ambition to advance or even leave? They say they don't hate their job but then all they ever do is bitch about people there. They refuse to even explore other options because they "don't want to compete with those that need it worse".
We all have complaints about work. We all complain to others about some aspect of work. There's nothing wrong with this and it's perfectly healthy.
I understand that insurance is a strong motivating factor for staying somewhere. There's also the fear of the unknown. It's clearly difficult to leave a job for another and expect a similar salary. Is not a pay cut worth the mental health? Does it make sense to stay somewhere that you have no hope for advancement and you voice how much you hate it? I'm not saying you have to have lofty goals and your entire career mapped out. How hard is it to want something just a little better in life?
In my eyes, i equate this as a personality that is destined for abusive relationships. Too and timid to take a stand. Denying their own words and justifying actions as "not all that bad" or "just venting". It's funny. When i hear the complaints about work and the subsequent denials of them, i keep thinking to myself "honestly officer, i just fell!"
These are words I live by. A long time ago I became empowered the first time I left a job that I didn't like. In hindsight, the feeling was quite liberating. No longer was I stuck going somewhere and doing something i grew to hate. Taking control of my destiny for the first time like that had a lasting impact on me and my approach to life in general today.
How should someone like myself then deal with a person who is in denial over how much they hate their job and has no ambition to advance or even leave? They say they don't hate their job but then all they ever do is bitch about people there. They refuse to even explore other options because they "don't want to compete with those that need it worse".
We all have complaints about work. We all complain to others about some aspect of work. There's nothing wrong with this and it's perfectly healthy.
I understand that insurance is a strong motivating factor for staying somewhere. There's also the fear of the unknown. It's clearly difficult to leave a job for another and expect a similar salary. Is not a pay cut worth the mental health? Does it make sense to stay somewhere that you have no hope for advancement and you voice how much you hate it? I'm not saying you have to have lofty goals and your entire career mapped out. How hard is it to want something just a little better in life?
In my eyes, i equate this as a personality that is destined for abusive relationships. Too and timid to take a stand. Denying their own words and justifying actions as "not all that bad" or "just venting". It's funny. When i hear the complaints about work and the subsequent denials of them, i keep thinking to myself "honestly officer, i just fell!"
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
He's an "intelligent" guy...
Intelligent.
in·tel·li·gent
–adjective
1. having good understanding or a high mental capacity; quick to comprehend, as persons or animals: an intelligent student.
2. displaying or characterized by quickness of understanding, sound thought, or good judgment: an intelligent reply.
3. having the faculty of reasoning and understanding; possessing intelligence: intelligent beings in outer space.
4. Computers. pertaining to the ability to do data processing locally; smart: An intelligent terminal can edit input before transmission to a host computer. Compare dumb (def. 8).
5. Archaic. having understanding or knowledge (usually fol. by of).
I hear that word thrown around as an adjective a lot these days. Not really sure if this is a new trend or if it's more coincidental.
What is it then that makes a person earn this description? Is it formal education? Reading habits? Job experience? Comprehension of vague abstract concepts? Or is it others perceptions of you that earn you this branding?
"He's an intelligent guy..."
A formal education doesn't necessarily equate intelligence. I think we all know someone that has an advanced education (degree, certifications, etc) that can be classified as "an educated idiot". Having witnessed this first hand, going to college doesn't necessarily mean that an individual is capable of retaining what they were exposed to. How many times have you taken a class (even in high school) and forgotten the bulk of the information after the final exam? With how common this is for people, is it that far of a stretch of the imagination to assume that this happens on all levels of education? We need only look at pop cultures TV show "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" to see first hand how much we feel that we knew at one time but then promptly forgot because it was never reinforced. All you need to do is have a flash back to grammar structure in grade school and you'll know exactly what i'm referring to!
Does the fact that you've read the works Plato and Shakespeare equate as intelligence? Do you earn the brand of "intelligent" based on the fact that you've read a number of books about etymology? If not, then why is it that people continue to refer to a person like that as "intelligent"?
A person who can read a document and comprehend it immediately is considered intelligent. A person who can listen listen to something explained, interact with the presenter, and comprehend the topic is not considered as intelligent because they had to have outside help. Never mind that these are different styles of learning.
I guess i'm not "intelligent" and it's time for me to swallow that bitter pill. I don't read all that much these days and never cared for the deep thinking philosophy or literature genres (history was my passion). I need someone to explain to me abstract concepts rather than reading documentation. I graduated from college but then didn't retain much in most of my subjects (much like my peers). I'm comfortable with this so don't patronize me by calling me something that i'm clearly not.
No one has ever called me "intelligent" and, based on the above criteria, i'm comfortable knowing that they never will.
in·tel·li·gent
–adjective
1. having good understanding or a high mental capacity; quick to comprehend, as persons or animals: an intelligent student.
2. displaying or characterized by quickness of understanding, sound thought, or good judgment: an intelligent reply.
3. having the faculty of reasoning and understanding; possessing intelligence: intelligent beings in outer space.
4. Computers. pertaining to the ability to do data processing locally; smart: An intelligent terminal can edit input before transmission to a host computer. Compare dumb (def. 8).
5. Archaic. having understanding or knowledge (usually fol. by of).
I hear that word thrown around as an adjective a lot these days. Not really sure if this is a new trend or if it's more coincidental.
What is it then that makes a person earn this description? Is it formal education? Reading habits? Job experience? Comprehension of vague abstract concepts? Or is it others perceptions of you that earn you this branding?
"He's an intelligent guy..."
A formal education doesn't necessarily equate intelligence. I think we all know someone that has an advanced education (degree, certifications, etc) that can be classified as "an educated idiot". Having witnessed this first hand, going to college doesn't necessarily mean that an individual is capable of retaining what they were exposed to. How many times have you taken a class (even in high school) and forgotten the bulk of the information after the final exam? With how common this is for people, is it that far of a stretch of the imagination to assume that this happens on all levels of education? We need only look at pop cultures TV show "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" to see first hand how much we feel that we knew at one time but then promptly forgot because it was never reinforced. All you need to do is have a flash back to grammar structure in grade school and you'll know exactly what i'm referring to!
Does the fact that you've read the works Plato and Shakespeare equate as intelligence? Do you earn the brand of "intelligent" based on the fact that you've read a number of books about etymology? If not, then why is it that people continue to refer to a person like that as "intelligent"?
A person who can read a document and comprehend it immediately is considered intelligent. A person who can listen listen to something explained, interact with the presenter, and comprehend the topic is not considered as intelligent because they had to have outside help. Never mind that these are different styles of learning.
I guess i'm not "intelligent" and it's time for me to swallow that bitter pill. I don't read all that much these days and never cared for the deep thinking philosophy or literature genres (history was my passion). I need someone to explain to me abstract concepts rather than reading documentation. I graduated from college but then didn't retain much in most of my subjects (much like my peers). I'm comfortable with this so don't patronize me by calling me something that i'm clearly not.
No one has ever called me "intelligent" and, based on the above criteria, i'm comfortable knowing that they never will.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
A-Rod and Baseball
Knowing that professional sports have become more business oriented than actual sporting, it's harder and harder for even casual fans to stomach what is happening. In case you've been living under a rock MLB is dealing with skyrocketing salaries, a team that spent 250,000,000 this off season just to sign 3 players, prices continually going up, $6 for a beer served by someone making just over minimum wage, a commissioner that has reportedly earned 18,000,000 last year, and a drug testing policy that is arguably more lax than even the NBA. To sum up the situation, people (not just fans) are getting fed up.
To address the drug/steroid problems, one can't help but come back to the money issues. That being said, I'm trying to avoid that topic but it will come up.
I enjoyed this editorial:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dwyre-a-rod10-2009feb10,0,3614747.column
To address the drug/steroid problems, one can't help but come back to the money issues. That being said, I'm trying to avoid that topic but it will come up.
I enjoyed this editorial:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dwyre-a-rod10-2009feb10,0,3614747.column
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