See it the other way: the red one will make your right arm stronger than the left one. Not kidding.
Unless you are a leftie of course, where the opposite is true.
The only thing is... this is the internet, and virually you can never be sure of someone's truth in their posting.
I like living on the smart side of reality.
It’s a bell curve. You are somewhere on it. But probably not where you think you are.
Same here.
You keep what you use everyday or regularly, anything else slooooowlyyyy fades away.
Specially in an over 55 years span.
You keep what you use everyday or regularly, anything else slooooowlyyyy fades away.
Specially in an over 55 years span.
On the subject of dial phones, I heard of someone who woke up blind, with a dial you could dial 999, but with a mobile phone touch screen what would you do ? - He got his sight back apparently.
I think an important point is if you can do the sums in your head, you can tell if you've made a mistake on a calculator, because it will usually be way off.
Anouther point is most of the people on this forum grew up with cash, you understood the value of money because it was a physical thing, now with money just a few digits on a screen it's very easy to lose track of what you're spending.
A few years ago the company I work for went into administration ( I got through by the skin on my teeth ), we had an old lady in paying for some work, she was chatting away to a colleague as one of the administrates ( incidentally the most attractive women that I've every seen ) tried to work out the bill ( with a calculator ), the old lady turned around and gave her the exact amount after working it out in her head during the conversation, saying " worked on a till for 30 years me duck ".
I think an important point is if you can do the sums in your head, you can tell if you've made a mistake on a calculator, because it will usually be way off.
Anouther point is most of the people on this forum grew up with cash, you understood the value of money because it was a physical thing, now with money just a few digits on a screen it's very easy to lose track of what you're spending.
A few years ago the company I work for went into administration ( I got through by the skin on my teeth ), we had an old lady in paying for some work, she was chatting away to a colleague as one of the administrates ( incidentally the most attractive women that I've every seen ) tried to work out the bill ( with a calculator ), the old lady turned around and gave her the exact amount after working it out in her head during the conversation, saying " worked on a till for 30 years me duck ".
An interesting aspect of these conversations is the end users (younger generation) get the blame or are painted as the bad guy (intentionally or not) but the generation that brought society the technology (70 year olds) is romanticized as end users (ignoring their role as creators, distributors, pushers). It's very reminiscent of the "participation trophy generation" critique, as if the then 6 year olds (now 30 somethings) had the power over the 30-40 somethings now collecting social security.
The simple word "Smart" sends a positive subliminal message to the human brain.
And humans generally all wish or desire to be smart, or at least think they are, in some ways.
And actually, some people are smart. or should I say, intelligent.
The usual, yet controversial IQ test can somewhat determine a person's abilities, however it's not a perfect method in my opinion, simply because it's designed by human brains to test human brains, and no human is perfect.
And of course, humans, like their DNA structure, are all uniquely different, with varying levels of "smartness" attainable from their brains, and partially due to their education absorbed during the course of their lives.
Even I, yes me, Mr Wise Old Tech, have built-in limits - now please don't have a heart attack or stroke now that you''ve all saw that typed line of print on your screens.
But in comparing what I know against others that I come in contact with, whether it be in person, or across the virtual world on the internet, I can pretty much judge where I stand.
And I will say that what I've sensed is that the levels of intelligence have broadened in their spectrum since the invention of smart devices.
Meaning that dumb lazy brains have gotten worse due to modern technology taking over.
People succumb to the easy way out if it's an available option.
And who wouldn't find that attractive?
I've often said over the years that "it's a button-pushing world anymore".
That well-known phrase "the dumbing down of the population" is a known result.
But it's all blindly ignored, things are taken for granted that used to be valuable.
In the end, Dependency wins the prize, and becomes your choice or not to live with.
And humans generally all wish or desire to be smart, or at least think they are, in some ways.
And actually, some people are smart. or should I say, intelligent.
The usual, yet controversial IQ test can somewhat determine a person's abilities, however it's not a perfect method in my opinion, simply because it's designed by human brains to test human brains, and no human is perfect.
And of course, humans, like their DNA structure, are all uniquely different, with varying levels of "smartness" attainable from their brains, and partially due to their education absorbed during the course of their lives.
Even I, yes me, Mr Wise Old Tech, have built-in limits - now please don't have a heart attack or stroke now that you''ve all saw that typed line of print on your screens.
But in comparing what I know against others that I come in contact with, whether it be in person, or across the virtual world on the internet, I can pretty much judge where I stand.
And I will say that what I've sensed is that the levels of intelligence have broadened in their spectrum since the invention of smart devices.
Meaning that dumb lazy brains have gotten worse due to modern technology taking over.
People succumb to the easy way out if it's an available option.
And who wouldn't find that attractive?
I've often said over the years that "it's a button-pushing world anymore".
That well-known phrase "the dumbing down of the population" is a known result.
But it's all blindly ignored, things are taken for granted that used to be valuable.
In the end, Dependency wins the prize, and becomes your choice or not to live with.
Where I live, people blindly wait for the pedesreian traffic signal to turn green instead just looking both ways and crossing.
I once saw a man waiting for the light to change at 3am on our empty roadway! When I looked and just crossed the look on his face was like "Well duh! Why didn't I think of that?!" He was about 60.
I prefer the term "I've forgotten more than you know" to describe the level of "smart" I encounter on a daily basis.
But remember, most people have a specialty. Wise old tech is great at fixing things but if it came to restoring a painting, I'm sure he'd refer that to someone better qualified, just like his customers refer electronics repairs to him.
Am I smarter than a dentist because I can replace the belt on their turntable? I doubt it.
I once saw a man waiting for the light to change at 3am on our empty roadway! When I looked and just crossed the look on his face was like "Well duh! Why didn't I think of that?!" He was about 60.
I prefer the term "I've forgotten more than you know" to describe the level of "smart" I encounter on a daily basis.
But remember, most people have a specialty. Wise old tech is great at fixing things but if it came to restoring a painting, I'm sure he'd refer that to someone better qualified, just like his customers refer electronics repairs to him.
Am I smarter than a dentist because I can replace the belt on their turntable? I doubt it.
Well said.
The focus on specific "jobs" is a natural human thing.
How well you perform those tasks is dependent on your own skill level, interest, and education.
I used to fear having to get involved with such things like drywall repairs, plumbing, etc.
Not any more, once I got the fundamentals lodged in my brain.
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Isn't technology just what you make of it ? - give two people a library, one will seek to expand their knowledge and understanding, the other will go straight to the art books and try to find nudes.
I partake of youtube, and enjoy the occasional intellectual debate in the comments section, watch educational videos, but also watch the occasional tractor pull.
I find the breadth of the comments ( on youtube ) quite enlightening; some well written, well informed points of view ( sometimes in someone's second language ), to crude insults all the way to garbled words that hide their intention, or a line of emojis
I partake of youtube, and enjoy the occasional intellectual debate in the comments section, watch educational videos, but also watch the occasional tractor pull.
I find the breadth of the comments ( on youtube ) quite enlightening; some well written, well informed points of view ( sometimes in someone's second language ), to crude insults all the way to garbled words that hide their intention, or a line of emojis
And as far as math and calculators are concerned?
Work smart, not hard 🙂 Generally people don't know how to use an abacus anymore but isn't that just the calculator of the time? Same with a slide rule?
I was in one of the last math classes where calculators weren't allowed (grade 10) so I have better than average mathing skills...
Work smart, not hard 🙂 Generally people don't know how to use an abacus anymore but isn't that just the calculator of the time? Same with a slide rule?
I was in one of the last math classes where calculators weren't allowed (grade 10) so I have better than average mathing skills...
Like the internet itself... Back when I worked in the office a table of "us power supply engineers" would gather in the cafe' for lunch and one of the young lady engineers would "chase" the conversation using her cell phone, looking up "supporting documentation" relevant to the lunch discussion.
I remember thinking "Gee, I'd have to go all the way back to my cubicle to do that". She was using he cell phone to spice things up by finding corroborating or dissenting information, pretty much in real time. BTW, this was well before the current "frump" era, where anyone can put up anything and give it an over the top appearance of being truth.
Like any tool, a cell phone can be used for constructive or destructive purposes, even in the context of entertainment. She was entertaining to have at the table - better than her just admitting "I know nothing about the topic" and having the conversation move on to something else perhaps more mundane.
I remember thinking "Gee, I'd have to go all the way back to my cubicle to do that". She was using he cell phone to spice things up by finding corroborating or dissenting information, pretty much in real time. BTW, this was well before the current "frump" era, where anyone can put up anything and give it an over the top appearance of being truth.
Like any tool, a cell phone can be used for constructive or destructive purposes, even in the context of entertainment. She was entertaining to have at the table - better than her just admitting "I know nothing about the topic" and having the conversation move on to something else perhaps more mundane.
Or on mine (yes it works, don't try and see)
"OK Google, Call nine one one"
"OK Google, Call nine one one"
Statistically, 50% of the population has an IQ below 100, the other 50% are above. By definition.
But I am convinced that if you ask people on which side they are, overwhelmingly they will say above 100, and with a good margin.
I believe it is pretty well impossible for a person to judge his own ability accurately, because it is by definition subjective and our ego will always err on the safe side. In my book, someone who calls himself wise isn't.
Now, if others would call that person wise, he/she might be.
Psychology 101 ;-)
Jan
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