This is an answer to Scott Sakamoto on his blog post on Portland Westside Guy about “dumb questions”, titled High Tech: Asking the Correct Questions.
Hey, all questions gladly accepted. Answers? That’s a whole ‘nother can of worms.
Everyone is ignorant until they are experienced. Life is built on experiences and so is expertise. All animals can learn; the Skinner box, and both anecdotal stories as well as rigorous field research bear this out. Humans are the only animals that attend scheduled classes and follow a pedagogy to prepare them for positive societal participation.
Unfortunately, there has been a long period in the U.S. where knowledge, particularly of the science sort, has been uncool, or “too hard to understand.” This fear of science has expanded to encompass the dreaded fear of “high tech.” High tech is nothing more than science applied.
If you can understand:
- how an alarm clock works
- how electricity flows
- how plumbing works
…then you can understand “high tech.” There is nothing mysical or magical about the subject….although some of what it accomplishes can truly be described as magical.
I am happy to answer questions and I can refer to many people who are real experts in different subjects instead of me filling my curiousity.
BUT, questioners need to bring a curiosity and be willing to listen without quitting just because “it’s too hard.”
Dance Among Elephants 