Lies, Damned Lies, and the Computer Lie

Methodological Preliminary:
Back in the olden days, before the internet, I used to occasionally travel to exotic corners of the USA for job interviews.


And, in those ancient days, I used to hear professors at this or that university or college complain about "young people around here" or some such thing.


And it was always amazing to realize that they imagined that what they observed was a peculiarity of their region while it was actually pretty universal---or at least common in the USA.


So, too, I believe that my life is not unique, and when I complain, I am not being idiosyncratic.


Computer revolution?  Ha HA HA


I say it again:  the personal computer has not made my life better.  It has given me some enticing images of what life could be, occasionally a view of some art I might otherwise not see, but one has to add up all the pluses and minuses to get an accurate assessment.


And let's talk about the increasingly overwhelming assumption that everyone has access to the Intershit and a printer.


You don't get a piece of paper from the IRS, e.g.; you've got togo online and read on your screen---or print a page.


I own a small Mac and the screen seems to shrink every day.  It's not fun or even comfortable to read on screen.  (I just spent fifteen minutes looking at a document written by the EU which was single-spaced with small print.  Enlarging the size of the print does not do the job; the thing was hard to read.)


So, suppose I print.  Well, printers give off noxious gases.  They should be used in well-ventialted rooms.


but, guess what?  Most of the windows in this house were sealed by my father years ago in a fit of home improvement madness.  Sealed both to make the AC efficient and to keep out intruders.  The windows can be opened from the inside, but only with great difficulty.


And since this is a desert locality, opening the windows often means that the dust will blow in.


So, has the computer made my life better?  Are people really better off since the Berlin Wall came down?  Yeah, right.  And I am so happy to be free here in the land of junk food, big trucks and a permanent sun that promises skin cancer.  Happy as could be.