The Distribution of Users’ Computer Skills: Worse Than You Think
I think we underestimate how much time is required to be really good with computers. I&#x27;m very knowledgeable about computers, but I&#x27;ve been using them heavily for 22 years.<p>We have this innate comfort and familiarity with using computers, but as hackers it&#x27;s a huge part of our lives. People have other ways of life than us, and have other expertise. We shouldn&#x27;t dismiss their computer illiteracy as stupidity; it&#x27;s just as bad as them writing us off as &quot;computer nerds&quot;.<p>There&#x27;s also this tendency for non-computer-literate people to be overly self-deprecating. I noticed this with mathematics, when I tutored people @ uni, but with computers it&#x27;s the same shit. I constantly hear &quot;yeah, I&#x27;m awful with computers, it&#x27;s all black magic to me&quot;. But the person saying that is often not even trying, which is frustrating. It&#x27;s like a helpless excuse to be lazy and let someone else do the work, which is often not that complicated.