How would you earn a living?

Fading Fast said:

I agree with the implication that drivers should have, at minimum, a conceptual understanding of how a car works. I learned a lot as a kid and, while the digital technology revolution has taken away my ability to effect repairs (also, I haven't owned a car in almost three decades), I still understand the basics of a combustion engine, transmission, drive train, electrical system, etc.

That said, all technology is a magic box to my mother. I'm sure she has no idea how a toaster or refrigerator works let alone a car (and a computer to her is super-duper magic). Yet, she has proven over the decades to be a very good driver as she sees driving as a serious responsibility (as it should be to all of us) and she is well aware of the rules and general safety issues.

Hence, to me, I can't really understand how someone would drive and not want to know the basics of how a car works as it does impact your approach (for example, you brake differently with manual vs. ABS brakes), but again, I can't fault the driving record of my "completely oblivious to how a car works" mother.

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Eh...what about flying? Should someone understand aerodynamic lift before being allowed to purchase a ticket? That's the beauty of technology, one need not know *how* it works to enjoy the benefits of it. Lots of people don't understand the mechanics of an elevator, or how a light bulb or a flush toilet works (my wife, for one...she still asks if the toilet will flush when the power is out).

HudsonHawk said:

Eh...what about flying? Should someone understand aerodynamic lift before being allowed to purchase a ticket? That's the beauty of technology, one need not know *how* it works to enjoy the benefits of it. Lots of people don't understand the mechanics of an elevator, or how a light bulb or a flush toilet works (my wife, for one...she still asks if the toilet will flush when the power is out).

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There is a difference between being a passenger versus being the driver, or in your example, a passenger and a pilot. I do believe pilots should have an understanding of aerodynamics lift, etc., but clearly a passenger doesn't need one. That said, we might be at the point where this isn't true, in theory, for pilots anymore as computers - I've read - basically fly the planes from take-off to landing. That said, those that landed on the Hudson are probably pretty happy that Sully had the skills he did - and I'll bet he understands lift.

I don't think this is an all or none issue either. You clearly don't need to know, nor do you gain much by knowing how a watch works to wear one and tell time. But - at least when I was growing up - understanding how a car worked - why, for example, you might pump a manual break, "test" its grab, etc., in different conditions but for an ABS brake, continual steady pressure makes more sense - could help you brake better. While a set of "rules" written by experts might prevent you from flooding an engine even without any knowledge of how a car works, understanding why might make it more obvious to you / help you think better about how to respond if you do.

Please let me emphasize two points. This is not an all-or-none argument in two ways. One, using some technology, like a watch or microwave - or your examples of an elevator or lightbulb - probably isn't helped much/at all by understanding how it works. But, two, others, like driving, I think can be enhanced by have some understanding of the technology involved - you don't need to be a master mechanics (it's not all or none) - but a basic layperson's understanding can help a lot. That said, even there (i.e., my mother) being a good rules followers / having a good intuitive sense can allow you to drive quite safely even if a car is a magic box to you.

Another example is a home wifi set up. Having a general sense of what the router does, what the modem does, how they "connect" with everything, etc., has allowed me to quickly trouble shoot when it goes down. Conversely, my mother calls me when she has a wifi problem - I ask her a bunch of questions about it to help her trouble shoot. If she'd just try to understand what each piece of technology does and how they work together, she could do her own trouble shooting. She wouldn't have to become a wifi expert or computer genius, but just having a little bit of knowledge about how it all works could help her deal with issues that arise from the technology.

Fading Fast said:

There is a difference between being a passenger versus being the driver, or in your example, a passenger and a pilot...

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True, my example on the airplane is a bit extreme, but I think the point is the same. There is no inherent usage value in understanding how an internal combustion engine works for people to effectively and safely drive a car. There is far more in understanding the rules of the road and way the car responds to operational maneuvers such as steering and breaking. I think understanding is certainly helpful, and I'd encourage it, but I think we're long past the days where people need to deal with mechanical tinkering as normal procedures for operating their vehicles. They don't even need to know how to change the oil. It's simply not critical to their using the technology.

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Please let me emphasize two points. This is not an all-or-none argument in two ways. One, using some technology, like a watch or microwave - or your examples of an elevator or lightbulb - probably isn't helped much/at all by understanding how it works. But, two, others, like driving, I think can be enhanced by have some understanding of the technology involved - you don't need to be a master mechanics (it's not all or none) - but a basic layperson's understanding can help a lot. That said, even there (i.e., my mother) being a good rules followers / having a good intuitive sense can allow you to drive quite safely even if a car is a magic box to you.

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I agree. Understanding who has the right of way is far more valuable for the average driver than knowing how to change the piston rings.

Another example is a home wifi set up. Having a general sense of what the router does, what the modem does, how they "connect" with everything, etc., has allowed me to quickly trouble shoot when it goes down. Conversely, my mother calls me when she has a wifi problem - I ask her a bunch of questions about it to help her trouble shoot. If she'd just try to understand what each piece of technology does and how they work together, she could do her own trouble shooting. She wouldn't have to become a wifi expert or computer genius, but just having a little bit of knowledge about how it all works could help her deal with issues that arise from the technology.

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There are also degrees of understanding. To me, understanding what the router does and how to connect it is like understanding what the gear shift does and how to get the car into "drive". It's knowing how to operate the technology, not understanding the fundamentals of how it works. Many people can work a computer, install/troubleshoot software, and even install components, without really understanding the digital process.

I think we all agree that troubleshooting and maintenance are easy when you have some understanding. How much that overlaps with operations depends on the technology probably.

I'm just glad people can operate the toilet, even if they don't understand it.

HudsonHawk said:

True, my example on the airplane is a bit extreme, but I think the point is the same. There is no inherent usage value in understanding how an internal combustion engine works for people to effectively and safely drive a car. There is far more in understanding the rules of the road and way the car responds to operational maneuvers such as steering and breaking. I think understanding is certainly helpful, and I'd encourage it, but I think we're long past the days where people need to deal with mechanical tinkering as normal procedures for operating their vehicles. They don't even need to know how to change the oil. It's simply not critical to their using the technology.

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I agree. Understanding who has the right of way is far more valuable for the average driver than knowing how to change the piston rings.



There are also degrees of understanding. To me, understanding what the router does and how to connect it is like understanding what the gear shift does and how to get the car into "drive". It's knowing how to operate the technology, not understanding the fundamentals of how it works. Many people can work a computer, install/troubleshoot software, and even install components, without really understanding the digital process.

I think we all agree that troubleshooting and maintenance are easy when you have some understanding. How much that overlaps with operations depends on the technology probably.

I'm just glad people can operate the toilet, even if they don't understand it.

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I would've been then what I was at an early age. A GDMFBA Paratrooper!!!


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101 Pathfinder said:

I would've been then what I was at an early age. A GDMFBA Paratrooper!!!

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My dad was in the 101st. Great stories he tells.