Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!mips!pacbell.com!iggy.GW.Vitalink.COM!widener!netnews.upenn.edu!msuinfo!frith.egr.msu.edu!griffin From: griffin@frith.egr.msu.edu (Danny Griffin) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: Re: computer buyers Message-ID: <1991Jun6.145024.13157@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> Date: 6 Jun 91 14:50:24 GMT References: <55445@nigel.ee.udel.edu> <1991Jun4.195937.5973@leland.Stanford.EDU> <1991Jun6.043819.23323@neon.Stanford.EDU> Sender: news@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu Organization: Michigan State University Lines: 23 torrie@cs.stanford.edu (Evan Torrie) writes: > Boy. I thought we'd got rid of the "high priest" attitude in the >70's. Why do you think we're not still programming in machine code? >Because people saw past attitude like yours (that computers should be >kept difficult and complex, so that the "plebs" couldn't use them), >and instead created easier to use software to make computers >accessible to a wider audience. A noble attitude, and one that I agree with. However, let's take a look at reality. Our grandparents learned Latin in high school. Now, today students complain that they have to learn English. Grammar (spelling and puncuation) were difficult, so a movement got underway to ease spelling and punctuation rules. Now half (3/4, 7/8...make up your own statistics) of all Americans can't spell, conjugate a verb, or know what a semi-colon is. Dan -- Dan Griffin griffin@frith.egr.msu.edu