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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!sdcsvax!taylor
From: taylor@sdcsvax.UUCP (Dave Taylor)
Newsgroups: net.cog-eng
Subject: Re: A possible topic
Message-ID: <3670@sdcsvax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 18-Aug-83 22:03:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: sdcsvax.3670
Posted: Thu Aug 18 22:03:00 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 19-Aug-83 23:37:08 EDT
References: utcsstat.882, <936@ittvax.UUCP>
Organization: U.C. San Diego, CS Dept
Lines: 44

After proctoring an entry level Pascal course here at UCSD for over
a year, I agree with Alan that computer phobia definitely exists
in a suprising percentage of the students, but I disagree that the
burden of overcoming this is ALL on the computer.  

	Specifically, consider the Xerox STAR (tm) system, with 
icons as symbols.  To edit a file, the user points to the icon
(file folder symbol) with the name of the file written on it (actually
appears on the icon -- pretty darn neat!) presses the button on the
mouse (which is how he pointed there in the first place) and then,
with the icon flashing, drags it across to the center of the screen,
and then, pressing the button again, opens the file up and can peruse
and/or edit it.  The important thing here is that the original file
icon STAYS there, so the user instantly realizes that it is a COPY
that he is going to play with/edit.
	This sort of instant realization needs to be duplicated in
computers for the CP (computer phobia) syndrome to lessen.  Consider,
though, how it could be done on a text-oriented computer that has
no pretty pictures or mice (or even light pens!)...I think that if
the screen said "copying file FOO for editing" before it immediately
cleared the screen and presented the file, and similarly said
"using file FOO as input only to pascal compiler" it would alleviate
a reasonable number of CP peoples' worries.  
	The key is that you need to KNOW what the heck the computer is
doing!  If I type some random characters, and the computer whirrs off
into never-never land, it is understandable that I would become just
a little terrified about what it is doing!  On the other hand, if
it tells me "looking for mouse input from ttyh5" then I just laugh,
and hit DEL to get out of it.

	Of course, this does not eliminate the need for well-informed
people to hold the hand of the slower (or more paranoid) students because
sometimes they just won't BELIEVE what the computer is telling them.

	(I still recall one time when I typed 'rm *' and the computer said
'are you sure? ' so I typed "y" because I didn't think I had typed the
rm command...sigh)

		Anyway, here's to making these darn things SMART!

				-- Dave Taylor

				UCSD Computer Science Dept.