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The Distribution of Users’ Computer Skills: Worse Than You Think (2016)
(www.nngroup.com)
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this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2024
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Yeah the biggest problem for people who can't use a computer always seems to be that they just won't ever read what it says on the screen. The solution to problems is often very obvious if you just actually read error messages or tooltips or anything
There's an XKCD for that, of course.
I've discovered over the years that curiosity is maybe the most important aspect of being good with technology.
Technical skills, patience, problem solving, organization, all that is critical, obviously.
But more often than not, it all starts with just wanting to know what's possible. I'm the kind of person that, after installing something for the first time, be It software or a game or whatever, the very first thing I do is open the settings, and look all the knobs and levers that are available.
I was genuinely stunned to find out that the vast majority of users never look at the settings ever. And maybe that's why developers seem to be increasingly unwilling to even provide options for those of us that like tweaking settings.
Eh, I used to use those back in the day, but for the last decade or so I've been using mostly concentrated spite and it seems to work just fine (though I can't wait for the AI bros to invent a computer that can feel pain... now that'll make computer wrangling fun again!).
Single handedly that is how I have acquired any of the computer knowledge I have. So it is absolutely mind blowing that people just can't seem to grasp the fact that most of the time what it takes to understand something, is reading. That being said, beyond that, breaking through to new discoveries; it makes me appreciate those with an inquisitive mind that tend to push the envelope beyond what is well understood and well documented.