[OT] HyperCard and the Interactive Web

[Francis Nugent Dixon]

Hi from Beautiful Brittany,

Geoff wrote :

> I remember (near 50 here as well) learning how to derive a square  
> root.
> That skill is also useless.
>
> I agree with you that "It is far more IMPORTANT that kids learn to  
> think
> logically and coherently," but that doesn't at all mean that they  
> learn a
> particular file structure, or machine UI. Kids today don't need to  
> know
> what a command line is because the vast majority of them will never  
> see one
> in their lives. Kids should learn how to think, but in the context  
> of the
> environment they are/will operate in. A calculator is no more a  
> crutch than
> is an automobile. People who drive (or fly) from New York to Los  
> Angeles
> should not be first required to learn how to drive a horse and wagon  
> across
> the country.

Amen to that Geoff. I also remember how to calculate a square root  
with a paper
and pencil, and I am sure I never needed to do it since I learned it  
55 years ago.
However, I also learned how to start a fire with bow and string, and a  
piece of
wood, and I never used this technique either.

Let us say nevertheless that I could fend for myself if ever a neutron  
bomb
reduced my electronic world to zilch, but I don't think my kids could  
do that !

-Francis

"Windows is just a series of panes !"