Understanding the Computer

Most people (99 percent of the population) cannot do this - and do want to do this. 

I can barely do this myself. Microsoft says "Do this our way!" And everyone else says the same thing. 

Do it any way you like. If you crash and burn, you can always say: "It made me do it!::

The call of Fanaticism

New Yorker

I sometimes ask myself "Why don't people read more?" This article points to a possible answer: "because what they read is very unpleasant."

I'm sure this is not a complete answer, there is much written about Programming that people will not read either - even though they know they should, and it is moderately interesting. 

Perhaps the answer is in the title of this essay: people like radical solutions to life's problems. Religious solutions, for example. Ordinary solutions don't have as much appeal. 

Global Warming

There are two responses to this. It is not happening or it will happen. 

If it will happen, it will happen a long time from now, like a hundred years. 

A shorter time is possible, but not likely. 

Nothing has to be done right now. 

Their History is Sacred

I am reading Brigham Young, the third biography of his life. 

I was struck by this passage: 

For the Latter-day Saints, their history is sacred. Mormons venerate their ancestors who first responded to the gospel, who pioneered there way across the American continent, and their church devotes considerable resources to maintaining its historical sites, preserving its documents, and defending the reputation of its former leaders. 

My family belongs to a smaller Mormon church (the RLDS) but their attitudes are similar. 

What does the Computer mean to Me?

This question now applies to everyone, whether they want to answer it or not. 

For most people the answer is easy: it means nothing to them. It's just a tool they occasionally use, whenever necessary. 

They have no idea how it works - and don't want to know.  

But for other people it means a whole new way of doing things, that opens up vast possibilities. 

They know how the computer works, and how to make it work better. 

The Beginning of the End of the RLDS Church

The RLDS was formed by members of the LDS church. after Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism was killed. His oldest son. Joseph Smith III became its president. 

He was living in Nauvoo, Illinois with his mother and her second husband, and with his brothers, their wives, and children. 

Keeping track of all the family relationships of this large family, has always been difficult. But they began by trying to convert members of the LDS church in Utah. This was a total failure, and their employers, the RLDS in Nothern Illinois, insisted they move there. Their mother stayed behind in Nauvoo. 

The RLDS then bought property in Southen Iowa, founded the city of Lamoni, and moved there. This move to Lamoni was critical to the history of the church. 

While in Lamoni, JSIII consolidated his control of the church. The original members of the church, from Northern Illinois, disappeared. 

He made his son, FM Smith, the next president of the church. This set a dangerous precedence: the President of the church had to be a member of the Smith family. The LDS church in Utah had no such restriction and they grew rapidly. 

Is the Computer too advanced for Most People?

Sometimes it is for me. When I tried to move to my Laptop, just now. I fell down on my ass. 

Nothing got hurt, but sometimes I am not so lucky. And I end up going to the hospital in an Ambulance. 

If my mind gets fuddled, some doctor will run me through a bunch of tests, then tell me I have had a seizure! 

I am nice when they use such stupidity, but I want to scream at them.

But I got off the track - I started to talk about Computers, and how they can be too advanced for us. 

YouTube is full of people telling you this is not the case. Computer people can be stupid also. 

And sniffing them out is not too hard.