Is the contemporary man can do without a computer?

[Pawelk198604]

Is the contemporary man can do without a computer, and maybe we are such that nothing can be done without a computer. I'm afraid that soon even procreation can not handle without the help of a computer :-)

It's a little joke :-)

I love computers but everything has its limits.

Every had bad days.

Today such day.happened to me

I live in Wroclaw, is a very beautiful city in the southern Poland, approaching the end of the semester. Today I had a test of English language level B2 2, moreover, I do not know what my English Language course for graduate studies, I had 4 semesters of English at the undergraduate, moreover, I believe that my level of knowledge of the language is sufficient. Unfortunately, the program of study requires that we went to English.

Unfortunately, today was the problem of urban transport, normally I use the trams are fast and do not stand in traffic jams, but today was the problem I reached only half the route, Than tram stopped, and before us another stop 5 trams and not going on while track was free and it was no traffic jam at all. It turned out that the computer system which manages public transport is crashed..

I had to take a taxi to be on time for the exam, it cost me 9 zł and i was late, and a lot of nerves, I was really pissed off, but i have really good English teacher, he examined me while he really don't have to do at all:-)

m wondering are our Polish motorman and urban bus drivers are such idiots that they can not ride without a computer? Does your computer have them all show?

After all in communist time (though I'm too young to remember it, I was born in 1986) drivers and tram drivers, do your job without a computer. Even 10 years ago did not have this system and it did just fine. These were funds from the European Regional Development Fund for infrastructure development Very Happy And today was opposite. Thus i must admit that this system really improved our mass transit, the bus and trams, are more reliable and better keeping schedule than before, especially the electronic display showing actual arrival on every tram on bus stop are really cool.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Pawelk198604

[phoenix_ca]

We can survive with a lot less than computers:

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/product/9780007274932-item.html?s_campaign=goo-PLATest&gclid=CjkKEQjwqsCcBRDt7_Gts5a91YYBEiQAm-wYER-MgmCboNTZGgmENJjmq2VO19Mht_3h_nIKLBGLarjw_wcB

The only difference between a human who can survive in the wilderness without the aid of any industrial technology and one who can't is knowledge (excluding the obvious like physical or mental disability, disease, and so on).

[lajoswinkler]

Urban transportation is computerized to reduce congestion. It can function without it, but with less efficiency. When the system suddenly collapses, the transportation collapses, too, simply because it can't compensate for the sudden loss.

[Nuke]

the thing i dont like is when a store shuts down because its computers are down. they wont even take cash like the cashiers dont know how to count money or do basic addition. my grandma's theory is that young people today are stupid. the real problem is that the stores buy this complete inventory control system that nobody a store can afford to hire knows how to fix. its almost always some kind of proprietary system on lease from a company that has its own repair men. the store employees are not allowed, by contract, to fix the system themselves, even if someone knew how. in any case the arrangement will be so inconvenient it will take hours to fix. the cashiers are only trained how to operate the register, not do all the inventory control tasks that the computer system handles automatically in the background, the store would have to hire additional employees to handle that in absence of the computer (which isnt practical).

i worked in a pawn shop for about 6 months back in 2003. this was way beneath me, i just needed somewhere to work while i was failing to get a job in the it sector with my recently completed degree. of course one day the computer crashed, and nobody could do any work. it was this old dos software that was no longer supported by its developer, but it worked most of the time and they were too cheap to upgrade it. it took me all but 3 keystrokes to fix the error, recover the lost data and re-init the software. my boss gave be $200 cash on the spot.

i dont think computers are making people stupid, i think that they are just removing the requirement for humans to be brilliant. but its ok, even in a world full of idiots you will find a wizzard or two.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Nuke

[phoenix_ca]

i dont think computers are making people stupid, i think that they are just removing the requirement for humans to be brilliant. but its ok, even in a world full of idiots you will find a wizzard or two.

More like they are replacing the need to remember information and replacing it with the need for the ability to process vast quantities of information.

[magnemoe]

the thing i dont like is when a store shuts down because its computers are down. they wont even take cash like the cashiers dont know how to count money or do basic addition. my grandma's theory is that young people today are stupid. the real problem is that the stores buy this complete inventory control system that nobody a store can afford to hire knows how to fix. its almost always some kind of proprietary system on lease from a company that has its own repair men. the store employees are not allowed, by contract, to fix the system themselves, even if someone knew how. in any case the arrangement will be so inconvenient it will take hours to fix. the cashiers are only trained how to operate the register, not do all the inventory control tasks that the computer system handles automatically in the background, the store would have to hire additional employees to handle that in absence of the computer (which isnt practical).

i worked in a pawn shop for about 6 months back in 2003. this was way beneath me, i just needed somewhere to work while i was failing to get a job in the it sector with my recently completed degree. of course one day the computer crashed, and nobody could do any work. it was this old dos software that was no longer supported by its developer, but it worked most of the time and they were too cheap to upgrade it. it took me all but 3 keystrokes to fix the error, recover the lost data and re-init the software. my boss gave be $200 cash on the spot.

i dont think computers are making people stupid, i think that they are just removing the requirement for humans to be brilliant. but its ok, even in a world full of idiots you will find a wizzard or two.

Some stores uses cash dispensers who can't run without the central computer, this to avoid mistakes and more important to make robberies impossible, well you can steal items but not money.

Smaller stores with the old cash registers still work with power out if you use paper and calculators, however here you got legal issues, today it often illegal to do business without a cash register to avoid tax fraud.

Fun story was in Egypt, all taxis had a simple computer to calculate taxi fares however they was all turned off, must be an bad model who break down all the time

[lajoswinkler]

Yes, it's illegal to make money transactions without a cash register. All transactions need to be accounted for, so the tax department can see it.

So it's not because of stupidity. It's the law.

[Nuke]

theres no rule that says you cant do it manually though, mom and pop stores for example. of course that requires extra work. at the end of the year if the ins dont match the outs, you get audited.

[The Silent Majority]

More like they are replacing the need to remember information and replacing it with the need for the ability to process vast quantities of information.

I'd argue that the computers need to process it, we need to have the skills and understanding of the system to find it.

OT No, we do not need computers to survive, BUT, we do need computers to live a post-modern lifestyle. (for simplicity, I'm counting since the birth of the smartphone as post-modern)

[KerbMav]

You might want to read up on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2000_problem and maybe google about more of the predicted mayhem that might have occured - while doomsday was canceled, the worst predictions might actually come true should computers fail world wide for whatever reason.

While life might go on without computers and internet - with lots of extra work and complications - without electricity there would not even be fresh water in our cities.

[Seret]

Contemporary man can do without computers, but contemporary society, no. And tbh, why would we want to? They make everything work better. Sure, big computer systems crashing can be inconvenient, but things like non-computerised traffic light systems can fail too, and on balance it's worth it.

[lajoswinkler]

theres no rule that says you cant do it manually though, mom and pop stores for example. of course that requires extra work. at the end of the year if the ins dont match the outs, you get audited.

Up until recently, that was the case at my place. Now everyone needs to follow the rules.

[Red Iron Crown]

It's certainly possible to give up computers.

Not sure it's desirable. Computers are frustrating at times, and they bring some of their own difficulties with them, but they are an overall net benefit to society in my opinion.