tsk tsk, these kids today. was: Re: Mensan seeks work

[foodog]

Mike Butash wrote:
> 
>         I would debate that a certification proves someone is_not_out and out
> incompetent at any age.  I've found often it's easy for the average idiot
> with a decent memory to pass most basic tests.  Perhaps you should visit
> some of the local future IT monkey bootcamps locally like Techskills and
> Computer Learning Center and watch people haplessly staring at an animation
> on the art of how to insert a DIMM into the slot to get their A+
> certification, jotting notes as they go.  These are what will be coming to
> you for a job in the near future.

Our department had an intern with an A+ cert who Did Not know what a
"phillips" screwdriver was, or that there was any other kind than
flatblade.  

I used to blame GUIs/Windows for rampant cluelessness.  Now I think the
"rampant" part is an illusion.  The job market is to blame.  

In the good ol' days people who studied computers were, mostly,
genuinely interested in them.  Now "computing" is a common,
decent-paying career. The mass of uninspired "I just wanna good job"
folks obscure the tiny subset who are fascinated by the art of it. Look
at that Torvalds kid, for example :-)

It's a difficult situation.  It's not possible to teach someone
everything they "should know" in a 4 year program.  I like to think that
the spread of Linux will help the situation.  Young kids today won't
have the punchcard experience, but they *can* have a rich, multitasking
NOS with full source code for the asking.

Statistically, there are as many bright young people as there ever were,
they're just harder to pick out of the much bigger crowd (who actually
*like* the Windows-blackbox experience.  Yech). I'm hoping enough of
them take advantage of Linux to prevent our grandchildren from running
in circles yelling "Help me, Landru!" ;-)

Steve