Poll: Do old people overestimate your tech skills

[Xixikal]

Occasionally i'm expected to show a degree of mastery over digital cameras and non-touch-screen phones.
They may have screens and pressable buttons like computers, but make no mistake, oldies, my techspert powers have limits - beginning with PCs that don't have XP.

 

[Bobbity]

This is pretty much what happens to me. I can deal with some minor software problems, so, essentially, that makes me the family tech wizz.

Relative to the skill levels of everyone else in my family, though, I guess I probably am

 

[Tulks]

Yes, yes they do.
And it does NOT help that I actually have a degree in cs. If you think people assume gamers know everything about PCs, you should see what they expect from somebody who actually studied that shit.

"So, I tried setting up thunderbird and accidently drenched my computer in gasoline and set it on fire, so I called up a herd of rampaging elephants and had them trample the fire out.
Could you please fix it up again, possibly by rubbing your dick against it ?"

This.

Well, maybe not the last part. Unless I missed that class.

 

[Mouse One]

Eh, if I've got a computer problem, I call this guy I know who's been a freelance software engineer for a couple of decades now. He's in his fifties-- totally cool, lives on the beach and lets me keep my board at his place.

I mean, it's been said before, but it's not as if computers were invented five years ago. I mean, Jobs and Gates are AARP material these days (well, aside from the fact that "retired" is a weird word to use for guys individually worth more than most nation's annual GNP)

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

"I've forgotten my email password. Can you hack into the toaster and retrieve it?"

"...Sure thing... I got this"

That is one of the best posts I've seen in a long time. Well done.

OT: Maybe a little, but my Google Fu is strong, so I can work it out regardless.

 

[VulakAerr]

Where's the option for "Overestimating what is possible within the realms of reality?"

Because I want to tick that box.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

My 45+ year old father works with servers for a living, and people ask ME for advice.

 

[Mr Pantomime]

Happens to me all the time. My problem is my computer knowledge is rather sporadic. I can code and use dos pretty well, but some basic things I have no idea about. Seriously, WTF is a cookie?

"I've forgotten my email password. Can you hack into the toaster and retrieve it?"

"...Sure thing... I got this"

Tell them they need a Toaster with a usb port and bluetoot to do it. Tell them they can get one for $10 at a local electronics store.Go with them. Say nothing, nod to everything.

 

[ToxicPiranah]

I've become a free technical helpline for some of my family.

 

[Dogstile]

Happens to me all the time. My problem is my computer knowledge is rather sporadic. I can code and use dos pretty well, but some basic things I have no idea about. Seriously, WTF is a cookie?

Cookies are things that websites store in your browser. Like facebook stores a cookie in your browser that detects when you're on a website with facebook enabled and allows you to post through facebook if you're still logged in.

Thats actually rather creepy, talking about it like that.

OP: I get it ALL THE TIME. Its because i'm doing a computing course. What they don't understand is while i'm good with computers, i'm not perfect. Its really annoying when I get stuck for what to do and all they say is "I guess you're not that smart after all".

Neither are you, mr smartie pants. Do it yourself then.

 

[Sacman]

Yes... I know more about the hardware than anything else... so when they need help on a program or something I'm usually running blind, especially on Macs...<.<

 

[Borntolose]

Yeah, my parents assume that I'm an expert with all of the programs they use, despite the fact that I never use them.
All I really do when I help them is this. [http://xkcd.com/627/]
Damn. Ninja'd on the pic.

 

[iblis666]

oh god yes all the time i mean i can build a pc from scratch, i can program some, build websites, im a certified unix admin, but i barely know macs and they act like i should know everything off the top of my head

I mean come on i still got to read manuals and follow prompts people im not all knowing i just know how to find the info i need

 

[Tipsythegza]

My farmville froze - fix it.

 

[Deviluk]

Yeah, but not just my lecturers, but my colleagues at university as well. If the lecturer is having problems (normally with projector is not set to the right input) my friends always push me from my spine towards the computer to fix it (or push the right button on the remote). I'm a whizz to them even.

 

[Mr Pantomime]

Happens to me all the time. My problem is my computer knowledge is rather sporadic. I can code and use dos pretty well, but some basic things I have no idea about. Seriously, WTF is a cookie?

Cookies are things that websites store in your browser. Like facebook stores a cookie in your browser that detects when you're on a website with facebook enabled and allows you to post through facebook if you're still logged in.

Thats actually rather creepy, talking about it like that.

OP: I get it ALL THE TIME. Its because i'm doing a computing course. What they don't understand is while i'm good with computers, i'm not perfect. Its really annoying when I get stuck for what to do and all they say is "I guess you're not that smart after all".

Neither are you, mr smartie pants. Do it yourself then.

Thanks for that. Everytime someone found out I didnt know what cookies were they acted all shocked. Then I asked what they were, and they said they couldnt explain it.

What really annoys me is my parents, who use crappy and outdated technology, then get annoyed when it doesnt work. And expect me to make it somehow run faster.

"Why is the computer going slow?" Maybe because its 7 years old, has a whole lot of crap on its 40GB hard drive, and runs at 100% cpu whenever you click anything. Get a new one.

"Why is the internet going so slow?" Well because you live in the country and refuse to upgrade your plan.

Also happens with plugs. If I have a usb, plug it into a port that looks like a usb. Dont plug it into something that doesnt look like a usb. My mother tried to set up the computer. Went in there and saw her with the printer usb plugged into the vga port.

And why do they need me to plug in the component cables? Yellow goes in the yellow port, red goes in the red port. Where do you think the white on goes? Goddamn it, not in the aerial port!

Doesnt help that they refuse to learn things because they "dont care" or its "not important".

 

[YouEatLard]

I've started to notice that my grandparents and teachers seem to be chronically over-estimating my level of tech skills and i'm wondering if anyone else here is having the same issues.....

I'm wondering if anyone else is in a similar situation... or really is that uber technomancer with teh l33t hackn skillz.

Magic is anything that you currently don't have an understanding of. Many people fear magic.

To them computers are magic. You are able to work with this magic to a capacity that seems (to them) beyond their comprehension. While you know enough about this "magic" to know that you may know very little, they know so little that they don't even know that there are categories and groups of knowledge in this "magic".

This is pretty common. You might receive similar attention for other things as well. Cars are the easiest to pick out. "Oh, you remember you mentioned you changed your spark plugs and air filter? You mind looking at my car? It makes a funny sound when I turn the wheel...."

Enjoy it. Don't talk above your capabilities (as this is the easiest way to get burned), but be willing to try. Anything you need can be found in Google (Windows/software issues, motherboard beep codes, how to change an inverter in a laptop screen, etc) and technical manuals (language books, motherboard manuals, etc). Do this and you'll learn retarded amounts.

My supervisor at my last job found out I knew something about computers. They told me about a computer setup they needed in some classrooms. Eehhuuhhm.. ok, sure. I was a teacher there, not the tech guy, but ok, why not give it a try.

Over the next 4 years I ended up:
Getting 150 computers, 2 servers, a small army of smaller switches, and 2 fully managed switches
Learning how to terminate Cat 5
Learning how to setup an Active Directory environment
Learning how to setup an IIS web server
Learning how to setup a Linux Samba server
Figuring out the power demands, and ordering the required UPS's ((NEMA L5-30R? WTF is that? Going to need to order a socket now too)
Learning how to write VBS scripts, HTML, and alittle java
Figuring out the cooling requirements to order A/C systems
Learning more about DOS and VBS Active Directory management then I'd ever want to
Learning how to balance my time as the Help Desk/New Requirement request guy
Learning how to manipulate the registry
How to budget and balance requirements

Did I know how to do any of this before? Alittle, but most of it I had to learn on the fly with a few books I bought and Google. Little of it was actually all that difficult when you have the tech data on hand or at least know how to ask Google the right questions. I'm not what I consider "uber l33t" (writing drivers or master of all that is PHP, C++ and SQL), but I made it work.

My intent isn't really to talk about what I did. It's to show that you can make this "magic" work for you if you're confident and willing to try.

Course... there are still some things I will turn down. "Hey, do you know anything about Access? I need a database ..blah blah" Is Access beyond my reach? Nah. Am I going to spend weeks screwing with it without extra pay? "Nah man, sorry. I don't know anything about Access". ; )

 

[Gottesstrafe]

Apparently it is really hard for some people to distinguish between "uses computers a lot" and "knows a lot about all things remotely related to computers". So they tend to overestimate my abilities. But then again, a little common sense, coupled with this diagram will often get me pretty far:

It is basically all I do, but the fact of the matter is that this is already more than a lot of people can do.

Basically that.

Also, because I'm familiar with modern interfaces my parents and relatives would expect me to show them how to use their new phone/camera/set their DVR. Not that I mind, though. I still remember what it was like to be continuously asking my first computer teacher and later my digital media and design teacher to repeat the most basic concepts. Multiply that by every needy new student and multiple class periods a day, it's humbling just to consider the patience my teachers must've possessed.

 

[infohippie]

I'm a sysadmin for a living, so any requests I get from parents/friend's parents/random older people/etc are usually easy enough, so long as they're asking for something that's actually possible.
BTW, stepping an elderly person through rebuilding their own computer, over the phone, from several hundred kilometres away, is not impossible but it is very painful.

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

On the whole, I think the older generation overestimates what computers can do in general. Copying music from tapes, and getting various things (music, books), editing all kinds of stuff, attaching massive email attachments without compression, that sort of thing. But, luckily I've spent almost all my youth around computers and know my way around hardware and software quite well (worked in a computer shop, degree in Software Engineering), so I can normally do "the impossible".

I loved playing around with almost anything, from multimedia to databases and messing around with all kinds of programs. So although I'm not a whizz in anything, I can pick up most things kinda fast.