Thursday, November 5, 2009

Imporantce to knows what is behind the facade

A well written essay argues
there is still a need for "old-fashioned gumption" — a need to retain some mastery over tools we rely on and to explore others' potential.
[snip]
... "it can be very disempowering because people aren't really understanding what's going on in their business".
Of course, the most common tools in our business and personal lives have user-friendly interfaces, enabling the least tech-savvy to use them. An unfortunate side-effect of this, Mr Gelme says, is that "general users of technology have no idea about how an appliance really works, which means they may not know how to use it most effectively or repair it".
He adds: "Hiding the internal operation with an intuitive interface is compounded by the manufacturer's natural tendencies to protect their product from competitors and to increase sales by ensuring broken appliances have to be replaced, not repaired." This is achieved mainly through proprietary software.
Far too many developers lack the understanding of the mechanics behind the tools they use. Many relies on the tools as an escape from learning the fundamentals. As a consequence, they are at loss when problem occurs, which according to Murphy's law will inevitably occur.

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