5 Jan
2012
5 Jan
'12
2:02 a.m.
On Wed, 4 Jan 2012, Dave McGuire wrote:
This is definitely the case. It's pretty tough
to find a programmer
these days who has any idea of how a computer actually works, even at
the assembly language level. This is something that many (most?) people
think is "just fine", and some have even go so far as to fling around
statements like "why should I learn to be a mechanic just to drive a
car?" ...thinking that's an appropriate analogy when it's not. Looking
at the state of software today proves my point beyond any shadow of a doubt.
As a former mechanic, I have to disagree. Slightly.
Driver (on cellphone): Help! My Prius has been going 90 mile an hour
for an hour and a half, and I can't stop it!
911: Put it in neutral.
Driver: But if I do that, it'll flip over!
911: Then turn off the engine.
Driver: But, if I do that, I'll get rear-ended!
Take away his cellphone., and ticket for using it. Take away his car.
Frankly, I suspect that Sykes made the bogus call as a way to avoid
getting ticketed by a cop who had already seen him.
People with THAT level of lack of understanding of the mechanical aspects
should not be driving. Why are permitting people to drive who don't know
how to stop a car with a stuck accelerator, or with bad brakes? The
safety of the rest of the populace requires that people understand more
about a vehicle than that.