diff --git a/content/do-kids-know-computers-today.md b/content/do-kids-know-computers-today.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..113fd54 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/do-kids-know-computers-today.md @@ -0,0 +1,79 @@ +--- +title: Do kids not know computers know? +date: 2022-03-28 +--- + +> This post is day 7 of me taking part in the +> [#100DaysToOffload](https://100daystooffload.com/) challenge. + + +One discussion point I've seen around is that kids nowadays don't know how to +use computers. Okay that's a bit of a strawman, but this article titled [File Not Found](https://www.theverge.com/22684730/students-file-folder-directory-structure-education-gen-z). + +The gist of the article is that Gen-Z kids are too used to search interfaces. +That means they don't actually know about where files are stored, or how they +are organized. They only know that they can access the files by searching for +them. The article talks about how professors ended up having to teach them how +to navigate directory structures and file extensions. + +As the article claims, it seems to be related to how modern user interfaces are +designed. Our UIs nowadays are more focused around search capabilities: you just +type in a search bar and find what you need. + +![bemenu, displaying a partial search and several matching applications.](/img/app-search-bar.png) + +In some sense I do like this sort of interface. I use something like that when +launching applications, both on my Desktop and on my laptop! It's actually a +better interface compared to hunting for icons on your desktop. I use similar +interfaces in VSCode to switch between open editor tabs. + +However, this is a complimentary interface to hierarchy and organization. Going +back to the file systems example discussed in the article, being able to search +through your files and folders is useful. But it's not a replacement for +hierarchy. You can't just throw files into a folder, and expect to always find +them accurately. + +Let me give an example with Google Photos. I have been keeping all my photos on +Google Photos, and between migrating photos from old phones and ones I have +taken on new phones, I have over 8,000 photos. This is completely disorganized +of course, but Google Photos has a search functionality. It even uses AI to +recognize the items in the photos, which you can use in the search. A search for +"tree" brings up photos of trees, "cat" brings up cats, and you can even tag +people and pets and then search for their names. Very useful, right? + +Well, it is sometimes. I recently had to remember what my wife's car license +plate is. A quick search for "license plate" on google photos and luckily, I had +taken a photo of her car that included the license plate in the frame. Success! +On the other hand, I was trying to find some photos from a particular gathering +with my friends. Searches for their names, names of the place, or stuff I know +are in the picture turned up with nothing. I eventually had to painstakingly +scroll through all photos to find the one I wanted. + +This reminds me of 2 things. One is this article named [To Organize The World's +Information](https://dkb.io/post/organize-the-world-information) by +[@dkb868@twitter.com](https://nitter.net/dkb868). One thing I found interesting +on that article was that the concept of "the library" has been lost over the +last few decades as a way to organize information. They define the library as a +hierarchical, categorized directory of information. The article also talks about +other organizational methods, and is worth a read. + +The other thing is the note taking software we're building at my workplace, +[Dendron](https://dendron.so/). One of the core tenets of Dendron is that the +information is hierarchical. Something the founder Kevin recognizes was that +other note taking software make it easier to make new notes, but they don't +support hierarchical structures which makes it hard to find those notes later. +I've also experienced this, when I used other note taking software (or sticky +notes!) I found that it was easy to just jot down a few notes, but they very +quickly get lost or hard to find when you need them. A hierarchical organization +makes it possible to actually find and reference the information later. + +Requiring organization creates a barrier of entry to storing information, but +what good is storing information if you can't retrieve the information later? +This seems to work pretty well with Dendron. Would it not work for other things? +Why not for taking photos? You of course want to be able to quickly snap a photo +so you can record a moment before it's gone, but perhaps you could be required +to organize your photos afterwards. Before modern cellphones & internet +connected cameras, you'd have to get your photos developed or transfer them off +an SD card: a step where you would have to (or have the opportunity to) organize +your photos. I wonder if we cloud services could ask you to organize your photos +before syncing them as well. diff --git a/content/img/app-search-bar.png b/content/img/app-search-bar.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b9bfe87 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/img/app-search-bar.png differ