Techno

Techno-Skills

by Samuel J. Techner

I recall spearheading the implementation of a new digital telephone system. It was at a small company that I once managed and there were about twenty-five people whom the change would affect.

It was a wonderful system. At the time (about 1990) it was “cutting edge” technology. Loaded with features like voice mail, conferencing and even a virtual operator. Things that have, in such a short time, not only become commonplace but deeply entrenched in today’s business culture. I was sure that this change could only help our organization--make it more efficient and streamlined.

What I found was that it wasn’t quite as magical as I had expected.

My confidence waned only because I began to worry about how most adult people "interact" with various types of technology. I specify “adult” people because most young people are so entirely comfortable with technology in all its forms, that it becomes an extension of themselves--the way any good tool should. People tend to acquire these “techno-skills” easily when they are young--much like language skills.

Technology is, after all, a tool. Something we must learn to use, like a hammer or a calculator, or an automobile. Or, even a language.

These things don't just jump into our hands (or our brains) and become useful. You might say that anyone can use a hammer. True enough but, not everyone can use a hammer effectively and few can use one well. The very same principle applies to using technology. People tend to view it with almost divine expectations. By virtue of its sophistication, we often assume that there should be no learning curve, no skills required. "Hi-tech" devices should become instantly useable (and of course useful) by some sort of passive process like telepathy or osmosis.

We have become quite used to this idea thanks to watching nearly fifty years of television which (up until very recently) has been anything but interactive.

Simply put, technology is interactive. You must learn to play it, like you would a musical instrument, before it will produce anything even remotely pleasant. Just as the term “computer literate” implies--there are skills involved...a learning process to becoming “techno-literate”.

What is truly incredible about technology is that once you do learn to use it, the possibilities are (in all respects) virtually limitless.

Imagine what Albert Einstein could have taught us if he had had access to a fraction of the technological resources available to scientists and thinkers today. Think about what the next Einstein will be able to bring to humankind.

If the past century has taught us anything at all, it has proven that no matter how we try to predict the speed with which technology advances... it will undoubtedly advance much faster. So, what does all this have to do with those high-tech phones I began about? Well, not a lot really, except the majority of those twenty-five people might argue that even Einstein would have had trouble learning to use them.