February 5, 2004

Geek irritation reaches a simmering point. This is from the same article discussed in the previous post:
"Go out, get a book," suggests Zack Rubenstein, 28, who has for years provided free technical support for his extended social network. "You went to college and you got a degree, you obviously can learn something. Play around with it; it's not going to kill you."

Mr. Rubenstein, a member of the technical support staff at a New York City law school he thought it best not to identify, is not at liberty to dispense such advice at work. Instead, he answers endless calls about malfunctioning monitors that turn out not to be plugged in, and broken printers that start working again as soon as he removes the single piece of paper obviously jamming them.

"Especially dealing with academics," Mr. Rubenstein added, "you'd think they'd have some ability to deduce or think problems through for a minute."
I don't know how well this identity concealment is going to work within the law school, but it's nice of Zack not to expose his particular group of clueless/shiftless lawprofs to public ridicule.

Actually, though, the world has always been full of very smart, educated people who don't know how to use a screwdriver or a wrench, who need a plumber to replace a washer, or who can't boil water or cook a single thing. These people have never been embarrassed about their deficiencies and are often even proud of it. The difference, though, is, as the article discusses, that spreading computer viruses causes other people a lot of trouble. It's more like driving when you don't know how to work a car.

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