by Dermot Mccabe

Created on: June 22, 2008   Last Updated: March 13, 2012

"His notebooks impair his meaning; his libraries overload his wit." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I feel strongly that Mr. Emerson would have said the same thing about computers. He was not saying that books or libraries were bad in themselves; he was alluding to the tendency of people to assign too great a belief in the written word. I have certainly come across the same unquestioning belief in computer technology.

How often have you heard from some official or other, in response to a query regarding an invoice or bill, that the computer has done the calculations and it is always right and what's more there is very little the official can do about it. The computer is in control.

Over a long career delivering technology solutions to the broadcasting industry, too often I have seen people approach the new computer based technologies fearful that they will not be good enough, or intelligent enough to use the new wonder machine.

My own personal approach to technology and computers in particular is that they are very stupid in comparison to the incredible subtleties of the human mind. New technologies are there as aids. They are there to help us, to provide leverage in computation and processing of all kinds of information. Yes the new technologies are incredibly exciting and present very powerful tools of communications, information retrieval and processing of very complex data in easily understood forms such as graphical displays, tables and graphs.

The problem however is that presenting complex information and ideas in easily digestible forms obviates the need for the individual to understand a subject in any great depth. Take for example, the measurement of video quality. Oscilloscopes and a selection of test waveforms were used in the 80's and early 90's and the technician really had to understand topics like differential phase and gain, sub-carrier phase and other fundamentals of the television waveform. There is absolutely no requirement to have the same depth of understanding today. You simple attach automatic test equipment and it will do all the work and tell you that the signal is right or wrong.

New technologies can create a seemingly simplified virtual world and if we learn about our world through this medium it is certain it will be a shallow understanding without the rich nuances of the real world and all it's human idiosyncrasies. Of course the IT and the Computer Guru will have no doubt and rave about the obvious benefits of new technologies. But they are the modern priests and their knowledge of the new technologies puts them in a position of power. They guard their power jealously under a cloak of jargon and special languages, which only they can interpret

I believe that the idea, promulgated by the IT and Computer fraternity, that all-human enterprises are amenable to computerisation, is foolish and that is why so many large IT projects fail miserably. People forget to think when there is a deluge of information available to them on the Internet. If I can use Ralph Waldo Emerson's phrase, "their libraries overload their wit."

Learn more about this author, Dermot Mccabe.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.