# in response to the small world and even smaller thought process



## deaver (Sep 20, 2022)

I have a friend who sometime ago had never tried a cell phone but wanted one just in case. So I gave him one for just in case and told him to turn it on you pressed the RED button. About a week goes by before I see him again. He says he was out in the field and wanted to see if his phone would work there so he pressed the RED button........nothing happened.......so he pressed the RED button again,, and again nothing happened...so he asked some people he saw what was he doing wrong....they told him you had to hold the RED button until the phone came on...later that day I met him and he was unnerved and said I failed to tell him to hold the RED button...not how much brain power does it take to figure that one out....hey?


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## Shalimar (Sep 20, 2022)

deaver said:


> I have a friend who sometime ago had never tried a cell phone but wanted one just in case. So I gave him one for just in case and told him to turn it on you pressed the RED button. About a week goes by before I see him again. He says he was out in the field and wanted to see if his phone would work there so he pressed the RED button........nothing happened.......so he pressed the RED button again,, and again nothing happened...so he asked some people he saw what was he doing wrong....they told him you had to hold the RED button until the phone came on...later that day I met him and he was unnerved and said I failed to tell him to hold the RED button...not how much brain power does it take to figure that one out....hey?


I am a professional, but, until recently, knew little of the tech world. There was a time when I could have made the same mistake as your friend. Aptitudes differ.


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## Beezer (Sep 20, 2022)

Sounds kind of like an innocent mistake to me.

My buddy got a new phone and when it rang, he kept pushing on the icon button...not realizing that he had to swipe his finger to answer.


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## Grampa Don (Sep 20, 2022)

Nothing wrong with your friend.  Having to hold the button down is not intuitive.  You should have mentioned it to him.


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## deaver (Sep 21, 2022)

yall have to be kidding me,,, right? I mean if I give you the key to a car and to start it I tell you to insert the key and turn it to the right,which you do but you dont hold it there so the car doesnt start and you come back at me and say "well you didnt tell me to hold it until the car started" so that is not intuitive enough????


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## Grampa Don (Sep 21, 2022)

I've never had a car where you had to hold the key a second before the starter engages.  Most switches we use are instantaneous.  The reason that button has to be held down is because that's the way the software was written.  It's done to help prevent false activation.  You're trying to make excuses for your own lack of clarity.

Once we learn something it becomes obvious to us.  We forget that it wasn't obvious at first.


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## Nathan (Sep 21, 2022)

Grampa Don said:


> Once we learn something it becomes obvious to us.  We forget that it wasn't obvious at first.


Nailed it.   I have to make a conscious effort to be patient with my wife when she messes up her phone or iPad, she's not techy but computer tech is my hobby.


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## hollydolly (Sep 21, 2022)

Nathan said:


> Nailed it.   I have to make a conscious effort to be patient with my wife when she messes up her phone or iPad, she's not techy but computer tech is my hobby.


Exactly that. My  husband was the same with me.. there  was a lot of sighs and impatience which I could see he was trying to hide when he was first teaching me...  and I'm far from stupid, but I just couldn't get a handle on technology at first over 20 years ago.. and even since when trying to use my Iphone and all it's applications..truth be told I still don't know how half of it works


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## Nathan (Sep 21, 2022)

hollydolly said:


> I'm far from stupid, but I just couldn't get a handle on technology at first over 20 years ago..


Two experiences in the late 90s made me driven to master computer technology- first was when a co-worker(resident computer "guru"), made a big production out of resolving a simple screw up we made on the office computer.  His snarkyness over the whole matter was the last straw.  I said to myself   "if Dave can do it I know for damn sure I can do it much better".    So I bought my own computer for home, did something to it that I didn't know how to undo...had to do the "factory reset"(unnecessarily).  Asked a friend how to learn about computers, he said- "just play with it".   He was right, hands-on experience = knowledge.     So I've been torturing computers ever since.


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## Grampa Don (Sep 21, 2022)

I've read about the high that actors get when they take a bow and get resounding applause.  It's the same feeling when you figure out how to make a computer do what you want.  In both cases it can be addictive.

I'm remembering a little lady named Lilly.  She did PCB testing and troubleshooting.  She would sometimes giggle and laugh when she figured out what was wrong with a circuit.  The harder the nut, the sweeter the meat.


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## Judycat (Sep 21, 2022)

How about me? I have pumped my own gas for years. I know the gas station pumps have diesel fuel too. I know the green handle means diesel, but when I went to pump regular gas into my vehicle, the damn thing kept beeping and flipping on a light that said DIESEL. I kept trying and finally started yelling, why does it keep saying diesel?  The guy on the other side pumping gas in his car said I was using the diesel pump. I looked at the handle and sure enough it was green. Argh! I said something about having a stupid day and the guy said it was an honest mistake. He was just being nice. I was an idiot. Haha.


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## NorthernLight (Sep 21, 2022)

Beezer said:


> Sounds kind of like an innocent mistake to me.
> 
> My buddy got a new phone and when it rang, he kept pushing on the icon button...not realizing that he had to swipe his finger to answer.


That happened to me too. I kept pressing the green phone icon, and nothing happened. How is one to know that you have to swipe?

I have other problems with technology too. You're just supposed to know what order to do things in, etc. If you miss a step, too bad.


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## deaver (Sep 22, 2022)

because in small letters it says"swipe up to answer" or it says "swipe to the side to answer" usually located at the bottom of the screen or on some phones on the icon you are to hold while swiping.


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## deaver (Sep 22, 2022)

I must be the most intuitive person around to be able to figure out that to make the phone turn on I have to HOLD the RED button down. so here I am going to post another intuitive act... anyone here ever use a coin pay phone. you were told to insert a coin to make a call? was it intuitive or not that you put the coin into the little slot on the phone, or did someone have to explain in detail. oh and I am going to add here:.. if the coin got stuck and did not drop all the way down do you call out to someone for help or do you intuitevly hit the phone to make the coin drop.


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## Beezer (Sep 22, 2022)

Not everyone comes from the same life experiences.

I like to think I'm pretty good at humour and music. But I've never been accused of being a handyman...wouldn't know a screw from a bolt. Cut your friend some slack. We have new scanners at my work and I couldn't figure out how to start it up. A co-worker showed me that I had to swipe up to get the thing going. I'm not stupid. I was just learning something new.


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## deaver (Sep 22, 2022)

scanners? what kind of scanners? printer scanners or police radio scanners, or weather scanners? what model?


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## deaver (Sep 22, 2022)

wouldn't know a screw from a bolt is just a saying I am taking a guess at cause you must surely have read articles that showed a screw or in life seen a screw as they are very common and as to a bolt the same...as to cutting my friend some slack let me relate a little of life history....he built a log home by himself with very minimal help from neighbor to handle the logs. I on the other hand cannot cut a board with a saw as no saw I ever used had a straight edge, there were all bent. I can pound nails, I can use a screwdriver and I am very good at soldering electronics but woodworking is not my class... so cut him some slack I dont think so.....relate to the starting of a car...a car ignition switch has four positions,,,,,lock accesory on and start..you get in your car insert the key and turn it to the start position until the engine starts(unlike some here who have instant start) when the engine is running you let go of the key and it springs back to the on or run position. you push the GD RED button until the freaking phone starts how hard is that!!!!!


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## Grampa Don (Sep 22, 2022)

deaver said:


> wouldn't know a screw from a bolt is just a saying I am taking a guess at cause you must surely have read articles that showed a screw or in life seen a screw as they are very common and as to a bolt the same...as to cutting my friend some slack let me relate a little of life history....he built a log home by himself with very minimal help from neighbor to handle the logs. I on the other hand cannot cut a board with a saw as no saw I ever used had a straight edge, there were all bent. I can pound nails, I can use a screwdriver and I am very good at soldering electronics but woodworking is not my class... so cut him some slack I dont think so.....relate to the starting of a car...a car ignition switch has four positions,,,,,lock accesory on and start..you get in your car insert the key and turn it to the start position until the engine starts(unlike some here who have instant start) when the engine is running you let go of the key and it springs back to the on or run position. you push the GD RED button until the freaking phone starts how hard is that!!!!!


Well, obviously you are smarter than most people.  Congratulations.


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## HoneyNut (Sep 22, 2022)

The wikihow goes to the detail of saying 'press and hold' so that indicates that the 'hold' part is not entirely intuitive for everyone:


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## win231 (Sep 22, 2022)

Grampa Don said:


> I've never had a car where you had to hold the key a second before the starter engages.  Most switches we use are instantaneous.  The reason that button has to be held down is because that's the way the software was written.  It's done to help prevent false activation.  You're trying to make excuses for your own lack of clarity.
> 
> Once we learn something it becomes obvious to us.  We forget that it wasn't obvious at first.


^^^ Bingo.  We experience that often when someone is training us in a new job.   It's easy to forget how we felt before we learned.  And some people are so desperate to feel intelligent, they'll act like a new employee is stupid.


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## Judycat (Sep 23, 2022)

My phone doesn't have a red button. What do I do now? I'm thinking about putting it in the garbage and asking for another phone. I mean, my phone turns on but I want a red button to let me know how it turns on. Same with having to swipe the phone icon. I don't want to have to do that. I changed the operation to the volume up button but I want to tap the icon dammit. There is no way mine will change the operation of the icon. What a piece of junk!


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## FastTrax (Sep 23, 2022)

1. Some friend, it appears that you gave or lent  him one of your working cellphones and if so just take it back with apologies.

2. Older vehicles required the driver to insert the key then turn it to the right. Newer vehicles just require the driver to push a button on the dashboard.


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## Pinky (Sep 23, 2022)

@FastTrax 
Off Topic, but .. I love your new icon, and so glad you beat cancer!


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## FastTrax (Sep 23, 2022)

Pinky said:


> @FastTrax
> Off Topic, but .. I love your new icon, and so glad you beat cancer!



I now have a great respect for Oncologist Pinky. Thanks and you are never off topic as far as I am concerned. Again, thanks and GOD Bless you.


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## Packerjohn (Sep 23, 2022)

All my cars always had a key needed to start them.  I remember renting a car in Cornwall, Uk that was rather "funny."  It had no key.  I had to go back to the office and ask the man what the "big deal" was with this car.   He came out and tried to explain to me about keyless entry and keyless start.  Brave new world for me but now my 2018 Ford Focus has both and I have no problem.


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