Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!rutgers!ucsd!ucsdhub!hp-sdd!hplabs!hpda!hptsug2!taylor
From: bowman%kanga.dnet@gw.wmich.edu (Joel Bowman)
Newsgroups: comp.society
Subject: Re: Computer Literacy: The Pigeonhole Principle
Message-ID: <550@hptsug2.HP.COM>
Date: 28 Sep 88 17:24:57 GMT
Sender: taylor@hptsug2.HP.COM
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Approved: taylor@hplabs

Magrass and Upchurch present several interesting ideas in "Computer 
Literacy:  The Pigeonhole Principle."  In some ways, the so-called 
"information age" is producing a greater distinction between workers 
with desirable skills and those without than were obvious when heavy 
industry dominated the economy.

To say that computers and computer education condition students (and 
other users) to accept the authority of a "ruling class" is, however, 
no more valid than saying that the printing press was responsible for 
conditioning people to accept the authority of a ruling class.  Yes, 
culture conditions; yes, culture (as much as the people who constitute 
the culture) uses information to condition people to perpetuate 
itself.

History will show that every increase in the flow of information 
results in the ruling class having less power, while those at the 
bottom of the cultural hierarchy gain.  As an "information tool," 
computers will probably accelerate the flow of power from the top of 
the hierarchy to the bottom--people who have access to information 
want to make decisions about their own lives and don't take kindly to 
the authority of a ruling class.  The computer provides access to 
information.

Wanting "computer literacy" for our students is an expression of our 
faith in democracy and in each individual's right to obtain 
information and use it to make decisions for him- or herself.  The 
move from mainframe, centralized computer systems to microcomputers 
(PERSONAL computers) is an extension of the computers general tendency 
to promote democracy and individual liberty, as individual users no 
longer have to go beg a computer guru to run a program or analyze 
data.  They can do it for themselves.

In general, I think that good things will come from computer literacy 
and the Information Age.  There are, however, no guarantees that the 
future will be better than the past, so we need to be aware of 
possible hazards along the way.  Magrass and Upchurch have certainly 
presented us with enough interesting ideas to keep the information 
flowing for several issues.

Joel P. Bowman
College of Business
Western Michigan University