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 Lines: 42 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