Re: OT: computer analogies, science fiction and stuff

David Maynard <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> John Doe wrote:

>> The printing press and the Internet sound analogous, but a
>> computer isn't much like a printing press or the Internet.

> It is for precisely the reason I stated, it is a means of
> distributing the knowledge of the program's creator just as a
> printed volume distributes the knowledge of the writer.
> I also pointed out they go further in being able to implement.

A computer is not a medium. Perhaps your analogy holds some water if
you consider the repetition a computer is capable of. It is capable
of repeating the same task over and over again. But then there's no
need for a user.

We humans have the built-in physical attributes that allow us to get
from here to there and to carry things. The wheel was invented as an
external device which helped to accomplish the same things, and it
grew from there. Our brains allow us to do such things as solve
problems and plan ahead. So we have invented an external device
called a computer that emulates some of what our brains do. And as
happened with the wheel, we know the invention will continue to grow
and be included in more things such as robots.

Comparing the wheel to a computer is a complex analogy, but I
haven't heard anything better.

>> You also have a difficult time imagining that Microsoft holds
>> monopoly power over the desktop operating system business.

> You repeating falsehoods

Do you agree that Microsoft holds monopoly power over the desktop
operating system market?

> <snip of insightful words that have much to do with computing and
> the future>
.

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