Quote from: Babylon on August 04, 2011, 07:14:26 PM

Quote from: enmaku on August 04, 2011, 07:13:26 PM

Quote from: Babylon on August 04, 2011, 07:12:07 PM

Quote from: Atom on August 04, 2011, 06:59:18 PM

Bitcoin is something new. Uncle Joe understands credit cards, but he doesn't understand the difference between good money or bad money.

That lack of understanding means Bitcoin is a hard sell, although with the performance of the markets it's getting easier and easier to explain it to him.

Joe may understand credit cards, you still can't pay him with one. Paying him with bitcoin is about the same level of difficulty as paying him with paypal, but without the transaction fees.

You can pay me with credit cards - I have a card swipe and a smartphone... Then again I'm doubting I'm a good representative for "average" Wink

Yeah, you are definitely not computer illiterate uncle joe.

This is a big societal issue that I honestly cannot believe we tolerate. Today computer literacy is every bit as important as... well... literacy!

People who can't read are ashamed of it, they hide the fact, they try to learn or fix the problem, make it better. There are programs with volunteers and donations to help people who can't read learn and parents recognize the importance of their children being able to read lest they be forced to choose between ditch-digging and the circus. Why do we tolerate computer illiteracy?

More than tolerate, some seem to think there is legitimately nothing wrong with it! I've heard countless folks from the generations before me say things like "oh I don't know anything about this computer stuff, I'll just leave that to you young folks"... NO! You need these skills to survive today! How do you function in any modern office environment without email, word processing, spreadsheets, databases etc. It should not be acceptable for your mother, father, friends, aunts, uncles, employees or employers to be computer illiterate, any more than you'd consider it acceptable for them to be unable to read, dress themselves, tie their own shoes, bathe and groom themselves... These are basic skills now, they're part of the toolkit for everyday life and I refuse to accept it as normal or reasonable for anyone to lack them.

Uncle Joe needs to go take a class at the community college, or better yet someone could start a massive non-profit and try to get computer literacy the sort of attention that reading literacy currently appreciates.

I understand that bitcoin is NOT simple mainstream stuff and I expect to have to explain it to the "Uncle Joes" of the world, but I shouldn't have to first explain how to use their browser, mouse, etc.

Full disclosure: I've spent far too many hours of my life working tech support, so this might just be bitter techie syndrome...