RE: ADMIN: Re: OT How do I unsubscribe?

[Kimberly <JKWilson -at- concentric -dot- net>]

My favorite catch phrase to describe this phenomenon is: "I just write
computer manuals -- I don't read them!"

Nonetheless, I think part of the issue is how individuals learn and absorb
information. Information in our culture is primarily through the written
word (albeit in various forms), yet a significant number of the population
are not verbal thinkers/learners. Graphics speak to the visual learners
somewhat, but there isn't a great way to hook the tactile learners or the
cognitive, etc. with ordinary printed information. I am a tactile learner,
which means to learn something I need to involve my hands. When it comes to
computers, that means *doing* it, not reading about it. I've learned all my
software that way--hands-on trial and error, and in fact, that is what the
"intuitive" interface is meant to permit. My mother is a visual thinker.
She hates computers because any question she has requires reading lots of
words (whether in manuals or pop-up help) and it doesn't make sense to her.
Describing the steps orally doesn't work either (as I've learned on many a
telephone help session). But if someone *shows* her the steps, she gets it
and never forgets it. 

It is high irony to me that I am employed in providing a service I myself
would not/do not use. My husband, though, is one of those people who reads
manuals from cover to cover. I guess his type keep me employed. <grin>

FWIW
Kimberly in Atlanta GA


>> Eric Ray wrote:
>> 
>> > Not really grinching, as my form response takes about a second to
send, but
>> > definitely bemused by the irony,
>> > Eric