Ein Wesen und ein Ding

When I was thirteen, I was the first kid in school to use a word processor to write his homework assignments.  This would have been 1983, some decades before every child in school was required to have an iPad.

At the time, there was quite a kerfuffle about it.  One teacher I recall had a problem with it.  She was of the opinion that “just letting a computer do your homework for you is cheating.”

Another teacher wanted a detailed discussion of what I’d done, since he had never seen the output of a word processor.  After I explained to him that the computer only printed the words I put into it, he said: “So it’s a bit like a typewriter.  If it only outputs the words that you put into it, then it will be acceptable for this class.  But I’m not sure if your word processor will be acceptable when you go to college.”

I am, and always will be, a huge geek.  A happy advantage of being a huge geek is that you can, sometimes, see the future.