How do all these college graduates not know what a HDMI/Cat V cable is?

[Losfer Words]

That's not actually me. And no because I still have a job

 

[MusterX]

 

[chrisdiaz]

I am 49 and have installed probably hundreds of computers. I don't know what HDMI/Cat V cables are. I know what computer cables are though.

Some people like to use fancy words and numbers to describe simple things to make themselves feel smart. It does not mean they are smart. And people that can do shit without knowing what name and number goes with a fucking cord are not dumb.

If you have "installed" 100's of computers but dont know simple tech terms like the ones in this thread, you really never knew what you were doing. Ignorance isnt bliss in technology.

 

[cooks1]

Part of my job involves end user support for our 1000+ employees. When someone calls to report a problem with their network connectivity I ask them to look for a network cable that looks like an old telephone cable with a bigger plug. People easily figure that out.

When their monitor isn't working I ask them to check the cable that runs from their monitor to the docking station. Calling it a HDMI cable doesn't help them troubleshoot.

Most people need the function the cables provide and they don't give a damn about the name of the cable. It's similar to cars. I don't understand much of what goes into them. I just need the car to take me from point A to B.

Well said!!

People should be glad that most of the people who use the computers don't know jackety shit about installing them, maintaining them, and fixing them. For the people that do those things now have jobs.

If I could go back in time, I would learn to write code. There is a guy in our neighborhood that does that. He had to go to Silicon Valley for the first year. But after that, he can work from home and live wherever he wants.

A lot of days he just sits at the pool in our amenity center, sipping a beer, cranking out code. Sometimes he just takes 5-6 days off. Sometimes he will be holed up in his house for 40 straight hours in the 'code zone' or 'flow state' or whatever the fuck he calls it. He estimates his work time each week at 35-40 hours. And the vast majority of that time is either at the pool or during hours he could not do much else anyway (4-9 am, or 11pm to 3am). He makes an obscene amount of money and has time to kill. One of the few people I know personally that I truly envy.

 

[cooks1]

If you have "installed" 100's of computers but dont know simple tech terms like the ones in this thread, you really never knew what you were doing. Ignorance isnt bliss in technology.

You are correct. I absolutely did not know what I was doing for the first several installations. Took forever. I was an Area and Regional manager for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. I spent over a decade in several countries in Europe during a period of rapid expansion. Every time we opened a new location. They just sent all the shit there. They put up all the furniture for us, but when the equipment came in, we did all that.

You have the computer. And the cables. And the outlets. You can figure shit out. By the end I was an expert. Could install and bring up 6-10 computers in an office in relatively little time. And I did it all never knowing what the fuck a CatV or G12#fuckoff$%%$ cable is.

 

[Horse Style]

Is this an attempt to feel superior to college graduates to make up for your insecurity from not completing college?

You're going to deny that's why you made the thread but we all know the reason.



What does knowing what a HDMI / Cat 5 cable have to do with graduating college in an age where damn near everything is wireless?

 

[Mondo Freaks]

lol
Can I go through all the shit non-college people dont know at my job?

 

[Headkicktoleg]

I didn't know the term Cat V until I started studying for the CCNA. Always just called it an ethernet cable.

 

[dittohead84]

A subtle change from the previous decade to now for sure

 

[Jack Reacheround]

I wouldn't expect the typical person to know what a cat 5 cable is, more would know it if you include other alternative terms (internet cable, ethernet cable, network cable). Strictly speaking anyone graduating from college now is unlikely to have interacted with a cat 5 cable as cat 5e was introduced all the back in 2001.

Not knowing about a HDMI cable is a bit more strange but again maybe more would know of it if referred to it by more generic means.

Useful basic computer skills are considered to be those related to its operation and not the hardware itself. Much like how you can drive without knowing how to fix or maintain a car.

Exactly this. They probably just know “video cable” or “Ethernet cable,” or “network cable.”

Would TS know how to run a regression in MS Excel? Most people don’t. Most people don’t even know that is something you can do in Excel. Shit, I’ve worked in IT for over a decade and still don’t know much about hardware. I specialize in other things. I do know the difference between an HDMI cable and a VGA cable though. A lot of the programmers I used to work with couldn’t even connect their computer to a monitor though.

 

[marioh]

Exactly this. They probably just know “video cable” or “Ethernet cable,” or “network cable.”

Would TS know how to run a regression in MS Excel? Most people don’t. Most people don’t even know that is something you can do in Excel. Shit, I’ve worked in IT for over a decade and still don’t know much about hardware. I specialize in other things. I do know the difference between an HDMI cable and a VGA cable though. A lot of the programmers I used to work with couldn’t even connect their computer to a monitor though.

Programmers are typically smart enough to completely fuck up their computers, but not smart or knowledgeable enough to fix the issue that they themselves created. I saw it all the time when i worked for a software company. Mainframe programmers were typically the most clueless when it came to desktop OS'es.

 

[is normal]

I am 49 and have installed probably hundreds of computers. I don't know what HDMI/Cat V cables are. I know what computer cables are though.

Some people like to use fancy words and numbers to describe simple things to make themselves feel smart. It does not mean they are smart. And people that can do shit without knowing what name and number goes with a fucking cord are not dumb.

Calling something by its name isn't 'fancy talk,' it's the basis of communication. Though network cable is more descriptive than cat5, calling it cat 5 is like calling a coaxial cable an rg6.

 

[weich]

Exactly this. They probably just know “video cable” or “Ethernet cable,” or “network cable.”

Would TS know how to run a regression in MS Excel? Most people don’t. Most people don’t even know that is something you can do in Excel. Shit, I’ve worked in IT for over a decade and still don’t know much about hardware. I specialize in other things. I do know the difference between an HDMI cable and a VGA cable though. A lot of the programmers I used to work with couldn’t even connect their computer to a monitor though.

I consider myself excellent at Excel and I had to look this up. I feel like you've picked an obscure thing to target. How many people are going to work with regression on a daily basis, inside or outside of Excel?

 

[weich]

Calling something by its name isn't 'fancy talk,' it's the basis of communication

Yeah? So you want your doctor to talk to you like he/she would speak to a peer?

One of the key aspects of communication is understanding your audience and being able to communicate with them effectively. It isn't "fancy talk" as you suggest. What good does it do someone to use words, terms, etc that another person isn't going to grasp?

 

[Jack Reacheround]

I consider myself excellent at Excel and I had to look this up. I feel like you've picked an obscure thing to target. How many people are going to work with regression on a daily basis, inside or outside of Excel?

That’s kind of my point. That is something I learned in college, that you woukdn’t ordinarily learn, just like in college they don’t teach you the difference between an HDMI and VGA connection. Different people specialize in different things. Computers have so many different uses that some people are going to specialize in using a certain software suite a certain way, and others are going to be generalists who know a little about everything. That’s how the world works.

 

[is normal]

Yeah? So you want your doctor to talk to you like he/she would speak to a peer?

One of the key aspects of communication is understanding your audience and being able to communicate with them effectively. It isn't "fancy talk" as you suggest. What good does it do someone to use words, terms, etc that another person isn't going to grasp?

Well I was editing as you replied, see if my addendum makes sense.

It's one thing to not know tech details, but some shit is common enough that it's starting to sound like people defending ignorance.

 

[Horse Style]

Well I was editing as you replied, see if my addendum makes sense.

It's one thing to not know tech details, but some shit is common enough that it's starting to sound like people defending ignorance.

If a lot of people are ignorant of certain details then how can it be common knowledge?

What's common knowledge isn't what you personally think a lot of people SHOULD know, it's what a lot of people DO know.

 

[weich]

Well I was editing as you replied, see if my addendum makes sense.

It's one thing to not know tech details, but some shit is common enough that it's starting to sound like people defending ignorance.

I think the addendum clears things up and is similar to what I posted earlier.

 

[cooks1]

Calling something by its name isn't 'fancy talk,' it's the basis of communication

LOL. It is not the basis of communication.

Communication is the act of conveying intended meanings from one entity or group or group to another through the use of mutually understood signs and semiotic rules.

For it to be communication, both parties have to understand. Assigning labels, numbers, acronyms to things, while it makes things easier or more efficient between 2 people that are 'both in the know' actually makes communucation more difficult a lot of the time. Smart people know this.

Have you never read Elon Musk's legendary ASS (Acronyms Seriously Suck) email:

There is a creeping tendency to use made up acronyms at SpaceX. Excessive use of made up acronyms is a significant impediment to communication and keeping communication good as we grow is incredibly important. Individually, a few acronyms here and there may not seem so bad, but if a thousand people are making these up, over time the result will be a huge glossary that we have to issue to new employees. No one can actually remember all these acronyms and people don't want to seem dumb in a meeting, so they just sit there in ignorance. This is particularly tough on new employees.

That needs to stop immediately or I will take drastic action - I have given enough warning over the years. Unless an acronym is approved by me, it should not enter the SpaceX glossary. If there is an existing acronym that cannot reasonably be justified, it should be eliminated, as I have requested in the past.

For example, there should be not "HTS" [horizontal test stand] or "VTS" [vertical test stand] designations for test stands. Those are particularly dumb, as they contain unnecessary words. A "stand" at our test site is obviously a test stand. VTS-3 is four syllables compared with "Tripod", which is two, so the bloody acronym version actually takes longer to say than the name!

The key test for an acronym is to ask whether it helps or hurts communication. An acronym that most engineers outside of SpaceX already know, such as GUI, is fine to use. It is also ok to make up a few acronyms/contractions every now and again, assuming I have approved them, e.g. MVac and M9 instead of Merlin 1C-Vacuum or Merlin 1C-Sea Level, but those need to be kept to a minimum.

 

[Legumes]

People don't care to learn about things they're not interested in. This isn't really anything new. I know what both are, but could understand people not knowing them by the their technical names. I find a lot of people now don't care to learn anything that's going to take precious time away from browsing social media on their phones. At least, that's my experience with plenty of people. I've offered to teach people simple things before and the response is often "I would rather pay you or someone else to do that than learn how."