page 8 THE OTHER cPRESS Wadsesas April 11th, 1984 : Experience is the root of all knowledge. Without it we only learn our lessons in life second-hand. This is what makes this article seem by DONNA FORBES paradoxical, for | am writing about isomething that can only be exper- ‘ienced. ' Picture yourself in the Douglas College cafeteria, sitting around a -° ‘group of your friends and acquain- tances. Chances are that the discus- sion will either center around some- one’s~character faults or your own problems. How many. times have you said or heard someone else say something negative about a person who is not present to defend them- selves? And how many times have you sat around dumping your prob- lems or having someone else dump their problems on you. With all the talk about people and their problems, have you ever asked the room -- and yeu a the Book are nside ene And I look around, and £ see that ths (6 frve. _ Computerese Made Easier—— — but you cannot deny computers. -They’re here, and by God, they . mean to stay.” RIGHT anouts by Doig Parsons There is a wave of technology going on out there right now. Cars you tune with a computer, video ‘games, microwave ovens, remote controlled stereos and video record- ‘ers. We’re living in an age that’s so incredibly complex that even the people in the know, don’t! But what or who is behind all this madness? You probably all know. The digital chip. The microprocess- or. The incredible, edible erg. The wonder of the 80’s. The magic of — processing information is here, and if you haven’t heard yet, it’s here to - . Stay. Wake up, Canada, you can’t deny this one. You can pretend the communists don’t exist, imagine that the Social Credits are permanent, There are people today that can - = cope with the computer. Thére are = even people that work with com- ‘puters. But the majority of people _ out there don’t even know the first _ thing about them. Luckily, «there are people and places that. are geared to help people. One such group is called the , Sydney Learning Store. This company, located at 600 - 1385 West 8th Avenue in Vancouver, offers the general public the oppor- tunity to experience computers first hand. They have developed a pro- gram designed to teach computer illiterates the fundamentals of oper- ating a computer. Seven non-aca- demic and three academic placement courses make up their repertoire. The computers the store uses are the Apple and the IBM PC. These are excellent machines that are similiar to any computer one might use in the future, and the programs used are extremely user-friendly. ¢ When you take their courses, you are presented with your own disk (a medium used to hold and store information on ) and your own computer that is isolated from every- yourselt how well you know these people that you are exposing your inner self to or how well you know the people you are talking about, as you sit there in judgement on their lives? Is this the best that you are capable of, or is: it the worst? My. first point is that we all have problems. These problems. are uni- que to each and every one of us, but there is a common thread; They are our problems, not someone else’s. Kahlil Gibran once wrote in The Prophet, ‘’Seek out your friends with only your best to offer.’’ Are your problems in life the best you have to offer someone? | am not trying to tell you to stop talking about your problems to people. Rather, | am asking you to question with whom you share these problems, and why. We all need to talk to people to get a second opinion or just to have someone else confirm to us that we'll be okay and that we'll get through life’s tribulations. But this is something that only a true friend that you trust, respect and have faith in, can provide. Not a casual acquaintance in the cafeteria. Secondly, many of you will prob- ably agree with me that one of the major reasons why we have so many wars and so much violence on this planet, is because there is a lack of trust between human beings. This body else in a quiet, comfortable: booth. This. approach to learning is far better and more advantageous as . it allows the student to concentrate on his or her work without interrup- tion. The courses are designed so that no interaction is required of the staff, (unless you need help, which is doubtful) and the computer takes you through the course step by step in an easy to understand method. ‘The non-academic. courses. are designed to last approximately 8 hours, depending on how fast you work, but there are no time hassles Sydney lets you take all the time you want, and it’s normal for a student to go in for one or two hours a day until he’s finished the .course. Sydney asks that you make an appointment for class time, to aid in their -organization. The business course comes with a .100-page easy .to follow manual. The manual’s format doesn’t scare off first time users, and users already familiar with computing find ‘it informative and very useful. The programs are designed so_ that nothing can go wrong, and anybody can get through them with no problems. Kids, parents, old ladies, teachers, students, stock mar et analysts, anybody can be taught The Backstabbers A lack-of trust is not surprising if. you listen to some of the backstabbing conversations that take place around this college. This back-stabbing, as. | see it, is* rooted in one thing: Intolerance. In North American society, we are as intolerant of ether peoples’ differ- ences; colour, religion, sex, physical appearance, mental. faculties, etc. This intolerance leads to Racism, Sexism, Elitism, and a general lack of trust for people who are different than ourselves. ~ If we are all individuals, why. are we not encouraging people to be themselves, even if they are drasti- ically different from ourselves, rather than back-stabbing the indiv- iduals in our society. We are all human beings, some of us are more gifted to be and do certain things better than other people, but this doesn’t make one person better than another. The Golden Rule of do'unto others as you would have thém do unto you, is in desperate need of resur- rection around this cagnpus. The next time you make a comment or a joke about someone else’s faults, just. remember that the person sitting next to you may turn around five minutes later and do the same thing to you, at the expense of your reputation. ‘‘They’re smiling in your face but all the time they want to take your place. The Backstabbers.’’ Learning Stores Inc. how to- use computers fast, easily, and without scaring them away. The cost of these courses vary, from $90.00 for all non-academic courses, up to $120.00 for 8 hours and $225.00 for 16 hours of instruc- tion for academic courses. Not cheap, but if you consider the cost by the hour, and the value of the > knowledge learned, and the expense’ of not being computer literate in. the near future and even today, it’s not much to pa’