High-Tech Heretic Quotes

“Don't forget that computer programming teaches students to think," says a friend of mine who's a computer jock in Silicon valley. He's deeply invested in technology and has no kids. "Programming is a logical system that rewards clear reasoning."
Uh, sure. Nineteenth-century schoolmasters used the same reasoning to justify teaching ancient languages. According to computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum, "There is, so far as I know, no more evidence that programming is good for the mind than Latin is.”
― Clifford Stoll, High-Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian

“Computers deliver an abundance of symbols yet offer an impoverishment of experience. Do our children need to see more icons, corporate logos, and glitzy fonts... or do they need more time climbing, running, and figuring out how to get along with each other?”
― Clifford Stoll, High-Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian

“As computers replace textbooks, students will become more computer literate and more book illiterate. They'll be exploring virtual worlds, watching dancing triangles, downloading the latest web sites. But they won't be reading books.”
― Clifford Stoll, High-Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian

“Weaned on educational games and multimedia encyclopedias, kids naturally seek out the trivial when forced to read books. While visiting a school librarian, I listened to a high school senior seek help with an assignment: "I'm writing a report about Napoleon," he said. "Can you find me a thin book with lots of pictures?”
― Clifford Stoll, High-Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian

“I've just about stopped using the computer in class, because the kids are so distracted by the computers themselves," Ms. Valentine concludes. "I think it's the corporate world manipulating the public school system. It's a big show.”
― Clifford Stoll, High-Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian

“As much as I love computers, I can't imagine getting an excellent education from any multimedia system. Rather than augmenting the teacher, these machines steal limited class time and direct attention away from scholarship and toward pretty graphics.”
― Clifford Stoll, High-Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian

“It's easy to mistake familiarity with computers for intelligence, but computer literate certainly doesn't equal smart. And computer illiterate sure doesn't mean stupid.
Which do we need more: computer literacy or literacy?”
― Clifford Stoll, High-Tech Heretic: Reflections of a Computer Contrarian