Published 2025-07-03
tag(s): #random-thoughts
Someone emailed a reply on a
previous post. And as I typed half of the following story I realized if I stretched it a
bit, it could become a post, so why not.
=P
One time in Littleton, my wife and I were walking back on the parking lot, and passed by two
youngish-looking couples[1] that were trying to jump start a car.
They had the cables, and cars next to each other. But were looking at things as if it were a
puzzle.
As we exchanged looks, I offered to help.
I have no idea what came over me, because I had never jump started a car. I didn't even own a
car until I was 30!
I have seen or helped my dad change the car's oil, battery, plugs, that kind of thing. I also
did attend what in Argentina is called a "technical high school", where you have a shift of
regular classes, and a second one of mechanical or electrical work.
So I have a bit of knowledge from these things, that I almost never use, and to be honest I
don't trust :)
Anyway, they said they had tried but it didn't work. I asked what they tried, when they
explained, I realized they put the negative clamp on a painted part of the chassis. When I
pointed this out they all looked at me puzzled.
Now, there's a chance that they were puzzled because my accent is too thick (a fact) and they
didn't understand a word of what I said (which happens in Spanish too - I just speak too
fast sometimes most of the times). But their eyes were more like...
...so I said "paint is not conductive". Which didn't help at all, so I offered to connect the
cables.
And they let me.
And it worked.
Obviously. And surprisingly.
Heading back to our own car, Maria was amused. I was still surprised.
Nothing new here, but: speak with confidence and people will believe and trust you.
Even if they shouldn't.
If someone else had been around, and offered to help these guys, I would have happily taken a
step back. Since it was up to me, I just went ahead and made things happen.
(Could have made things worse, too).
Also not a new observation.
And also an unfair one, coming from me. I have no idea how half the things in my car work. I
can change a tire, and that's about it.
But honestly, that out of four people, not one of them knew that they needed an unpainted
piece of metal to make this work, is weird. Electricity is so ubiquitous nowadays.
Understanding which materials are conductive should be the bare minimum, it is safety
knowledge.
And we all should have minimum safety knowledge, like, "don't put out a gasoline fire using
water", or "don't heat metallic objects in the microwave".
But this is a problem, as things grow more complex and specialized, but at the same time
simpler to operate. You can drive for years nowadays and not need to change a tire. I see it
with computers too, my son is a "digital native"[2] yet he knows a lot
less about how computers work than I did at his age.
That might be unfair, since I ended up working in the field. But I bet most 11 years old back
then had a better understanding of their computers than most kids do now, because there was no
choice: you had to understand things to make the computer work.
Maybe I am exaggerating, and I am just old and grumpy :)
Once in a while I catch myself having and recognizing these "old people opinions" and try to be conscious that they probably aren't as real as I think they are. And surely I am older and grumpier.
So I should just...chill.