Tech-speak Confusion

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Buzz Bumble

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#141280 7-Mar-2014 09:26

From the LA Times (via The New Zealand Herald, 6 March, 2014) ...

Tech-speak confusion contagious
A recent study found that many Americans are lost when it comes to tech-related terms, with 11 per cent saying that they though HTML - a language that is used to create websites - was a sexually transmitted disease. The survey conducted by Vouchercloud.net also found 23 per cent thought an "MP3" was a Star Wars robot (it is an audio file), 18 per cent identified "Blu-ray" as a marine animal (it is a disc format used to store high-definition videos), and 27 per cent identified a "gigabyte" as an insect found in South America (a gigabyte is a measurement unit for the storage capacity of an electronic device.)

jbard

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#1000549 7-Mar-2014 09:46

Do you have a link to the article?

EvilDC

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#1000556 7-Mar-2014 09:55

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11214536

Fred99

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#1000560 7-Mar-2014 10:00

jbard: Do you have a link to the article?

It's not too hard to find.
Here's a link to a site - with a link to the LA Times article

Syndicated McNews which was probably (despite denials) nothing more than a PR stunt for profit.

Demeter

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#1000767 7-Mar-2014 14:40

I am Jack's Complete Lack Of Surprise.™ Not sure if it is a regional thing, but to me it seems the average American is woefully lacking in general knowledge about a lot of basic things. In a Jamie Oliver program I watched once, none of the 3-5 year olds knew what a real tomato or potato looked like. I mean, what?

toyonut

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#1000818 7-Mar-2014 15:35

You can show anything you want by filtering out the results that do not prove your point.

Try Vultr using this link and get us both some credit:

http://www.vultr.com/?ref=7033587-3B

Sideface

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#1000819 7-Mar-2014 15:36

For full results go to: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9HJeR-F9NIeczNDb2hVb2p6UTQ/edit?pli=1
This is a small file: Survey Breakdown- Tech Confusions.pdf

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itxtme

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#1000825 7-Mar-2014 15:43

Saw this on stuff the other day, I thought it was rather rich considering the image used is not html

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jeffnz

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#1000891 7-Mar-2014 16:55

Sideface: For full results go to: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9HJeR-F9NIeczNDb2hVb2p6UTQ/edit?pli=1
This is a small file: Survey Breakdown- Tech Confusions.pdf

interesting and would think NZ would fair no better depending on whom you ask, for instance people in my age bracket and older wouldn't have a clue about some of the technical questions and likewise some very young people wouldn't know the meaning of some words or phrases,

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Buzz Bumble

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#1000953 7-Mar-2014 18:33

Demeter: Not sure if it is a regional thing, but to me it seems the average American is woefully lacking in general knowledge about a lot of basic things.

Many Americans also believe in visitations by ghosts / angels / extra-terrestrials, Government conspiracies, a faked Moon landing, giving every looney their own gun, and want evolution banned from being taught in schools ... and that's supposedly the most powerful and advanced country in the world?! Geez, no wonder the planet is such a mess. :-\

Athlonite

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#1000958 7-Mar-2014 18:46

maybe America just needs to remove all warning signs/labels and let nature take it's course

and ofcourse you need to know all the previous presidents names otherwise your not an American hmmm yup that'll help me later on in life NOT!!!! as Forest Gumps mother was always heard saying Stupid is as Stupid does

MaxLV

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#1001058 7-Mar-2014 23:10

Buzz Bumble: From the LA Times (via The New Zealand Herald, 6 March, 2014) ...

Tech-speak confusion contagious
A recent study found that many Americans are lost when it comes to tech-related terms, with 11 per cent saying that they though HTML - a language that is used to create websites - was a sexually transmitted disease. The survey conducted by Vouchercloud.net also found 23 per cent thought an "MP3" was a Star Wars robot (it is an audio file), 18 per cent identified "Blu-ray" as a marine animal (it is a disc format used to store high-definition videos), and 27 per cent identified a "gigabyte" as an insect found in South America (a gigabyte is a measurement unit for the storage capacity of an electronic device.)

Typical falsified headlines to grab readers attention.

The real headline should have read that the vast majority of Americans have no problems with knowing the correct meaning of technical terms.

In all the questions, most (over 70%) knew what the terms meant, yet the article's 'author/reporter' chose to write about the *small* percentage that did not know the terms, and chose to make that the headline and point of their 'article.'

Dratsab

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#1001158 8-Mar-2014 10:10

MaxLV: In all the questions, most (over 70%) knew what the terms meant, yet the article's 'author/reporter' chose to write about the *small* percentage that did not know the terms, and chose to make that the headline and point of their 'article.'

As alluded to by Fred99... ;-) No surprises here - to me, the whole point of the [main stream] media seems to be:

focus on the negative
sensationalise stories as much as possible
misdirect where necessary to help with 2
ignore or minimise information counter-productive to 2
present gossip as if it news/newsworthy (also helps with 3)
defend actions by claiming it's "technically correct"

I regard media as a pointer rather than a source of reliable information as I see them as being driven by revenue rather than virtue. Research (the thing the majority seem to do very little of*) is always needed to get the full picture or closer to the truth of anything seen on TV bulletins or read in The Herald, Stuff etc.

* Generalisation - possibly a little harsh as there will be some very good ones out there who get let down by sub-editors, editors etc.

Buzz Bumble

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#1001161 8-Mar-2014 10:26

MaxLV: ... yet the article's 'author/reporter' chose to write about the *small* percentage that did not know the terms, and chose to make that the headline and point of their 'article.'

Of course they did - it's called "journalism", ranked in terms of honesty and usefulness only slightly above "criminal", "politician", "lawyer" ... and "survey researcher". I never said it was highly accurate research, simply quoting what was in the newspaper out of interest. :-)

Geektastic

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#1001523 8-Mar-2014 23:54

Demeter: I am Jack's Complete Lack Of Surprise.™ Not sure if it is a regional thing, but to me it seems the average American is woefully lacking in general knowledge about a lot of basic things. In a Jamie Oliver program I watched once, none of the 3-5 year olds knew what a real tomato or potato looked like. I mean, what?

My brother went out with a Californian girl for a while. She went over to the UK on secondment to Bradford University (shudder) for 12 months and whilst she was staying with them he was mightily amused when she asked how long the ferry crossing to Scotland took..!

Another of my brothers, who lives in California, is continually astonished by the lack of basic factual knowledge he encounters. And yet...Harvard, MIT (the proper one!), Yale etc etc.

Mind you I had a long argument with a kid in the UK once who tried to convince me that steak was not muscle, so it's not just the septics with a problem.

Buzz Bumble

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#1001578 9-Mar-2014 10:05

Geektastic: whilst she was staying with them he was mightily amused when she asked how long the ferry crossing to Scotland took..!

Technically you could take a ferry from Wales to Scotland (or at least used to be able to), but it is a bit of a weird route from Bradford ... maybe she was reading the travel directions from her GPS navigation device or Google Maps and going via Norway. ;-)