Let the experts handle it.

[Requia ☣]

I found myself going to the papers that came with my laptop last night, looking for instructions on opening the damnable thing.  The entire instructions for dealing with it (adding memory) say to 'let the experts handle it'.  And that if you try to do it yourself, you might damage it.

Okay, yada yada warranty yada yada shitty design most users shouldn't touch.  But this culture of dependency is starting to drive me nuts.  I deal with this every day, with people who are willing to pay a couple hundred dollars to avoid having to learn how to back up their data themselves, or who freak when they find out we expect them to actually do work instead of just sending said 200 dollar technician out to them to fix it when it goes tits up.  And the people that are shocked when I tell them their allowed to fix it themselves when it breaks.

I hear it in people who are absolutely terrified of the idea of looking up some case law and defending themselves in court, of people who constantly refer to 'expert opinions' because they can't be bothered to learn about it, and who refuse to learn the first thing about how to maintain their car without going to jiffy lube.  I even know people who are afraid to paint their own walls.

Well fuck you all, I'm going to open that damned computer case.  And even if I don't change my own oil, that doesn't mean I haven't done it, or that I can't if Jiffy Lube decides to raise its prices.

I'd finish this up with a 'go fuck yourself' but you probably need somebody to do that for you too.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I'd finish this up with a 'go fuck yourself' but you probably need somebody to do that for you too.

Let the experts handle that.

[Reginald Ret]

heh nice rant
though i have to admit to being one of those people who is scared to open up their laptop, mainly because these things are bloody expensive and i have no idea how to wet-nurse my data-addiction without one.

i wonder how the experts became expert if they also left everything to the experts?

[Requia ☣]

Depends, some of em (doctors and lawyers) spent a lot of time in school, then went and fucked up in the real world and learned the hard way.

Computer people (at least me and the ones I work with), usually learn the hard way, then go to school afterwards.

[Triple Zero]

this theme is also mentioned in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. the main character has a medium pricerange motorcycle that he fixes and oils himself, and the couple he travels with have bought an expensive BMW (iirc) motorcycle, in the hope that it's high quality enough so that they never have to fix it.
but of course, when it breaks, they're totally lost and must take it to a garage, even though the main character offers to fix the (relatively simple) problem for them on the road, they don't dare to.

i'm personally a bit mixed with this. i used to hate opening up computers, considering myself only a "software man", cause indeed the hardware is so expensive and i might break it, but it's just a little barrier you need to get over and "just do it" to get rid of the fear. do it once or twice (you 'd be surprised--don't be--how hard it is to actually break something), also thanks to my ex-gf who is a much better computer mechanic than i am
now the only thing holding me back from fixing hardware problems on my computer is my own lazyness, which is, an improvement :-P

(i'm tempted to make a point in case for using linux here, but i don't want this to turn into such a thread)

[Verbal Mike]

Lol, my dad is a computer technician, I often don't bother to screw my desktop PCs closed because it's so usual for me to just pop 'em open and take a look inside. But I don't dare open up my laptop. :P

[hooplala]

WHY SHOULD I NEED TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT I'M FIXING??

I'M SOOPERMAN, GODDAMIT!

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

WHY SHOULD I NEED TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT I'M FIXING??

I'M SOOPERMAN, GODDAMIT!

Anybody want some free laser eye surgery?

I've got one of those pocket lasers.

[hooplala]

Ooh! me!! me!!

If I had one of those little round mirrors I'd do it myself!

[Anch]

WHY SHOULD I NEED TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT I'M FIXING??

I'M SOOPERMAN, GODDAMIT!

Just wait till your bicycle breaks down, old chap.
                              /

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

Jokes aside, I enjoyed the rant. I agree with you in general. It also made me think of the Pirsig book that 000 mentioned.. The answer I found to the questions raised in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" is simply to analyze the context.

The DIY vs expert question really falls apart conceptually when the particulars of the context aren't considered. For example:

What do you have riding on your laptop?

Do you need it to set type for your clients this week?

Or is it your backup computer anyway?

Do you have the time to figure this out?

Do you have the money to pay someone to do it?

What are trying to do inside your computer?

Without more information it's impossible to evaluate your decision. The same obstacle prevents me from passing judgment on other people's choices. In general, I think it's best to approach problems like these with the intent of doing it yourself because that mindset leads to research and a better understanding. The "take it to the expert" mindset does seem to gear people toward being listless, dependent consumers. But, those rules of thumb are no substitute for considering the unique factors of the situation.

[hooplala]

For sure.  "Only insects specialize" and all that . . . but there are limits.

[Bu🤠ns]

i support this rant totally.  On more or less a day to day basis i get customers who can barely work out a template in microsoft word.  most people i talk to have no powerpoint experience and couldn't be bothered to learn. and where i work we charge about 40 bucks minimum for a document creation job.  it goes as high as a ninety/hour depending on the complexity. but for 40 bucks we open up microsoft word select a template enter the info and save it. i understand being too busy but it's friggin MS Word!

[Requia ☣]

I'll admit (now that I'm less POd) that sometimes you should let the experts do it, but a basic guide to what you're doing will serve for a lot of things.  What really kicked off this rant was the idea that you shouldn't even consider doing it yourself, and actively blocking the consumers ability to learn.

[Anch]

I'm blissfully unaware of how my computer works, mostly because I'm only semi-interested in that level of technology, but I feel the same way about simpler things.

Some years ago a friend told me about his vacation in Italy, where one of his Italian relatives gave him some kind of poultry, dead, no head, no feathers, and she had no idea what to do with it. I wouldn't have neither. I like to cook, but my meat is either pre-sliced or pre-disembowelled.

I was shocked how dependant on other people I've become; so, I tried breaking out of that situation.
I (tried) to learn how to make bread, what to do with larger and larger pieces of meat, what herbs make good tea-surrogates, those kinds of things.

Recently I had to work with wood, and, although the work itself is mindless, stupifying and beats every kind of education I ever enjoyed out of my head, the feeling of having built something completely from scratch, be it as simple and primitive as can be, is extremely satisfying.