Those who struggle with computers should play Myst. The unusual computer game, one of my favorites, is something of a boot camp in situational awareness. Don't know what you're doing? Great! You're on the right track.
The game drops the player onto an island with little explanation. No checklist is provided. No advice is broadcasted. Even the objective is unexplained. Only through exploration and experimentation do the story and plan begin to form. You're on your own, and yet, somehow, you figure it out.
Not sure how to print a document or sign up for a new service? Look for clues. Keep an eye out for anything that seems related. Press buttons and see what happens. Progress one step at a time, and don't be afraid to retreat from dead ends. Somehow, you'll get there, and you'll learn a great deal along the way. Made a mistake? Those can be undone. Rest assured, you won't be trapped in a book for eternity.
In Passkey technology is elegant, but it’s most definitely not usable security, Dan Goodin makes the case that passkeys are too difficult to use, despite their tremendous promise as easy-to-use security tools. He points out that platforms like iCloud, Google, and 1Password are constantly stepping over each other, fighting to be the platform that stores one's passkey, causing a mess of popups and “recommendations” that leave users confused. Imagine if several pieces of furniture in your house battled over the right to store your car keys. Would you ever be able to find them? That's what we have here.
This doesn't just happen with passkeys, I'm afraid. It's everywhere. For instance, my mom often has trouble finding her spreadsheets and Word documents. She uses an iMac, but OneDrive unceremoniously slurps them up, not even listing them as files on her filesystem, then charges her for the privilege when her OneDrive account runs out of space. The Google Photos app on iOS does something similar in a particularly egregious and slimy tactic that has left me warning friends and family never to install it. Then there's the frantic demands from browsers, search engines, and more: “USE ME! USE ME! USE ME!” It's awful, and it causes so much confusion, as people end up using platforms they never intended to.
“In the beginning, mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers; later on, mountains are not mountains and rivers are not rivers; and still later, mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers.”
I can't remember where I heard this, even though I heard it very recently. The speaker claimed it was a Jewish proverb. I can't find much information about the quote online, but this blog post (archived) similarly calls it a Yiddish saying.
I enjoy movies movies like Bohemian Rhapsody, Elvis, and now A Complete Unknown. On another level, they bother me. They're called “biopics,” but they're more hagiography than biography. Sometimes I call them “hero worship movies.” The acting is often exceptional, and they can be fun, but I dislike that they portray their subjects as perfect, saintly figures. It's too much. Watching them feels like developing cinematic diabetes.
New paperback copies are cheap on Amazon, and I was able to buy 9 before they cut me off. That's right, they won't let me buy any more. I thought about asking the publisher for a bulk discount or even a donation, but I'd rather vote with my money and send a signal to the market: publish more books like this!