[pbourke]

> I find it hard to imagine how they must see the modern world. It must seem like magic!

I think this is unnecessarily infantilizing. There are a great many very complex things in the modern world, and people must employ abstractions for most of it.

I think with the rise of multi form factor computing, there is more basic literacy about the nature of computers these days. People don’t think that a phone god makes their phone work and a laptop god lets them work on their document.

[fn-mote]

>> I find it hard to imagine how they must see the modern world. It must seem like magic!

> I think this is unnecessarily infantilizing. [...] people must employ abstractions [...]

"Magic" to me means "does not (appear to) obey laws of cause and effect".

When the phone doesn't work after you install App X, do you attempt to remove app X? Why would restarting the phone help the situation? If none of this is logical, you're just following the 16 step Apple Fixit Checklist, good luck... it might work... but if you miss something what happens? You're just back to the start and run the checklist again... or call the ~~witch doctor~~ knowledgable friend.

Now I won't say there's no magic in understanding computers. There certainly are cause and effect mechanisms that are too arcane for ordinary mortals to be familiar with (even like "don't build the project inside a directory that has a space in it" never mind "don't put a colon or slash in your filename").

The point is: "magic" does not have to mean infantilizing.

[jrmg]

I said ‘like magic’. I know they know they’re made by humans and understandable with effort.

Complex chemistry and materials engineering feels ‘like magic’ to me. I know I could understand it with enough effort - but I don’t understand it now. I’m sure my view of everyday things would change if I did.

[bitwize]

We etch runes into stones, imbue them with lightning, and thereby make them come alive and do our bidding... and you want to tell me computers are not magic?!