Anzo Penzias – Things to Remember about Computers

1. Computer ownership doesn’t guarantee computer literacy.
2. Logic is cumbersome; that’s why humans rarely use it.
3. Computers don’t contain “brains” any more than stereos contain musical instruments.
4. Machines only manipulate numbers; people connect them to meaning.
5. An inexact number is almost always good enough.
6. Computers are just fast calculators pushing their own buttons.
7. Digital information travels better, like mailing cookie recipes instead of cookies.
8. Computers are like cars – they’re great for speed, but you have to steer them.
9. People run too many errands for their machines, especially if they think they have to.
10. If you don’t want to be replaced by a machine, don’t act like one.

[from Anzo Penzias, Ideas and Information, 1989]