Land of the lost

Far away in the land of the lost,

There was a man who knew not what friendship cost.

He took his friends around him for granted,

And gave them not what they wanted.

Asked for favours, they were glad to give,

But never returned them, a bad way to live.

Often betrayed their secrets just for fun,

Even thought his friends never betrayed one.

Took the money they were happy to loan,

But when asked for money all they got was a groan.

So one by one, they left him for good,

Soon there was no one to soothe his mood.

Alone and lost in his cold world of misery,

He finally understood all his devilry.

He was a man in the land of the lost,

Who finally knew what friendship cost.

A machine is a machine only!!

“A machine is ultimately a machine only, which is always made to work. In case of computers, it is either us if we do that or ‘some other’ which does it for us. this ‘some other’ is nothing but our very own operating system.”

– Computer science with python (Sumita Arora)

 

So, I was studying for my computer exam – last-minute study, as the tradition goes – and I was in a hurry to finish the portion – regarding which we were enlightened only 3 days before the exams. Imagine my frustration when I was informed by the textbook that ‘a  machine is a machine only’, not once, not twice, but THREE whole times! I mean, seriously, who to be told that even once, let alone thrice?? Dude, we’re in 11th, not pre-prep! With a headache building up and time no laughing matter, I felt like tearing off those pages and shoving them in the author’s face.

 

A computer is an object of fascination for everyone – from 5 year olds to 80 year olds. Students choose computer as a subject to learn new things about it, to gain knowledge on the subject. And knowledge, I’m sorry to say, does not consist of ‘ a machine is a machine only’. Oh, no, no, no! The author of this book – a  damn bad author, I must say – has clearly got her concept of knowledge all wrong. In fact, she’s got her concept of language wrong as well!

 

‘Operating system is just like our secretary’. I ask you, is this what students have in mind when they opt for computer science? As a student myself, I have to say, I was deeply disappointed in the textbook. A student is a student only, in the language of our dear author. They want to learn something new, something interesting, something fascinating. And the fact that the operating system is like our secretary is not in the least bit interesting OR fascinating!

 

So, my friends, unless you want to be informed that ‘ a machine is a machine only’ and that ‘operating system is just like our secretary’ , I would strongly advise you not to even touch this book! Thank you for being such a dear and listening to me!

 

Signing off,

Ragini