Medford councilor takes bold stand against computering

The awful bell when you slap the handle to return the platen to the starting position really can be distracting, eh?

Wait until this guy finds out that someone videotaped the meeting on a portable cinemeography machine.

First, shouldn't that be "computerin'" followed by a spittoon ringing out?

Now, let me take his side (albeit better explained):

Texting your wife to tell her you'll be a little late for dinner but the red cami she just MMS'd you will be fine for dessert is just as distracting as looking up pertinent info on whatever topic the council is discussing actively. There is something to be said for keeping your face out of a laptop or smartphone, no matter what the valid reason, when you're supposed to be an active participant in making decisions with citywide implications. That's not to say that every person can't multitask well enough to use the laptop and stay in the conversation, but since it's pretty much impossible to differentiate between those that can and those that can't as well as it being personally invasive to try and differentiate between texting the wife and researching the topic...the best rule is probably to require a decorum where "computerin'" is outlawed or kept to a very brief minimum inside the room.

Secondly, in the article itself, there's a very real concern for confirmation bias in part because of my prior point. You're distracted by the discussion and you're trying to keep your use of the laptop to a minimum. There's enough idiots AND smart people on the internet who will write anything, be it true or false (think of it as a political corollary to "Rule 34"). Just look at our federal Senate where Jon Kyl just said on the official record that Planned Parenthood spends 90% of their time doing abortions. If you look that up and use it as proof of your point, then you're wrong and the discussion is worse for it. It's only if you're lucky or have time to do more searching that you'd find the fact that it's 3% not 90% and he had to basically put out a press release where he said "I was lying and I knew it". Having been practicing the art of Google Searching for years, I can well attest to situations where search results can quickly lead you astray. Furthermore, if you bring up one of these incorrect "facts" at a meeting where you can point to the computer and say "See! I just referenced it on the INTERNET!"...well, that's my next problem.

There are 4 sorts of people on the computer literacy spectrum: There is Granpa Councilor here who not only doesn't use the computer well, but shuns it as the devil's machine itself. There are those that don't use it or don't use it frequently but trust others to use it well and to the advantage of everyone. There are those that use it moderately to frequently and may even seem somewhat savvy on it, but screw up using it (you know, they are the ones using Internet Explorer to access AOL for their email still and opening every attachment because "it had my name in the title of the emails!"). And there are the power users who know what they're doing (and speed of use may still be an issue) and can use the web to their complete advantage. The reason I point these out is the problems inherent in using the computer in meetings for person 2 (and usually tag-teamed with person 3). If, like my grandmother, you don't use a computer well or much at all, but you trust someone who does (like her annoying next door neighbor)...then when that person tells you they read on the internet that Obama is a secret Muslim, they're apt to believe it to be true. Imagine in a meeting that Person 2 was told by Person 3 or even a malevolent (or simply hurried) Person 4 something that bolsters their opinion on the matter...they'll stick to it and that falsehood will influence their decision making.

So. Where does that leave us? I think there are some people (I include myself in this group) who can use the internet to their gain while multitasking in a meeting and be able to help the entire group make better decisions faster. That's a great boon for a group when they can index the entire internet quickly at their fingertips through the right users who can also digest the giant gestalt of what they're seeing in real time. However, since that's not the greater majority of the population...and based on how poorly our governments operate inside their own little bubbles, I completely agree that texting and/or "computerin'" is best left outside the room. If the council feels it could probably be more informed on a matter or wants to research some more, let them work on it and come back after an hour or two...or even the next day. Better to get it right than decide in an artificial vacuum of knowledge...but also better to get it right than decide based on incorrect information dressed in sheep's clothing.

And this is why we have weird-ass statements like "the internet is a series of tubes" from indignant oldsters who prefer to remain so. He must have been a real hoot back at the turn of the century. Or when he pooh-poohed that newfangled invention called, I believe, a "camera," because God have him a fine pair of eyes so no photographics would tell him what to do. New things are scary!