Hey guys, I'm studying an IT Diploma and one the questions I have been asked is Why is a Computer Useful? Now I'm not after anyone else to do my work. But I am asking the question. In an effort to research a well thought out answer I thought I might just ask my fellow Bit Techers. I'm after more than just it allows me to design this, or create this, or build this I am after peoples specific thoughts and opinions. So guys, Why Is A Computer Useful?
Simply put - they're useful because the can perform complex calculations far, far quicker than a human can, that was their original purpose. Modern computers are useful because they can perform functions that until relatively recently would have required several separate devices, machines, and, in some cases, people. Now I'm sure others can give you a more in-depth answer than that but, for now, it's an answer.
Porn. But on a serious note, I'd say the most important thing that the proliferation of personal computational devices has enabled is the free flow of thoughts and ideas between members of a populace - on a global scale. This has been the greatest equalizer and tool of empowerment the world has ever known, and not something to be taken lightly. The best (and worst) example I could possibly give would be the recent flash-mobs empowered by BBM's and other quick-message technologies. Whilst true that flash-mobs existed before we had instant messaging devices, they were no where near as cohesive and common, proving that the ability to quickly share and disseminate ideas and thoughts to a group of people is a very powerful force indeed. Wired did a great write-up of this a while ago. Link. Certainly worth a read if you're curious about this side of things.
I'm terminally ill, and it's my way to see the world. For everyone who wishes they could see me, I wish I could go see anyone a million times more. With travel restrictions and little cash, it's how I see anyone and everyone, almost.
Seems a pretty clear and concise way of putting it. I'd also mention -- * Ease of anonymous communication and circumvention of censorship * Quick and easy dissemination of information, learning * Cheap almost instant communication with a worldwide audience * Entertainment (Games, chat rooms, bla bla) * Medical and scientific research (Folding@home, SETI@home etc) * Crowdsourcing and fundraising I'd imagine if this is presented to you in essay format you'll also need to discuss the disadvantages to computer technology. There's also moral issues such as -- * Obsolescence of labour (Clerical work, automotive construction, basically anything that can be largely automated) * Ease of anonymous communication of individuals such as criminals, pedophiles and trolls * Proliferation of pornography, gambling and copyright infringing materials (Daily mail moral panic) * Copyrights, DRM * Dissemination of information that could be used for destructive purposes (Making explosives, enriching Uranium, that sort of thing), * Spreading of civil unrest (The London riots are a pretty good example) * Spreading of sensitive government information (Wikileaks, I'm aware this is a double sided issue) * Censorship (The great firewall of china, blocking of pirate bay recently) * Privacy issues and data mining (Recent Internet snooping laws, digital economy bill) * Huge amounts of waste and hazardous chemicals created as a byproduct of discarded technology * Lack of human contact, isolation * Health issues (Due to sedentary work -- RSI, Obesity, diabetes, heart disease etc) Just some stuff to get you started, HTH.
They can also allow the disabled to participate in a more normal life where their disabilities do not restrain them from activities
it can never replace a good massage.. and from what I've seen just poking around- I'm not sure some people should have a computer! like back in the late 90's, early 2000 I was into crafting trojans and putting them on everything.. anyways one of my friends wanted to buy a computer- so we hooked him up heheh the first thing he did.. turned on his webcam- remember he's married.. went strait to the porn sites and even got screens of him putting in his credit card into a shady one.. so kept diverting his urls until could get his brother to talk to him.. from what I've seen in others- it's pretty much the same deal average computer user has the same stuff on thier rigs.. usually own apple devices, iphone, console, computer.. and all connected to a router using the default keys or has wps enabled.. they usually don't put porn on the drives though- but if you look in the flash cache you can see their habits pretty clearly.. in todays snuffaluffagus world- I'd have to say porn, taking pictures (bad ones).. and usually some word docs it's funny even supposed educated people have a stash.. like when I was in college, one of the teachers left his laptop for a minute, I fixed his wireless for him.. when he came back my instructor said.. ben just found your porn stash- I started laughing and he just froze.. like his face turned white.. we told him just kidding but oh man wonder what he was hiding in there so what we use our rigs for is very different
Turn the question on its head, and consider the number of times you come into contact with computer technology on a daily basis - moreso if you consider that most stuff you use is also designed with a computer.
As a design tool (an initial design tool for architectural design) it is still inferior to pen and paper something quick and beautiful can be thrown together in a couple of minutes or hours by hand and even incomplete can be pleasing to the eye and demonstrate thoughts and ideas, whereas working on computer you can't really grasp a process or design until it is near complete and can't show it to clients until it's horribly detailed, otherwise it looks scrappy. However in development and detailing they can be invaluable. Any alterations for client or planning doesn't require a complete re-draw, simply a small (or large) tweak then re-print. In warrant and specification cross-referencing is a boon - alter once and changes roll out across every instance rather than having to re-draw the same detail on several different documents. In essence a massive time saving tool - and when the client is paying a fixed % of a build as their fee the less time one takes the more profitable one can be.
CAD / CAE / CAM revolutionised the way manufacturing is done, with levels of precision and efficiency that wouldn't be possible without computing. Let's say you're making a plane: CAD lets you design the aircraft, CAE tells you if it will fly, and CAM fabricates wing sections to nanometre tolerances. Try doing that by intuition!
You know, computational fluid dynamics while useful, isn't the end-all to design. There's still very important aspects of actual testing it. Mind you it has dramatically increased our precision and increased our efficiency, but it isn't the end all. Or maybe that's just my old school-ness coming out. What's it useful for? Well computers have revolutionized ( and somewhat crippled) our way of communicating and receiving information. All our media, all our information has been compressed (literally ) and multiplied. While this information has given us much liberty, there is also the problem of this information being difficult to comfirm. That said, computers certainly have done more good than bad. Outside of making us anti-social, it's introduced massive conveniences to us. That and we even have computers in our hands now. Smartphones. Things done changed in the last 10 years.
Your first step is to define "computer." That alone will define the entire scope of your answer. Consider, for example, the leather tanning industry. Some tanneries have sophisticated computers that use an imaging system to read the shape and size of a given hide, then calculate the area for pricing purposes. Other tanneries use a very sophisticated device that uses levers, gears, and pulleys to do the same thing. The funny thing is that the manual device is sometimes used to calibrate the computer-aided device. Go figure. So, is a computer useful? I guess it depends on whether you mean the (relatively) modern image of a box with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, or whether you wish to include different kinds of computational devices - digital and analog.
While I can understand what you're saying (computers don't replace the creative aspect of design), some of the most creative buildings that have been built in the last few years (the Gherkin, the Shard, the Burj Khalifa, the Shanghai World Financial Centre) wouldn't have been built if it weren't for the use of computers to calculate all of the complicated shapes required, the stresses and forces at play in the building, their earthquake resistance etc. Computers have helped our buildings move from being just plain boxes to being interesting architectural and artistic creations - none of which would be possible without computers (or at least, it would be possible, but not without an awful lot of calculations, all of which you'd have to do by hand )
I was speaking more from a design in terms of mechanics and electronics. With buildings, it's a bit hard to test it.. But I do understand what you're saying, computers have helped make some definitively interesting things, more than we could've ever envisioned. What I'm saying though, is simulation is only a part of it. (I'm talking jets and cars here) You can make simulated environments all you want, but in the end, there's something still to be gained by testing it. Still interesting you mentioned that, I totally forgot about architecture.
When they were building the early generation oil platforms in the north sea they had to build scale models so they knew everything would fit and pipes wouldn't intersect each other etc, as you could not totally rely on the 2D Drawings. CAD completely changed the process as you could work in 3D and see the problems while you were designing them.
