Inbox Question: Becoming computer literate

I recently was asked an excellent question about how to become computer literate and where is a great place to start. Despite digital technology getting much of the blame for current-day problems, I wholeheartedly believe that computer literacy is a very valuable skill for people of all walks of life. As our digital experience becomes more complex, it’s needed more than ever to judiciously use machines rather than have them use you.

Far from surrendering the digital landscape to tyrants and those who uncritically accept their machinations, we should encourage, foster, and support an environment where people are maximally able to be as computer literate as possible. This very much strikes at the root of why I believe this project (the Libre Solutions Network) is an important part of building a better future.

Where do I start with all of this?

I know, vague, but I have no idea where to begin. I’ve used Windows for a long time, and like most people I didn’t do a lot of ‘computing’ on computers; mainly just used it to access the internet, some games, and a few programs. I moved to Linux Mint a few years ago but I use it basically the same way I used Windows XP before.

What fundamentals do I need to start using technology, instead of having technology use me?
What should I study first to learn how to actually compute things?

The only direction I have in mind is getting a thinkpad or other old computer, getting it with libreboot or coreboot, and using a decent operating system, but I don’t know what how or what I can do with it aside from simply store text files locally.

I know Rome wasn’t built in a day, but I have no clue where to lay the foundations. What sort of things should I seek to be independent of, what things will I practically need such as e-mail, etc. I want to know the groundwork of tech literacy so I can know what things I can gradually work towards, and how to accomplish them.

This may not even be relevant, but I have access to an old Commodore 64 and some books on programming with it.

Defining ‘computer literacy’

These days computers are very much everywhere and take a variety of forms. It can be dizzying to enumerate all the different platforms and form factors from laptops to smartphones and wearables. For the purposes of this question ‘computer literacy’ means being proficient at using desktop computers for a more varied and useful set of functions. My personal and broader definition of computer literacy means getting the best utility out of the hardware available. Computer literacy even in this narrow domain is still quite broad. We can include proficiency with a wide variety of software tools, to command-line mastery as well as some sophisticated scripting. Like many rewarding skills there really isn’t a ceiling to hit, but more of a trade-off of what you want to get for how much time you can invest.

What fundamentals do I need to start using technology, instead of having technology use me? What should I study first to learn how to actually compute things?

No matter what you have access to, there’s always a lot you can do to level-up. Every system is going to have a wide variety of (Free & non-free) software options available to try out for all kinds of different tasks. Even if you’re at a loss of what you would like to use computers for, it helps to try out simple things to get a basic familiarity with what’s available. Maybe try recording a song, or editing a video with the tools available (such as Kdenlive on Linux) to scratch the surface of what’s doable on your machine. Even relatively simple things like spreadsheets in LibreOffice Calc can help you do a lot of useful things. I use it to track my weight loss journey. At the beginning, it’s not important to necessarily master every tool, but just scratch the surface of things to learn what is possible.

As you get more comfortable with accomplishing different specific tasks on your system, you will eventually form a broader understanding of how truly flexible and impressive even fairly old systems can be. This can also involve becoming more proficient with the operating system you’re running. As a linux user you’ll likely want to consider becoming proficient at the command-line to learn to manipulate data directly with the wide variety of console tools. The advantage of this approach is that you’d be very surprised at what can be done with ‘just text files’ and processing them.

Of course, another great place to start is by learning how the system you’re using works. Trying to make as many (reversible) changes as possible, and try to find things that make it work more to your liking. For example, after trying out many different ‘window managers’ in Linux, I personally found that KDE gave me the mix of convenience & customization that I really enjoyed. As you refine your system over time, it can become more of a reflection of what you want out of your machine. Some people just want a minimal and sleek experience, while others sometimes want flashy and beautiful options, the beauty is that with enough effort it all seems very much within reach for advanced Linux users.

Major steps:

1. Try out a wide variety of software to perform a variety of tasks
2. Discover what changes you can make to your system itself and find out which ones improve your experience for you
3. Consider learning the very basics of the command-line if you’re very motivated to maximize the utility of your system

That said, that’s definitely not the end of your journey. Once you’re comfortable with those steps you reach the tipping point of having a non-trivial idea of what’s available. That’s only a tiny fraction of what’s actually possible. Depending on the particularity of your goals, you may find yourself interested in building your own software to accomplish particular tasks. It starts out small, but eventually one realizes that they can change almost anything with enough time and effort. I don’t think learning to program is essential to make good use of machines, but it definitely helps put many things into perspective.

Eventually you learn that all software is just layers of code. The programs that you run, and the scripts you tinker with are just code calling other code. Making meaningful programs is something you can do the moment you learn the basics of the command-line for your system. The command-line ‘shell’ for your system interprets instructions, and a list of these instructions written down can already be a very powerful script. Scripting on your system will get you very comfortable with manipulating data you acquire or modify with a wide variety of programs, but writing your own programs and scripts for this purpose changes the game dramatically.

Rewiring the foundation

It is ironic that you can accomplish all of the above, become a very powerful ’tech wizard’ but many will still gate-keep you as a mere trickster. While at that point you can likely accomplish almost anything you set your mind to yet there will still be people claiming you don’t actually understand computers. As frustrating as this is, there is truth to it. Learning various software programs and even writing your own doesn’t really require you to actually wrestle with what the machine is doing at a physical level. Our entire digital experience, even for programmers, is built on layers and layers of abstractions that simplify more fundamental operations. For those interested in not only getting the most out of their machines, but also reforging a better digital future, there is a great deal of opportunity. Learning to master the machines themselves, rather than just the abstractions built on top of them is invaluable.

This may not even be relevant, but I have access to an old Commodore 64 and some books on programming with it.

It is absolutely quite relevant, because that platform is a great place to start learning both programming but also learning to wrestle with the machine directly. Other alternatives like micro-controllers and Raspberry Pis are great starts, but the C64 is definitely an all-in-one solution to gaining very valuable skills to enhance your long-term programming pursuits. Depending on your goals, learning to program closer to the metal, can make a radical difference on your perspective of computing. Ironically by recognizing the vast differences of all the different platforms, you begin to understand and appreciate the underlying shared foundation.

When one broadens their understanding of ‘computer’ to mean any sufficiently complex circuit, you can absolutely take on the broader challenge of robotics. With basic programming under one’s belt, they unlock the ability to wrestle with mind, machine, and physics. There is a phenomenal wealth of opportunity in learning to repair, salvage, and build better devices now that things are more accessible than ever. Parts are cheap, but ingenuity and passion are much more precious commodities. When one understands that every aspect of our digital experience, software, hardware, and even the devices themselves are very much interchangeable, the game changes dramatically.

Flourishing independence: Sharing is caring

Learning and building digital independence is a lot more than just a solitary endeavor. From the very beginning I would encourage you to join communities where you can find help and learn from others. The more we come together the more we can find ways to overcome shared obstacles and challenges. I would absolutely encourage you to learn more about Free Software and the collaborative mindset behind Free and Open Source Software/Hardware movements.

What sort of things should I seek to be independent of, what things will I practically need such as e-mail, etc.

Ultimately, this is entirely up to you. I would personally recommend recognizing that much of our digital experience is hostile cyberspace and that it is up to us to rebuild a better foundation. Big Tech social media is one of the more openly malevolent forces of our time, yet many people struggle to disconnect without feeling isolated. E-mail is the very same in which it has many problems but a great many institutions people interact with rely on it. One can argue you’re free to forgo any aspect of our present digital environment, but in practice the consequences can be quite non-trivial.

I’ve written before that every technological evil has “a very simple engineering solution, but a hard collective action problem to fix”. This means that improving your own digital experience very often requires the cooperation and participation of others. This is the main reason why this project, the Libre Solutions Network exists. We need others to understand and value each other’s privacy, security, and digital independence. The first step is education, and we’re going to need a lot of teachers. I wish you well in your journey to master machines.

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