This article originally appeared on WinPlanet.com
Among my few acquaintances who aren't inextricably linked to technology and computers, I'm often consulted for computer issues. Often the problem turns out to have a simple solution--the classic is of course forgetting to plug in the "faulty" device. However, the other class of common problems tends to be things that are actually quite complex, but seem simple if you recognize them.
This is where the illusion begins. When you see someone fix a perplexing problem with a few cryptic keystrokes and mouse clicks, it's easy to feel like a dunce--or worse, to assume that solving such problems is simply eternally beyond your grasp.
The first part of the illusion is that the expert is somehow magical. Many smart businesspeople who use computers in their daily work are mystified by some of the things that happen with their computers. Along comes the office expert, and the problem disappears in a puff of virtual smoke. If the problem isn't easily fixed, often the users feel very much like some particularly strong black magic has bewitched their particular computers.
But at the core of the illusion is the belief that the computer experts are free from computer problems. The truth could hardly be more remote. In fact, in most cases the experts have far more problems than the average users. There are a few logical reasons for this.
For one thing, there's the simple fact that the more problems you have with a computer, the more you learn. Often unsuspecting people find themselves becoming regarded as computer experts simply because enough problems forced them to learn what was going wrong. Eventually they began to understand the technology and how to fix it when, inevitably, it stopped working or doing what they want.
There is another reason why tech-savvy types tend to have more problems with computers, although it's not always obvious. It's because geeks tend to fiddle more. While most sane people will usually be happy with a working computer, many technophiles seem drawn to tweaking settings and adding programs until something breaks.
Expert or not, lot of the problems users have with computers are simply bugs.
Next: Sweeping the Bugs Under the Carpet