No computer network with pretty graphics can ever replace the salespeople that make our society work. Clifford Stoll More Quotes by Clifford Stoll More Quotes From Clifford Stoll While I admire the insights of many of the people in the world of computing, I get this cold feeling that I speak a different language. Clifford Stoll differentfeelingspeople Computers in classrooms are the filmstrips of the 1990s. Clifford Stoll classroomcomputer I spend almost as much time figuring out what's wrong with my computer as I do actually using it. Clifford Stoll computer I claim that this bookless library is a dream, a hallucination of on-line addicts; network neophytes, and library-automation insiders...Instead, I suspect computers will deviously chew away at libraries from the inside. They'll eat up book budgets and require librarians that are more comfortable with computers than with children and scholars. Libraries will become adept at supplying the public with fast, low-quality information. The result won't be a library without books--it'll be a library without value. Clifford Stoll dreambookchildren Merely that I have a World Wide Web page does not give me any power, any abilities, nor any status in the real world. Clifford Stoll realdoegiving The truth is no online database will replace your daily newspaper, no CD-ROM can take the place of a competent teacher and no computer network will change the way government works. Clifford Stoll cdsgovernmentteacher It's easier to apologize afterwards than getting something allowed in the first place. Clifford Stoll apologizingeasierfirsts It's a great medium for trivia and hobbies, but not the place for reasoned, reflective judgment. Suprisingly often, discussions degenerate into acrimony, insults and flames. Clifford Stoll acrimonyhobbiesflames When I'm online, I'm alone in a room, tapping on a keyboard, staring at a cathode-ray tube. Clifford Stoll keyboardsraysrooms If you don't have an e-mail address, you're in the Netherworld. If you don't have your own World Wide Web page, you're a nobody. Clifford Stoll addressespagesworld Electronic communication is an instantaneous and illusory contact that creates a sense of intimacy without the emotional investment that leads to close friendships. Clifford Stoll communicationtechnologyscience Anyone can post messages to the net. Practically everyone does. The resulting cacophony drowns out serious discussion. Clifford Stoll cacophonymessagesdoe As the networks evolve, so do my opinions toward them, and my divergent feelings bring out conflicting points of view. In advance, I apologize to those who expect a consistent position from me. Clifford Stoll divergentviewsfeelings Call me a troglodyte; I'd rather peruse those photos alongside my sweetheart, catch the newspaper on the way to work, and page thorough a real book. Clifford Stoll pagesrealbook Computers force us into creating with our minds and prevent us from making things with our hands. They dull the skills we use in everyday life. Clifford Stoll creatingskillshands Here are my strong reservations about the wave of computer networks. They isolate us from one another and cheapen the meaning of actual experience. They work against literacy and creativity. They undercut our schools and libraries. Clifford Stoll creativitystrongschool I sense an insatiable demand for connectivity. Maybe all these people have discovered important uses for the Internet. Perhaps some of them feel hungry for a community that our real neighborhoods don't deliver. At least a few must wonder what the big deal is. Clifford Stoll communityrealpeople A box of crayons and a big sheet of paper provides a more expressive medium for kids than computerized paint programs. Clifford Stoll crayonpaperkids Why is it drug addicts and computer afficionados are both called users? Clifford Stoll Fifty years ago I knew the names of everyone who lived in my street. Now, in this age of information, I know the names of hardly anybody who lives in my street. Clifford Stoll
