And that seems unlikely to change much; have to be weird to even know what (say), "seven significant figures" means (across a large scale of implications, in that 'means')

As the techno- advances, the social gap widens: ergo Windoze and the marketing of such:

See ? ya don't *need* to know shit. Don't listen to them long-haired awful GEEKS what Know Stuff.. yer OK Billy-Bob, Just Like You Are!

Here! have a free demo of Open Sockets; on us.



We'd Best Get Used to the Phenom.. no?

In fact - handed him a sample of Tweek, the "contact enhancer" which *cures* intermittents - he tried it; it worked (first on a flaky KB contact IIRC) and named it, Product of the Year.. just after the original HP LaserJet. (Not a bad product to be "second-best" to, no?)

While you can't tell much in 5 min (!) he grokked the rather subtle means by which this substance works = an oily long-chain polymer with the unusual property that it is an 'insulator' at normal atmo pressures, but under the (v. high local micro-level) pressure of a metal-metal contact: it is a *conductor*. None of the other so-called 'cleaners' had such properties.

(By now I think it's been ripped off, but the theft cloaked in the ever-convenient 'trade-secret' category of.. ingredient-withholding) Anyway he possessed enough general knowledge of physics and materials - to see the implications, quickly.

So I'd have to guess that at least some of his 'insouciance' is er feigned (??) too.. Like Jack Benny's penuriousness: an exact opposite to his actual character.

(Also, like me - he may just be too slothful to do enough of the homework in some situations: and tries to fake it. Like when I look at the 750+ pp. re "Administering W2K" and notice: the book is merely about the Differences between NT and W2K! And the Real manual is 8000 PAGES on CD. Ugh. Billy would totally envelop All Available Time, were we stupid enough to Believe in HMS Barbarian and those who sale er sail in her)

Cheers,

A.