All But The Tip of the Iceberg
Computers, as available today, excuse users from knowing anything but the very superficial functions of their machines. In order to be a consumer of technology, one does not need to understand the very complex features that work together to make those utilities possible, and widely available. I am a perfect example of the oblivious consumer of technology: I am not particularly interested in it, and limit my relationship to technology to only what is easy and necessary.
I have a computer, yes. And a smartphone, which I am very attached to, like most of us are. My engagement in social media could not be called active, as I tend to mostly be a silent observer, but it definitely exists. However, I have never learned about all that happens “behind the scenes” of all of those resources that constantly surround me. Honestly, I was never interested to learn. Unfortunately for me, when it came to technology, I adopted an “out of sight, out of mind” approach, reaching sturdy brick walls whenever a software I was utilizing refused to work. Learning about the Command Line Interface dragged me out of my comfort zone, and forced me to interact with my computer on a more intimate way than I ever had before.
The command line forced me to persevere when faced with a brick wall. And I came to face many. Because this interaction with my computer was so new and uncomfortable, I couldn’t avoid dead ends and failure when seeking a particular command. The interface I was now interacting with had a language much different than what I’m accustomed to, and differently from the HTML Codecademy lesson, the instructions were not detailed enough for my untrained mind.
Nonetheless, failing to master the Command Line Interface might have taught me more than actually succeeding in it would. Failing miserably proves the complexity of all that happens out of my sight, and my utter unfamiliarity with this new interface shows how oblivious I actually was. I am not under the impression that now, after this simple failed lesson, I understand all there is to computer software, but I do think that at least knowing there is something left to learn is a big step. Computers, much like icebergs, have a significantly larger chunk hidden from sight than what is exposed to the world to see. And navigating the underwater parts of the iceberg are more complex that one would expect. In order for the computer interface we all know to function correctly, an unimaginable number of other hidden and complex interfaces need to also be working. Interacting with those other interfaces, even though briefly, gave me a newfound appreciation for those who, different from me, actually succeed in creating, surfing and modifying them.
Command Line Interface Cheat Sheet:
pwd - print working directory/shows directory name
ls - shows list of files on the current directory
cd desktop - goes to desktop
cd .. - go back
cd -- - go back to home directory
open . - open GUI in current directory
