Don’t you think it’s time The Columbian stopped carrying Thomas Sowell’s column? I know he’s 85 now and should be accorded a certain amount of respect, but he’s been slipping for a long time and his descent is accelerating. His latest column on Jan. 6, “Technology gets unnecessarily cryptic in language use,” was nothing more than the rantings of an old guy who just doesn’t get technology any more. Since I am one myself, I know the type very well.
None of the “cryptic” problems he cited in his column (on/off switches being labeled “power” instead of “on” or “off,” not being able to figure out how to open his gas tank filler window, or turn on his laptop) is something that couldn’t have been solved very quickly by the average 10-year old, or (in the case of his gas tank) by the average 16-year old with a driver’s license. He complains about not being able to find the button to turn on his cell phone, but admits that he might only use it once a year. He devotes an entire column to this? Seriously? What’s next? An 800-word essay on those 12-year-old punks down the street that won’t stay off his lawn? It’s time to give Sowell’s space to someone else.
