Are you techo-jinxed?

[Jack]

I'm not quite sure what to make of this, but I'm sure it can be questioned on several levels.

Some people seem to carry a computer curse, frustrated by a plague of viruses, hard-drive failures, power surges and software conflicts that appear and disappear without rational explanation. They blame their machines and suffer the scorn of others who accuse them of doing something wrong. But researchers at Princeton University may have an explanation: these computer users, it seems, could be sending out bad vibes. "There are some people who seem to have a natural rapport with computers and other complex machines, and there are other people who seem to manage to break everything even without touching it," said York Dobyns, analytical co-ordinator at Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR). Through countless experiments, the researchers have tested whether people, through their consciousness alone, can somehow affect the output of various devices. The devices - including mechanical and electronic gadgets - produce random outputs when there are no humans around. The experiments appear to demonstrate a small, but statistically significant, anomaly: study subjects seem to be able to change the output of the machines merely by thinking about them. "Viewed collectively across all of the experiments, the odds that this is all just a statistical fluctuation are ridiculously small," said Dobyns. "One in a trillion would be the right general ballpark." Computer support experts certainly recognize a small, but perhaps statistically significant, number of their clients who could very well be sending out some strong vibes. "Occasionally you'll come across a person who is just absolutely jinxed," said Lyle Melnychuk, a computer whiz who runs Geeks 2 Go in Kamloops, B.C., and helps people fix their technical problems. "It's not that they're bad people, it's just that they and technology ... they should just go back to pen and paper." But he and other experts say the reason for persistent computer problems is likely something simpler than mind control. "I think it's quite possible that individual people could have statistically noticeable effect on computers, but I don't think it's a vibe," said John DiMarco, information technology director for the University of Toronto's computer science department. "The presence of strange anomalies in the hardware can often be attributed to the environment," he said.

[Milton Bradley]

I thought I was one of those people until my utility company fixed the electric grid near my home.


Now, virtually all of my phantom computer problems have mysteriously disappeared.


It sure seems as if computers are more sensitive to voltage fluctuations that our other appliances.

[Prometheus]

This is very intereesting. It reminds me of philotes from Orson Card's books.

[Starboy]

I have always maintained that there are people who relate better to things than to people and visa versa. It is rare to encounter someone who is very good at relating well to both people and things. I am and have always been someone who relates much better to things than to people, but I suspect that many of you already know this.

Starboy

[gallo]

Quote by: Starboy I am and have always been someone who relates much better to things than to people, but I suspect that many of you already know this.

You know, I suspected as much. Don't take that as criticism in any way. I am a kindred spirit. I spent more than 20 years working with computers, data bases, and various interface devises. I could always control my computers and interface devices because I told them what to do and what to report. If what they did was wrong, or what they reported was insufficient, then I could fix that.

But before the computer age I found that I also related to animals in the wild. Thus, I was a wildlife biologist in a previous life. I couldn't control the wildlife but I could observe and evaluate, and compile data.

But I'm not especially antisocial. In fact, most people find me quite friendly - even interesting.

[Starboy]

gallo, I wasn't just talking about computers. I was talking about everything mechanical, electrical and chemical. I don't just use computers, I design and build them, and not just at the component level, but at the device level and material level. When I was refering to someone that related well to things I was not talking about someone who is just good at using them. I was referring to someone who could force them to do whatever they wished, within the bounds of nature. Someone who not only knew their way around a compiler but around a milling machine, a blast furnace or a two by four. And I have known and worked with people who were masters of people. You could say collectors of people. Persons that understood people very well and could in a short while understand a person well enough to manipulate and control them, if they wished of course. But I have never met a person who was both a master of the material and a master of people. I suppose it is coming. There will be a time when a human being can be well explained and understood at the material level.

Starboy