From Plato to PCs – my path to enlightenment

By Steffi Nowak

 

As a political science major, I never (never!!) saw myself working in a technical environment.  The industry norm tells me this is something of a novelty too.

 

The reputation of humanities majors are in general not often linked with any kind of technical advancement.  What’s more, rumour goes that women especially - who make up the vast majority of humanities majors in Germany - don’t usually don’t fancy anything ‘techy’ at all.

 

Since my time at Johnson King I can’t help but wonder, is this really true?

 

I have to admit that I struggled with my computer on a regular basis during my studies. I was always glad to be able to use it for navigating the web, researching and finding information to help me get my papers for university done.  This of course has all changed.  Nowadays my computer has not only become an important working tool, but also a must have. 

 

Nevertheless, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it my ‘friend’ just yet …

 

The things you can do with a computer today are amazing - you can easily get your grocery shopping done online, always find new and used books for sale online and, some of my female friends have even found their future husbands online!

 

After my studies, I spent five months in Estonia which is beyond doubt THE internet capital of Europe – no big surprise from the country that spawned the Skype evolution.  You can pay parking tickets online and vote for municipal representation online – which, as a political science major really amazes me.  And, all of this is made even more incredibly easy with the hundreds of wireless hot spots scattered across this small region, thanks to Veljo Haamer and the WiFi.ee organisation who successfully lobbied Estonia’s local government, hospitals, cafes, hotels, and parks to spread WiFi throughout the country.

 

With that, and as I become more familiar with my computer, I really am growing to like it - and, not only because it’s helping me pay my bills!  Nevertheless, when I come home from a busy day at work, I still don’t mind reading an old fashioned book.