Another megabyte for your memory

Another megabyte for your memory

JAKARTA (JP): "What kind of life would we live if computers had not been invented ?" a friend of mine wondered.

"It would be easy, pleasant and affordable," I answered immediately.

Life would have been more pleasant without the so-called smart machine. Look at what it has done in Indonesia. The cost of making a driver's license or an identification card has gone up because it must be processed by computers. We also have to pay to replace our family record (Kartu Keluarga) with a new, computerized one. And wait until your kids complain that they can't study without a personal computer.

In the good old days, air travel was easy. You bought your ticket at the ticket office and the attendant at the airport marked "OK" on the ticket if your reservation was confirmed. Now your reservation is processed by computer and the ticket is printed out again. How do you feel when you arrive at the airport with an "okayed" ticket to find out that you're not registered just because they have computer problem? It happens. Before computers, if you held a confirmed, hand-written air ticket there was no way they could give you such an excuse.

Yet, people keep saying that computers make everything run smoothly. I just hope they change their mind when they find out what I went through at a hotel recently. I was running out of money, so I wanted to pay with my credit card instead. I also wanted a cash advance. The cashier apologized, "I'm sorry, sir. No can do. The system here is computerized. Changing your term of payment will deteriorate the system."

She gave computerization a whole new meaning.

On-line banking is another problem in Indonesia. You can withdraw cash from any branch in the country (At least, that's what their advertisements scream). The bank book has a section that bears your hidden signature that can only be read by a computer. It sounds so convenient. But wait until you run out of money far away from home and find out that your savings book cannot be used to withdraw money because the computer fails to read your signature.

Withdrawing money from an Automatic Teller Machine is another experience. I was confused one day. When I punched my Personal Identification Number (PIN), the machine denied it. Then I remembered I had entered my credit card PIN. I punched another number, but the answer was the same. "YOUR PIN IS NOT RECOGNIZED, PLEASE REPEAT." I did. The ATM did not tolerate me any more and ate my card. So much for convenience.

Because you shouldn't write your PIN down for security reasons, you have to memorize it. The trouble is, there are too many figures to memorize in this computer age. There are also phone numbers, account numbers, birthdays and anniversaries. For young people, remembering them all is a piece of cake. But at my age, it is not easy.

"I think I'm getting old and senile," I complained to my youngest son, an incorrigible humorist.

"No big deal," he answered jokingly. "All you have to do is expand the memory of your brain another megabyte."

Here is another problem. Young people are so computer minded that everything they say refers to computers. If you know nothing about computers, you are lost. What happened to the "I know how you feel, Dad" talk I used to have with my father in the old days? How about a simple "Don't worry"?

When I forgot my wife's birthday, my daughter-in-law gave me yet another computer-wise tip: "You can delete unnecessary files in your mind so that you have enough memory to keep figures and important notes. Reader's Digest suggested it."

I've had it with computer talk. But now I am beginning to think that what she said does make sense. I have been keeping too many figures in my mind. It would be better if I just wrote them down and got them off my mind. I would only have to remember important numbers, like my PINs and home phone number.

When you are my age, somewhere over fifty, you had better forget telephone numbers, bank account numbers and addresses. You can jot them down on a small piece of paper and keep it handy. But, for safety's sake, don't "erase" your wife's birthday from your memory. Explaining, "I'm sorry, darling, a Michael Angelo virus ruined the file in my brain memory, and I lost your birthday reminder," may not work.

-- Carl Chairul