I don't need to know how to run everything. I just need to know how the run the stuff I'm running.

One thing that helps is not grabbing every new fad when it comes off the shelf. It doesn't hurt to develop a working knowledge of basic tech, and a worldview that assumes a problem can be solved if you just apply yourself hard enough.

I remember the old Twilight Zone where Burgess Meredith survives the Apocalypse (remember when the Apocalypse was a given for the future?) and looks forward to years of reading in peace and quiet. Then he breaks his glasses. Oooh, twist ending! Remember when that was original?

Back then I wondered why the heck he couldn't, somewhere in an entire nation, find another pair of glasses. Later, I found out how to make pinhole glasses. Even now, in a pinch, I can read something without my glasses by making a "pinhole" with my hand. I'd hate to try reading a newspaper that way, though.

Of course there are plenty of people using computers for science and technology. They're using them for music, art, photography, entertainment, communication, navigation, business, and almost anything else you can think of.

Trying to stay on the edge, trying new things, is what keeps your brain fresh and pink. I'm not doing half of what I should be in that area. For one thing, I should be teaching myself 3DS Max.

Maybe you need to try sailing around the world!