She often gets me to help her out with very, very, very basic things on the computer. She's relatively smart outside of that, speaks fluent English and graduated uni both in Japan and overseas. But it's as if the basic foundation for working out new abstractions on a computer just aren't there. Which is how the discussion came up. I was curious why such a level of computer illiteracy would be present in someone who grew up in the 90s/00s.
People are shocked at hearing about that minister who says he never touched a computer. I was equally shocked when my wife casually told me she never touched a computer until entering University. I wouldn't have thought that to be possible given how much technology I grew up around in the West. I assumed it would have been the same in Japan, but it can't have been.
I guess in a way it doesn't surprise me. On the outside Japan looks like this super technologically advanced country and in reality they still send faxes. It's half stuck decades in the past and halfway planted in the future.
I remember growing up in school we always had computers in the classroom and computer literacy programs. It must have meant that at all the schools she attended in Japan growing up they didn't have that. Else there's no way that'd be possible.
Just mildly fascinating. Totally not what I expected. So when the minister in charge of the stuff says he hasn't touched a computer, I can believe it.
She's terrible at using any technology in general as a result. It's mildly fascinating.