To my horror, I discovered that I have ageist tendencies. The new Chair of our department is very knowledgeable about technology. This was one of the reasons we chose him, which I know very well since I was on the search committee. He is also significantly older than I am. Which makes sense, since he is a Chair and I’m a junior faculty member.
Yesterday, I came into the Chair’s office and found him listening to the radio on his computer.
“Look!” he said. “This is a radio station from my home town in Brazil.”
“This is cool,” I responded. “And I was just listening to a radio station from my native city in Ukraine in my office.”
“Really? That’s great! Do you also listen to the radio on your office computer?” the Chair asked.
“No,” I said and took out of my bag my Kindle Fire in its new red cover. “I listen to the radio on this thing.”
“Oh, what is it?” the Chair asked.
And here I started behaving like an idiot.
“It’s a Kindle,” I said. “A Kindle is . . . a thing that allows you to perform a variety of tasks. You can read books, edit documents. . .”
“Yes, I know what a Kindle is,” the Chair responded in a kind voice. “Is it a Kindle Fire? Can I have a look?”
I should have stopped right there but for some reason I decided to continue on my jerkward journey.
“A Kindle is an alternative to an iPad,” I informed the Chair. “And an iPad is . . . well, a thing that allows you to perform a variety of tasks. . .”
“I am aware of what an iPad is,” the Chair said, looking a little scared.
Of course, he is aware of what an iPad is since all the faculty members at my university receive endless emails from our bookstore extolling the virtues of the iPad. Also, he probably knows more about technology than I do.
Now I will have to shut up and bear it if my students inform me that “a cell phone is a thing that allows you to make phone calls.” Ageism carries its own punishment because it always ends up castigating those guilty of it.
Clarissa's Blog 
Props to you for owning up to your mistake. That’s something I have to be careful with as well, because not only am I a young person, but I also know much more about technology than most people my age, anyway. This causes me to have a certain amount of hubris regarding my technological expertise.
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What we have to remember is that there is always somebody younger than we are. My 18-month-old niece gave me a look of utter contempt when she discovered I was not nearly as proficient at using an iPad as she is. 🙂
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My ten-year-old cousin was playing with my iPad once, and an older cousin of mine asked him how he knows how to use it, and he was like, “Well I’m not a homeless person off the street!” 🙂
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Off-topic: This is a really beautiful new picture you have in your avatar.
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Thank you so much! I personally think I look better in glasses anyway. 🙂
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When you are talking to someone about something technological (or heavily geeky), there is two ways of approaching the topic.
You can, like you did, assume that the person you are talking to knows less than you about it and try to simplify stuff. If it turns out that this person does know as much as you or even more, you end up feeling stupid.
Or you can go full-geek on that person, assuming s/he knows what you are talking about, but must be ready to provide clarification. That usually makes the person you are talking to feeling stupid.
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There is a third. Listen for clues about which level of tech the person is on. Maybe from a different planet, not just age.
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Sorry, but I can’t stop laughing picturing you two talking to each other!
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Yes, I was also raising my voice and talking very slowly, like to a senile deaf old person. Horrible.
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