Computers Don't Err: Saying the Obvious Truth Erroneously

By Vitus Ejiogu

Computer is a machine which today has been seen from different points of view. The data processing personnel sees the computer as a data processing machine that receives data as input, stores, processes and gives out information at a very fantastic speed. In electronics, it is seen as a mechanical device that takes in data as input, stores, processes, retrieves and gives out a desired output at a very fast speed. The information technologist sees the computer as a data processor which manipulates data to provide useful information, while the computer scientist sees it as the combination of hardwares and softwares which work together to give desired output.
Apart from the above, computer has been known generally as a machine that performs tasks, such as calculations or electronic communication, under the control of a set of instructions called a program. Programs usually reside within the computer and are retrieved and processed by the computer's electronics. The program results are stored or routed to output devices, such as video display monitors or printers. Computers perform a wide variety of activities reliably, accurately, and quickly.
An ideal computer system is a collection of appropriate devices needed for meaningful manipulation of data. It is the combination of the different parts or various units of a computer to give a computer system. The parts include the inputs, processing output and storage unit. The absence of any of these units makes a computer system incomplete.
I acquired my first computer in 1998, even though it has been in use for some time. Till today so many people do not know what computers are and what they do. The PC Magazine once said that an illiterate is not only one who does not know how to read and write, but one who does not know how to operate a computer. It is still possible, of course, to get along nicely in the computer age knowing little more than how to spell the word. The aura of magic that still surrounds computers is largely a fabrication. They employ no gimmicks or witchcraft. They obey the same laws of physics and mechanics.
Computers help us to do our work better and faster, and they have better memories than human beings. It should be noted that computers are not only more accurate but are more reliable. The computer's chief virtue is not to think, as many people mistakenly believe, but to help man do his daily work better. As a product of human intelligence, the computer is manufactured as an aid or spur, to human intelligence.
In weather forecast and general education, the computer has become a useful instrument since it can be infinitely patient, consistent, explaining the same concept over and over, trying different words or examples, without making a slip. In judgment, a computer is objective in analyzing errors, and it has been proved uninfluenced in deciding which ideas need to be clarified.
It is erroneous however, to say that computers do not err. One computer expert once said that computers do not actually err; only the programmers do. The point is that nothing is perfect in itself. If a perfect God could create imperfect human beings, people who are prone to mistakes, computers which are works, designs and products of imperfect creatures can never be perfect! The computer's insatiable appetite for the kinds of tedium that make people climb walls, and the fact that it never turns up its nose at any kind of assignment no matter how weird, does not still make it perfect.
When computers first came, they did not come in the state which they are today. Computer was invented by a Whiteman but a Blackman of Igbo extraction added speed to it. Its invention opened the way to hundreds and thousands of applications yet undreamed of. The computer is not the machine to end all machines. Contrary to the image it inevitably projects, it is not a perfect machine. Computers are still blind to emotions, a situation which reminds us that the computer is only a tool and an invention of an imperfect man.

Vitus Ejiogu is a writer and publisher with the Fire-Brand Int"l Ministries, a media ministry that is based in Nigeria.
He is the editor of FOUNDATION SATELLITE magazine also published by the ministry. He pastors a Church in Bauchi and is married with two children.
You can reach him at: firebrandhq@yahoo.com or, 234 802 8181 829. Website: http://azepanig.blogspot.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vitus_Ejiogu

NTA-TV College and Career Choice: The Most Important Thing To Consider

By Vitus Ejiogu

I was part of the group that graced the Orientation Programme that was organized for the 2010/2011 academic year of diploma students at the NTA-Television College Jos, Nigeria. The Rector and the academic staff were all present as lectures criss-cross lectures with most speakers trying to outdo the others in oratorical prowess.
The topics ranged from issues that affect the school and students' lifestyles. It was discovered that many students in other institutions of learning, have left school ill-prepared for the demands which life will place upon them, but it was pointed out that in NTA-TV College, such things are adequately taken care of. The speakers took time out to educate the students on the advantages they have for choosing the school in the pursuance of their academic career. As we were made to know, it was hardly a place to be ignorant of the world of work or total unawareness of real potential, and inability to adjust to the world outside school.
The words of the speakers reminded me of some schools that do not have time to tackle the question of career education. The four outstanding Departments of the College: TV-Journalism, TV-Production, TV-Design and the TV-Engineering, helped to explain the unique nature of the school. When some schools have not yet started to think seriously about the methods which can help their students prepare for the decisions that will affect their lives as adult workers, the college adopted a mandate of building their students up in the skills not necessarily to "fix them up with a job" but to properly educate them and build them up as skills personnel. Apart from all the good things that were said, the most important thing in choosing a career was not missing in action.
While people think of occupation and location, it is necessary to point out the more important issue, which is one of character - the 'being' that under-guards 'doing'. This is the reason why the students were orientated in many areas like dressing, extra-curricular activities, conduct at school and in hostels, class attendance, behaviours during examinations, etc. In the book of Ephesians 4:1-16, the apostle Paul gave his support to this important issue by enjoining his hearers to walk worthy of their calling. When we are the right people for a job, we can be sure of greater results. The truth then remains that it is not what we do but who we are that is most important. Choosing a career is one thing that exposes us to so many things in life.
By way of definition, a career is a sequence of occupations, jobs and positions engaged in, or occupied, throughout the lifetime of a person. Psychologically, a career is a series of roles played by a person. Teaching can be taken as a career. Within the teaching profession, one can be the principal of a school, a school bursar, guidance officer, administrator or registrar, or even a technician producing teaching aids. Each of these is a job within the teaching profession. A career is quite different from an occupation because an occupation deals with a type of work or activity in which people engage themselves. It is also an activity that has a market value in which people are paid to engage. Examples include the work of politicians, physicians, philosophers, journalists, publishers, presidents, etc. A person may change his occupation more than once during his working life. I have come across many politicians that were teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc, before they assume their present status in politics. There are also journalists, publishers, or pharmacists, among the many politicians we see today.
In the other hand, a job is just a way of making a living, but in a career, you can feel that your abilities are being properly used. When you have knowledge of who you are and the many jobs available, you are well-equipped to choose a job.

Vitus Ejiogu is a writer and publisher with the Fire-Brand Int"l Ministries, a media ministry that is based in Nigeria. He is the editor of FOUNDATION SATELLITE magazine also published by the ministry. He pastors a Church in Bauchi and is married with two children. You can reach him at: firebrandhq@yahoo.com or, 234 802 8181 829. Website: http://businessunit.blogspot.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vitus_Ejiogu

Igbo: The Making of A Great Nation

By Vitus Ejiogu –
You may not know who the Igbo people are, but what I have found among them shows a people who are highly committed in changing the course of history. A brief story of the Igbo people will help you know who they are, and why they are one of the most respected and highly regarded people of Nigeria. The earliest records on the Igbo are to be found in Igbo-Ukwu Archeological artifacts dated 9th Century.
The bronze head and other objects found in the excavations indicate indigenous technology of highly developed nature. They had an early knowledge of complex metallurgy and weaving of complex clothes which remains today as “Akwete”. Experts learn and match their weaving with partial success and acknowledge with admiration the achievements of the Igbo in these directions. There is also an early knowledge of iron smelting and foundry to be seen in guns, swords, etc., from Awka, Abiriba and other areas in Igbo land. This knowledge, experts say, can only be compared to that of the northern part of Nigeria i.e. the NOK CULTURE in the Plateau.
The history of the Igbo after the 9th Century to the late 19th century, the era of European colonialism, is scanty and highly speculative because of lack of records. The much that could be known is that yam, indigenous yam cultivation, is believed to have been achieved first in Nigeria and probably West Africa by the Igbo. It is therefore not surprising that yam has a special place in Igbo culture. The “IRI JI” or “IWA JI” which is a very important cultural event in Igbo land may have been derived early as a way of celebrating this major agricultural breakthrough. Pottery culture also had early records in Igbo land and is dated earlier than 9th century.
Politically and culturally, Igbo are republicans and organization of communities was done in small village units. Governance was by elders – gerontocracy, in some ways highly democratic, although the advent of slave trade destroyed a lot of this culture. The Igbo suffered a great deal from the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The enterprising young adults were carted away. The specialists bronze metallurgists, iron smelters, and manufacturers, the business elite from Arochukwu, the big farmers of Ezza and the neighbourhoods were prey to the slaves, and their enslavement cost the Igbo a great deal and truncated their society and the rule by elders (gerontocracy). Adventurers, the dreg of society and mercenary soldiers had a hey-day and their actions devastated Igboland.
The Igbo were involved in the quest for independence of Nigeria and their illustrious son, Zik of Africa (Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe) left a record that will be difficult to beat. However, the “Owelle of Onitsha” (as he is known globally) is no more; there are other prominent anti-colonialist fighters in the Nigerian scene with new English coinages like juggernauts, men of timber and caliber, etc. The most characteristic ability of the Igbo is his adaptability. He is enterprising, hard working and individualistic.
Nigeria, and indeed the whole world, without the Igbo can never be complete. The Igboman is there in the remotest village contributing his quota to the economic development of Nigeria, Africa and the whole world. The Igbo are true Nigerians who constantly pray that never again will brothers be locked in senseless wars. They have actually tested themselves and know their own weaknesses and strengths and hopefully have learned from their past mistakes. The Igbo are a dynamic people. It is to be noted here that for Nigeria to develop into a world power, or move forward from her present quagmire, the contributions of the Igbo is a must, otherwise the follies of the rest of the other tribes that constitute Nigeria may continue unchecked to the detriment of the whole people.
The Igboman is the pride of Nigeria. His talents are formidable; his contributions all encompassing. The rich culture heritage of the Igbo contributes in making them great. The recognition of titled men like NZE, OGBUEFI, OGBUAGU, etc., is among the prominent cultural heritage of the Igboman. It is recognition for tremendous ability and achievement. It confers one with a pride of place when discussions and decisions in community are being taken. The Igbo is presently made up of five States: Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. Though the Aniomas of Delta State, the Igbo people in Rivers and Cross Rivers States are among the stocks of the one and indivisible Igbo community, no matter the variants in their culture.
However, the “IRI JI” or “IWA JI” is a common reoccurring decimal that you will find in all Igbo states and culture. The NRI even till now are still believed to hold the link in the evolution of Igbo Culture. When we talk about the Igbo, we talk about industry, development, unity, peace and progress. It will be an exciting experience to have a handshake with an Igboman one day. When next you are in Nigeria, Africa, make sure you don’t leave until you have stepped into the African Heartland: Igboland, the emerging great nation!
Vitus Ejiogu is a writer and publisher with the Fire-Brand Int”l Ministries, a media ministry that is based in Nigeria.