Scott: I was thinking about computers, would that be boring?
Maybe.
Scott: Let’s do computers.
Okay, what do you want to tell me?
Scott: Computers are… electrical… and…
And?
Scott: Hmm…
Are they clever?
Scott: They don’t even have a brain – they’re electrical, as I said. They might be – calculators are very brainy because they can answer any sum.
Helen: Computers are very good because you can type your name on them.
So what’s the best thing a computer can do?
Scott: I was always thinking that you can play games on it – but ebay and Amazon are good because you can get things ordered to your door in a day or two.
Do computers not do more important things?
Scott: Well, they do – I think Mummy gets this thing where you can chat with your friends.
I was thinking even more important than that.
Scott: Hmm…
Scientists use them to do important things.
Scott: They might get computers to sort of answer lots of things that lots of people have been wanting to know.
Like what?
Scott: Let’s say if anyone was wondering what you get if you cross a pigeon and a squirrel, they’d be able to tell you.
So that’s the kind of important question scientists are working hard on computers to answer?
Scott: That was only a guess.
Anything else?
Scott: I’m trying… Hmm… Helen, what do you think scientists use computers for?
Helen: To see what’s happening out in the street right now.
Good answer.
Scott: There’s something like that in my school – you click on the camera to take pictures.
When I was your age, computers were slow and big – they could be the size of a room or a house with less power than Helen’s toy computer.
Scott: A room or a house! It would be quite easy to type because the letters would be big then. That’s too big!
No, the computer’s brain would be the size of a room or a house – the keyboard would be the same size as they are now.
Scott: How could the computer be really, really, really large?
Because the things they made computers with were much bigger then.
Scott: So you wanted to have a big improvement when you were young?
A big improvement that was smaller, yes. What do you think computers will be like when you’re my age?
Scott: I don’t know how they can get better – they’d be a bit faster at loading?
scottandhisthoughts 