I haven’t used an abacus in a very long time, but I haven’t forgotten how to use one. I still have a slide rule that I can still use if I have to, (I come from a time before pocket calculators). I used to race the the younger kids in my classroom to see who could do simple math problems faster-- me and the slide rule or them and a calculator. And my rule in class was that there were no calculators. Well, using fingers was acceptable. Because I wanted you to get your hands dirty playing with the numbers. If you wanted a calculator for a test, I would offer you a slide rule.

As a working adult, you must be proficient will the tools your occupation has. And not just the tools you wish you have. If you are running servers in a Windows based environment, it doesn’t do you any good to wish for Linux based servers. And you better be good with both Windows and Linux if the environment is mixed. And a professional doesn’t complain about their tools, they just use the ones they have to accomplish the job at hand. Of course, if you have the money and power to do the choosing and purchasing of the tools you prefer and want, then by all means buy them. But I doubt that’s the case for you.

Perhaps. But despite using Windows, you got the job done, right? Life is all about using the tools do have, rather than the ones you wished you had.

“an enthusiastic emacs user” Well, there’s your problem! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the poke)

To be serious, Windows and that mouse are just tools-- same as any Linux distro is. A means to an end. Nothing more. There is nothing to be miffed about when you need to use that tool. Be proficient with all your tools. And when you need to use a tool, don’t be concerned about comparing it to the other tools. It diminishes you skills with that tool and and offers no gain to the solution.

I used to teach math in the local school. The kids had a great interest in 3D printing because I had a few fun items in my classroom that I had 3D printed. I decided to spend a couple of weeks teaching a bit of CAD through having the kids spend it designing a personalized key chain to print.

It took me 3 days of class time to teach them how to use a mouse…They couldn’t grasp the idea that a touch screen and CAD don’t go together, you need that mouse to make it work. It quickly became apparent that things quickly became difficult for them if it doesn’t have a touch screen.

And while some classes are always a bit better than others, there was always a noticeable number of them that struggled with using a mouse.