Hi Reader,

Something funny happens when people know you work with technology.

A phone won’t connect. A printer won’t print.

Some strange message appears on a screen that nobody has ever seen before.

And eventually someone says…

“Ask Mr. Fred.”

Apparently, I’ve been issued some kind of universal technology decoder ring. Except I haven’t. I’ve worked with technology for decades. I teach it. I created something called GetMeCoding.com.

And there are still plenty of times when somebody hands me a device and I look at it and think…

I got nothing.

The more I’ve thought about that, the more I’ve wondered whether we’ve gotten something backwards. Maybe being good with technology isn’t about knowing the answer.

Maybe it’s knowing what to do when you DON’T know the answer.

We live in an amazing time for that.

Don’t know? Google it.

Can’t figure something out? YouTube it.

Still stuck? Ask AI.

I use all three.

But here’s the question I’ve been wrestling with:

What happens if we become so good at finding answers that we stop getting good at figuring things out?

That’s what this week’s Mr. Fred’s Tech Talks is about.

​S2 E25: You Don’t Have to Be a Tech Expert​

[LISTEN TO THE NEW EPISODE]

There’s one phrase from the episode that I’ve really been thinking about:

Don’t steal the struggle.

When somebody gets stuck, our instinct is to help.

That’s a good instinct. But helping doesn’t always mean solving. Sometimes that kid trying to make the Scratch project work needs another five minutes.

Sometimes the student debugging code needs to stare at it a little longer. Sometimes your coworker needs to click the wrong thing. And sometimes you and I need another attempt before immediately asking Google or AI to rescue us.

Because that frustrating part?

The trying. The failing. The “well…that definitely didn’t work.”

The changing-one-thing-and-trying-again.

Sometimes THAT is the learning.

So I’ve got an incredibly complicated Tech Challenge for you this week.

Ready?

Find someone who knows how to do something with technology that you don’t.

A kid. A grandkid. A student. A coworker. A friend.

Then say two words:

“Show me.”

Don’t immediately Google it. Don’t immediately ask AI.

Let another human being teach you something.

Ask questions. Try it yourself. Probably mess something up.

And then ask:

“Okay…what should we try next?”

No subscription required. No new app. No prompt engineering.

Just curiosity.

👉 [You Don't Have to Be a Tech Expert | Technology Confidence]

​https://www.getmecoding.com/technology-confidence-tech-expert/​

Keep learning and keep tinkering, Mr. Fred

​

P.S. I’d love to try something with this one. Hit reply and tell me one piece of technology that a kid, student, coworker, friend, or family member taught you how to use. I have a feeling some of the answers are going to be pretty good.