Was fixing a laptop at the library and heard a kid ask his dad how the internet gets inside it

I was replacing a screen on a Dell Inspiron 15 at the public library yesterday. At the next table, this little kid, maybe 7, pointed at my work and asked his dad, 'But how does the internet get inside the computer?' The dad just said 'magic' and shrugged. It made me think, how often do we just fix the box without explaining the magic inside? What's a simple, non-magic way you explain basic tech concepts to curious kids or non-techy clients?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarah_brown8d ago

Ha, I usually just say it's like an invisible library card. Gets the book to your screen.

gray_nguyen28d ago

My friend tried explaining ebooks to his grandma last year. She kept asking where the pages go when you turn them. He finally said it's like a book that lives inside the tablet, and you just tell it which page to show. The lightbulb moment was real. She got it after that and now reads more than he does. Sometimes the simplest picture works best.