There is no denying that students should learn something about how computers work, just as we expect them at least to understand that the internal-combustion engine (内燃机) has something to do with burning fuel, expanding gases and pistons (活塞) being driven. For people should have some basic idea of how the things that they use do what they do. Further, students might be helped by a course that considers the computer’s impact on society. But that is not what is meant by computer literacy. For computer literacy is not a form of literacy (读写能力); it is a trade skill that should not be taught as a liberal art.
