Reply #20: No, we're comparing apples with apples. [View All]

[Kutjara]

What Hawking shows is that, if the desire is there, physical disability is not an impediment to computer use. McCain's excuse that his "disability" prevented him from learning to use a computer is, by comparison, simply absurd. The reason he didn't learn is because he had no interest in doing so.

Not everyone should be held to Hawking's standard, except insofar as he shows that, with the appropriate assistive technologies, just about anyone can use a computer. They may not discover the secrets of the Universe with it, but they can at least read their own email.