Magic fingers

This is going to sound like blowing my own trumpet, but it's not - it's genuine scientific interest, PLUS blowing my own trumpet. So if you're a bit techy (as in "computer-literate", not "tetchy" misspelt), have you ever noticed how people ask you to do things for them? Like, "My computer doesn't work, can you please come round and spend a couple of days sorting it out for me?" Or, "I can't find some information, and apparently it might be on the Internet, can you drop everything and dig it out?"

As part of this great talent, there's the mystery of the disappearing problem. It might be something like, say, "My computer can't find the wireless network" or, "My DVD burning software won't work", but whatever it is, weeks or months of relentless dropping pf hints about how much your efforts are appreciated eventually mean you are installed in front of the computer in question, checking things out. And when you do check things out, everything works fine, no problems, nothing, just a straightforward wireless network log-on or a DVD to be burnt.

Now, even taking into account your sneaky, evil friends and relatives who do this simply because they can't be bothered to do it for themselves, that still leaves a weirdly high proportion of problems that just disappear whenever someone with a vague competence is in the vicinity. This becomes even more starkly evident when you try the "here's how you fix it for yourself" solution.

In this scenario, someone, let's call them "Sophy", says something like, "The microwave says it's in 'demo mode', and it won't cook anything." Let's also say that you bought the microwave second hand so you don't have the manual and the nearest computer where you could download the manual is a couple of rooms away. In these circumstances you would not unnaturally say something like, "Turn it off and then on again, it'll probably just reset."

The response to this is *always*, "I did that, but it didn't work." Naturally you go across to the socket, turn off the microwave, wait a couple of seconds and turn it on again. Hey presto! The microwave is reset and everything is hunky dory again.

So what has happened here? Either a) "Sophy" is lying, b) "Sophy" is having a laugh at your expense or c) your magic fingers just did it again. Being no great believer in conspiracy theories, while I believe that a proportion of these cases are "b"s, I don't think the entire world is out to get me (well, not all of the time, and when it is, I usually deserve it), and "Sophy" never lies, so it must be "c". Hey, I believe in magic.

But...

As a post script to this, can I just add that actually, wireless networks are exempt from this because they are temperamental bastards? It's a well observed phenomenon that with a network kind of near the limits of its range and power, you can never latch on to it until your techy pal is sitting in front of it, when, because he or she conducts and re-radiates wireless electro-magnetic radiation that much better then you, the connection is magically made. And it lasts until the pal has left the room. This is well known even with lovely Apple Airport Extreme wireless base stations and is actually a documented feature of all Windows-based devices.