Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[learner12]

Hello, teachers!!

One of the biggest problems with modern computers is that they follow all
commands mechanically. Computers do what they are told to do, whether we meant it or not. Moreover, they cannot turn themselves on, nor can they ever begin something entirely new on their own.
----->
Why did the author write "whether we meant it or not" instead of "whether we mean it or not"?

Are there any reasons to do that?

If the sentence is "whether we mean it or not," will the meaning of the sentence change?

Thank you in advance.

[pugachevV]

The author means that whatever you tell a computer to do - even if it is a mistake - the computer will do it.
For example, if you tell it to format the hard drive, it will do it, even though it will destroy all the data on the hard drive. It does not know that you only meant to format the floppy drive.
Of course, software engineers usually build in many warnings before you do something that drastic, but formerly it was very easy to make such a mistake.
You can say whether we mean it or not. It does not change the meaning.

[learner12]

Dear pugachevV:

Thank you so much for your quick and great explanations.

Take care and have a nice day!!