Mind that fat-finger syndrome: When digital mishaps have global stakes

Reason: the seasoned civil servant apparently had no idea that there was such a facility as a 'reply' button which would result in paperless interlocution. Much water has flowed down the sluggish Yamuna since then, but many of those in government, both politicians and bureaucrats, remain unfamiliar with technology.

And many are too busy to even try, leaving such menial tasks to their armies of minions. Most of their paperless communications are handled by their aides.

That thought came to mind as the world learnt about the «inadvertent» inclusion of a journalist in a chat group of top US government members on an encrypted channel that made him privy to plans to attack Houthis in Yemen.

Blame is being put on America's National Security Advisor and/or the defence secretary, much to the amusement of the public, especially those young enough to not remember the antediluvian time when mobile phones were not extensions of the hand.

There is no reason to believe that Very Important Americans behave differently from Very Important Indians when it comes to interfacing with technology. There is every chance that either of those worthies might have left the tedious task of adding members to an app-based chat group to some younger flunkey-in the interests of time, of course, not laziness or unfamiliarity with mobile phones and apps.

But as a reasonably tech-unsavvy GenXer, I sympathise; I truly do.

As would many of my generation or older who have also 'inadvertently' sent messages to wrong recipients, or live in mortal fear of doing so, mainly because we have blithely pressed keys on smartphone screens without putting on reading glasses. Oh vanity! Or worse, we have made countless 'fat finger errors' thanks to stabbing at those