← Back to context

Comment by rpdillon

16 hours ago

I really appreciate you taking the time to write this up! Your experience is excellent, and it sounds like you're approaching it with good judgment and curiosity! Linux is a ton of fun, because it's a toolbox you can, as you say, "do whatever your heart wants". Much of computing has lost that ethos, and I think it's a real step backwards.

One of my favorite computer scientists, Alan Perlis, wrote the dedication for a very famous computer science textbook that used to be used to teach students at MIT. The book is sometimes called "The Wizard Book", but it's real name is "The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs". The dedication said this:

> This book is dedicated, in respect and admiration, to the spirit that lives in the computer.

> I think that it's extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing. When it started out, it was an awful lot of fun. Of course, the paying customers got shafted every now and then, and after a while we began to take their complaints seriously. We began to feel as if we really were responsible for the successful, error-free perfect use of these machines. I don't think we are. I think we're responsible for stretching them, setting them off in new directions, and keeping fun in the house. I hope the field of computer science never loses its sense of fun. Above all, I hope we don't become missionaries. Don't feel as if you're Bible salesmen. The world has too many of those already. What you know about computing other people will learn. Don't feel as if the key to successful computing is only in your hands. What's in your hands, I think and hope, is intelligence: the ability to see the machine as more than when you were first led up to it, that you can make it more.

I think your journey is a great example of that spirit!

2 comments

rpdillon

Reply
Imustaskforhelp  12 hours ago

Thanks I was going through a rough time(rather not comment) but your comment helped me a little bit.

Thanks once agian, have a nice day.

I guess my hobby is computing :p

Also feel free to take the comments other people have created regarding you being strict etc. or their opinions etc. in a positive manner. I am sure you want the best for your children and parenting can be complicated and there is no fit one approach and its glad that your children like linux/computing as well

Singleplayer support on linux is absolutely top notch imo and its only some very anti kernel leavel multiplayer cheats supports which get troubled and honestly i am not sure what is the best way to counter against that in linux

But there are some good games I can suggest but you might know them as well: Minecraft,Counter strike etc.

Although they don't share the open source, they share a similar spirit of modding etc. and its gotten almost mainstream enough. Open source games are mixed story with the only good I know being tuxkart haha

I think there is a point in trying to teach children something for their own benefit, since if you might not teach them about open source, I wonder who might teach them (I technically figured things by my own but trying to one up my brother was my motivation, read my other comments to know more)

Its a mixed bag and one of the advices I can give with my supremely limited knowledge but maybe you can try to take more advices from similar people etc. whether its on HN etc. and actually try to get more advice from everything to try to find if that was the best equilibria etc.

But I mean if your children have no objection (like as an example, I am teen and I also don't have much objections with not playing valorant in fact it was the reason technically I installed linux)

SO I guess everything is subjective and we are all just yolo'ing it in this sense but I do think its so crazy that we can comment on this platform and not know each other but have a weird sense of faith that we are talking to a human with similar-ish hobbies/interests living probably hundreds of miles away in an instant.

I think this is the fun of computing just as much as well :)

Have a nice day once again.

  • rpdillon  4 hours ago

    Right on. I really loved Minecraft in the early days, but I think it's changed a bit since then, so I focus on Luanti (MineTest is the name most people know, I think) these days. But yes, I'm a big fan of both Minecraft and Counter-Strike. You have good taste. =) I understand that MineCraft is taking steps to deobfuscate its source a bit, to embrace modding a bit more. I was excited to hear that! The early days with Bucket were a real hack based on decompiled sources, IIRC.

    Agree with you about discussing things online with others being kind of crazy; I first ran into the internet in the late 90s, and the ability to find others based on interest was amazing. But as you said, always a measure of faith involved (that they are humans somewhere that are like us and have similar interests). As a guy that makes a lot of choices that put me in a minority, I find that online is often the only place I can actually meet someone with my interests, though I've gotten quite used to this. I would say I run into someone IRL with my interests once every 10 years or so.

    My kids and I have tons of discussions about all this, and I've been chatting with them about this entire thread for a couple of days now, getting their thoughts and explaining the counter-points that people are offering (I try to steelman opposing views if I'm really passionate about the topic). It's been a fun exercise, both in putting my ego aside a bit, and also stepping into others perspectives. I'm not sure I know anywhere else online I could have conversations quite this way.

    Again, thanks for reply. Hope to chat again in future threads. =)