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Picture of the clock the kid made: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPCXrKUVEAApkmV.jpg https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPCXrKUVEAApkmV.jpg
by jotux 11y ago
Picture of the clock the kid made: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPCXrKUVEAApkmV.jpg https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPCXrKUVEAApkmV.jpg
- DanBC 11y agothe fucking giant 7 segment LED doesn't make you think "clock"? Or at least "no idiot would put a ridiculously large flashing display on a bomb"? I mean, he probably needs a bit of advice about mains wiring and safety. He can probably get that when he's being shown the Mars rovers (or any of the other stuff kind NASA people have invited him to) http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/ahmed-mohamed-arrested-clock-bomb-1.3230261 http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/ahmed-mohamed-arrested-clock... EDIT (after several comments) I mistakenly thought this was a briefcased sized case, but it's not, it's much smaller. There's a battery connector for scale. So, I shouldn't have said "fucking huge LED". It's just normal size LED clock.
- austenallred 11y agoHe's 14 years old. He'll figure it out.
- nak_attack 11y agoThat's exactly what made it look like a bomb to the dumbass principal: > The principal threatened to expel him if he didn’t make a written statement, he said. > “They were like, ‘So you tried to make a bomb?’” Ahmed said. > “I told them no, I was trying to make a clock.” > “He said, ‘It looks like a movie bomb to me.’”
- beat 11y agoBombs on tv ALWAYS have giant flashing 7 segment LEDs counting down to the time when the white male American hero disarms them.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- rnovak 11y agoI think the biggest thing that says not a bomb was that he asked permission _before_ bringing it in[1]. [1]https://twitter.com/AnneClaireCNN/status/644158607035133952 https://twitter.com/AnneClaireCNN/status/644158607035133952
- mdellabitta 11y agoThat's funny, I would have thought the utter lack of anything explosive would differentiate it from a bomb. :)
- DanBC 11y agoIn England several people (including children) have been arrested, and prosecuted, (and convicted?) for terrorism offences because they owned things like The Anarchists Cookbook. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7030096.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7030096.stm http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-33705944 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-33705944 (The explorer Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes while on service with the SAS used to work out how to efficiently use explosive, allowing him to keep small amounts after training exercises. He accumulated a small stock of explosive which he used to demolish an ugly damn. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranulph_Fiennes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranulph_Fiennes )
- tzs 11y agoIn the photo, there is something that looks like a pouch next to the transformer. If someone thought they might be looking at a bomb, they might think that the explosive is in that pouch. Anyone have a guess what that thing actually is?
- austenallred 11y agoAlso, that it wasn't a bomb
- TheOtherHobbes 11y agoHollywood lernin. Bombs always have big countdown timers. And they beep. And they're made by brown people. Ergo, bomb. I'd love this to be parody, but it seems to be the literal explanation here - with a side order of revenge for having an uppity father: http://www.vox.com/2015/9/16/9339063/ahmed-mohamed-elhassan http://www.vox.com/2015/9/16/9339063/ahmed-mohamed-elhassan
- rdancer 11y agoThose stories about his father are awesome. I'd like to be that guy.
- notNow 11y agoSo you fancy being a ringer for Al-Bashir? I bet the guy knows very well that the Sudanese politics are farce and he was just playing along maybe for the limelight or to play the controlled opposition part so Al-Bashir can claim that he wins in a free and fair elections.
- leeleelee 11y agoIs it a good idea to bring a clock that looks like that to school? No. A little common sense (by the kid, his parents, his teachers, etc) could have prevented this situation entirely. I'm not defending what happened, but I'm just pointing out that this could have been easily avoided. Let me provide a more extreme analogy to illustrate my point: If I walk into a gas station with a ski mask and my hand in my jacket, I'm not breaking any laws. But I have enough common sense not to do that.
- rblatz 11y agoHow else should a homemade electronics project look?
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- epistasis 11y agoWhy is that a bad idea? What common sense would dictate what this child has gone through? A tiny modicum of common sense from the police or school authorities would go a long way here.
- leeleelee 11y agoIt's a bad idea because pretty much ANYONE with a little common sense could have predicted that there would be a realistic probability of a BAD outcome by bringing that to school. Even if it's just a little homemade clock project.
- mikeash 11y agoWhat common sense tells one that bringing an electronics project to school is a bad idea, exactly?
- CardenB 11y agoI hope you're just trolling. I hate to see this stuff on HN. This is ridiculous.
- ck2 11y agoDid he solder the board for that or did he just take apart a nightstand clock and put it into another case? This is what happens when people in charge have no clue anymore what is inside electronics. Computers and smartphones are just "magic".
- duskwuff 11y agoThe pictures I've seen look like the guts of a cheap digital alarm clock. I'm a little disappointed; from initial reports, I was hoping it was something he'd actually cobbled together using discrete logic or a microcontroller. :)
- aliston 11y agoDoes anyone else think that this story seems a little bit contrived? There are so many photos of the incident at each of the various stages -- it makes it look like it was engineered as a news story. The youtube video comes across as prepared and polished and the response (no talking without a lawyer present etc.) seems like something you'd see on PR wire. I'm not saying that the whole thing isn't ridiculous, but I'm skeptical that this is the full story. Honestly, I'm as familiar with working on circuit boards as the next guy, but if I saw someone (anyone, any race) carrying something like that in an airport, it'd raise an eyebrow.
- zappo2938 11y agoA good question is did the kid take apart an alarm clock and just rebuild it in another case or did he make a synthesis of many different parts? In that Brad Pitt movie about the Dalia Lama, the later had to take apart a clock to learn how it worked, I think the quote is "the best way to learn how something works is to take it apart." However, in this case the kid might have put together several different parts such as an LCD screen, the circuit from an alarm clock, and something that rings to act as the alarm. I don't think the point is that the kid is some type of genius but rather that he is doing it and not until today afraid to do it. That at 14 he started the process of learning so in 10 years at the age of 24 he can be at the top of a career in EE. It's not the skill level that is impressive it's the passion.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- austenallred 11y ago> There are so many photos of the incident at each of the various stages Welcome to 2015. I think Ahmed is just really sharp and articulate.
- nickff 11y agoHis father is also an pro-Islamic activist according to some of the news articles. It is quite possible that the father is taking advantage of his son's interests to further a political cause. edit: I am not commenting on whether the father is righteous or malevolent; simply positing an idea which may explain why there is so much video, documentation, and attention on this event.
- bduhan 11y agoSlightly better picture: http://i.imgur.com/jGZ8RBU.jpg http://i.imgur.com/jGZ8RBU.jpg This is just an off the shelf alarm clock disassembled and crammed into a box from Target. I see an AC cord going to a bridge rectifier, a transformer, 9v battery holder, a display driver board and a long thin PCB for buttons. Here is a similar clock with a 2.5" tall display: http://i.imgur.com/1FceYfG.jpg http://i.imgur.com/1FceYfG.jpg
- delecti 11y agoSurprisingly that box does make it look like a TV bomb, but I'd never actually mistake it for something that could explode.
- r0m4n0 11y agoSeeing that photo did remind me of an episode of "24"