4 ms·

Computer penetration in the US in 2001 was 61% and for the most part, those who didn't have a computer felt that they didn't need one[1]. Most incoming undergr

by tkahn6 16y ago

Computer penetration in the US in 2001 was 61% and for the most part, those who didn't have a computer felt that they didn't need one[1]. Most incoming undergrads were 8 in 2000 so I would assert that this argument has no basis going forward. [1 http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2002/03/18/daily2.html http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2002/03/18/da... ]

knowtheory 16y ago
how do you figure? I presume that they weren't interviewing school children for the survey. You can hardly say that, because 39% adults thought that a computer was unnecessary, deciding (rightly or wrongly) to not get a PC wouldn't disadvantage their potential hacker children, when compared to hacker children who did have parents who jobs required them to have computers.
- tkahn6 16y ago
  The article argues that most hackers are hackers because their parents were wealthy. At some point you must accept that this argument is no longer applies for some generation of hackers and those that follow it. I submit that 10 years ago, economics no longer played a role in whether some one could afford a computer. Your point could apply to any generation of hackers because it's analogous to "what if some parents didn't let their children use a computer until they were 12?" or "what if some parents didn't allow their children to install a python interpreter?" Also, you should consider that in 2000 nearly all school children had access to school computers.
  - kd0amg 16y ago
    At some point you must accept that this argument is no longer applies for some generation of hackers and those that follow it. Of course, but it looks to me like most of those working in the industry are still a fair bit older than I am (and it's been a few years since I was an incoming undergrad).

4 ms·

Computer penetration in the US in 2001 was 61% and for the most part, those who didn't have a computer felt that they didn't need one[1]. Most incoming undergr

by tkahn6 16y ago

knowtheory 16y ago
how do you figure? I presume that they weren't interviewing school children for the survey. You can hardly say that, because 39% adults thought that a computer was unnecessary, deciding (rightly or wrongly) to not get a PC wouldn't disadvantage their potential hacker children, when compared to hacker children who did have parents who jobs required them to have computers.
- tkahn6 16y ago
  The article argues that most hackers are hackers because their parents were wealthy. At some point you must accept that this argument is no longer applies for some generation of hackers and those that follow it. I submit that 10 years ago, economics no longer played a role in whether some one could afford a computer. Your point could apply to any generation of hackers because it's analogous to "what if some parents didn't let their children use a computer until they were 12?" or "what if some parents didn't allow their children to install a python interpreter?" Also, you should consider that in 2000 nearly all school children had access to school computers.
  - kd0amg 16y ago
    At some point you must accept that this argument is no longer applies for some generation of hackers and those that follow it. Of course, but it looks to me like most of those working in the industry are still a fair bit older than I am (and it's been a few years since I was an incoming undergrad).