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I got a few paragraphs in before I had to stop. My Mum fought tooth and nail against my Dad for me to get my first proper computer after I spent over 2 years c

I got a few paragraphs in before I had to stop. My Mum fought tooth and nail against my Dad for me to get my first proper computer after I spent over 2 years cobbling together an ancient machine out of scraps and garbage. I had the carcasses of 4-5 machines stashed under my bed by the time I got a single good (in the loosest sense of the word) machine to boot. My childhood was defined by the conflict between my parents where Mum tirelessly defended my right to learn. Fathers are incredibly powerful and they can make a difference. Whether that difference is positive or negative depends on the father in question. I have slowly rebuilt my relationship with my own father over many years, but we will never be close. It hurts.

athenot 7y ago
I am sorry this has been your experience. Your story—in an unfortunate way—strengthens the article by painting the opposite side. > Fathers are incredibly powerful and they can make a difference. In good or bad. I am acutely aware of this with my own children.
linuxftw 7y ago
> ... after I spent over 2 years cobbling together an ancient machine out of scraps and garbage. Lack of having makes one resourceful. Look at today's world where just about every child in the developed world has a smart phone. Do they care about computing and how computers work, or are they merely appliances to today's generation? Most kids today know as much about an HVAC system as they do about the internal workings of a PC: nothing.
- SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
  It continues to be as it always was - a small group of people interested in how something worked - same with car enthusiasts - just because it's ubiquitous doesn't mean people care to know about it. I don't think that small group has changed. Their interest was the special ingredient.
  - linuxftw 7y ago
    I think you can look backwards at technology and see what's really going to happen. How many people build an FM radio from scratch? Not many, that technology is 100% commoditized; sure, there will be some, but they'll be extreme outliers. Many people I know got their first car via building it themselves from a junker. How many upper middle class kids did that? Those kids were building valuable skills that translated to a career. Same for people piecing together and fixing old computers. What skills do today's kids get? Expert level knowledge of emojis? The hacker mentality is gone for the new generation of computer users because everything already exists.
loco5niner 7y ago
From your story, I'm not even convinced your dad was in the wrong here. It sound's like he thought giving you a computer wasn't the best thing for you. Maybe he was right, maybe he was wrong. If it's true that he fought for what he believed was best regarding your welfare, then he was doing that part of his "dad job" well. "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." -- Mark Twain

athenot 7y ago

I am sorry this has been your experience. Your story—in an unfortunate way—strengthens the article by painting the opposite side. > Fathers are incredibly powerful and they can make a difference. In good or bad. I am acutely aware of this with my own children.

linuxftw 7y ago

> ... after I spent over 2 years cobbling together an ancient machine out of scraps and garbage. Lack of having makes one resourceful. Look at today's world where just about every child in the developed world has a smart phone. Do they care about computing and how computers work, or are they merely appliances to today's generation? Most kids today know as much about an HVAC system as they do about the internal workings of a PC: nothing.

SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
It continues to be as it always was - a small group of people interested in how something worked - same with car enthusiasts - just because it's ubiquitous doesn't mean people care to know about it. I don't think that small group has changed. Their interest was the special ingredient.
- linuxftw 7y ago
  I think you can look backwards at technology and see what's really going to happen. How many people build an FM radio from scratch? Not many, that technology is 100% commoditized; sure, there will be some, but they'll be extreme outliers. Many people I know got their first car via building it themselves from a junker. How many upper middle class kids did that? Those kids were building valuable skills that translated to a career. Same for people piecing together and fixing old computers. What skills do today's kids get? Expert level knowledge of emojis? The hacker mentality is gone for the new generation of computer users because everything already exists.

loco5niner 7y ago

From your story, I'm not even convinced your dad was in the wrong here. It sound's like he thought giving you a computer wasn't the best thing for you. Maybe he was right, maybe he was wrong. If it's true that he fought for what he believed was best regarding your welfare, then he was doing that part of his "dad job" well. "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." -- Mark Twain