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According to a post in the comments, the author is 18 years old which means that I've been using Linux longer than the author has been making use of the blood i
by geocrasher 6y ago
According to a post in the comments, the author is 18 years old which means that I've been using Linux longer than the author has been making use of the blood in his veins. But that does not mean that I didn't learn something from his post!
While the technical accomplishments and understanding are commendable, I think that the main takeaway for me is the excellent approach to learning. Keeping it simple and taking an open-minded approach to learning (as exemplified by his attitude toward systemd) is an approach that more people could stand to take. So often we complicate things in our heads to the point where they seem unknowable and so we assume that they are too difficult and we don't try. I have seen this in myself at times and I see it others as well.
I'll be sharing this post at work so that the people who I work with who don't really understand Linux so well can appreciate the approach that was taken and hopefully also glean something from the excellent write-up itself.
- abnry 6y agoI am not the author but this is such a lovely comment and a great thing to see on HN.
- carltheperson 6y agoThank you so much for your awesome comment. You made my day!
- geocrasher 6y ago/tips hat
- gerdesj 6y agoI've also been a Linux user for cough quite a long time and I love your approach. You are also a good communicator - you clearly understand that a blog posting for general consumption should be short, pithy, focussed and short. The internets have a very short attention span ... oh look squirrel. Good skills Sir. At your age I couldn't find my arse with both hands 8)
- ghoomketu 6y ago> I think that the main takeaway for me is the excellent approach to learning As in the well-known dictum by Richard Feynman, “What I cannot create, I do not understand,” successful design is also a powerful way to show that a design principle has been understood.
- the_cat_kittles 6y agoits also refreshing to see someone read a couple articles, do a small project, and be happy with the basic understanding they have gained. people think you need to be an expert at everything you do, but having a working knowledge of lots of tools is great and this seems like a wonderful way to acquire that.
- geocrasher 6y agoI completely agree. I pride myself in having a smattering of knowledge in a wide range of topics. As a result I can have an intelligent conversation nearly anyone on almost any topic. This in itself is extremely valuable.
- crazypython 6y agoI'm 17 years old and last week, my projects were on the front page of HN 3 times.
- samjmck 6y agoCongrats, but maybe work on the humbleness...
- HeyLaughingBoy 6y agowhy?
- ehnto 6y agoIt's a character trait that helps you be relatable, which will help all of your interpersonal relationships.
- crazypython 6y agofine, I'd delete the post if the software let me...
- tartoran 6y agoI think you got downvoted for what may have been interpreted as bragging. Keep the good work and don’t wait for validation from others. While some acknowledgement does blow some wind in one’s sails there’s a trap of getting stuck in that pattern. Anyway, goodluck with your projects and the future looks very bright for someone like you.
- kungito 6y agoHe's just a kid. Give him a break
- wernercd 6y agoWhy be humble when you're that successful?
- klyrs 6y agoOne benefit of learning old technology from youth... I've got tons of cruft in my head, and this "old technology" has been continually rebuilt the entire time I've been using it. Kids these days aren't gonna, I dunno, fry their hard drives because the IDE cable doesn't have a notch. One guy I learned Linux from was proud that he still shut down his computer with `sync;sync;halt` because of some nasty race condition or something that bit him once in the 80s. And despite using Linux since the last millenium, I'm still a total noob! So bring on that fresh knowledge!
- avaron 6y agoHa! this is specific to Solaris in the old days where a reboot command can in cases, corrupts the OS. This has long been fixed but personally use sync;sync;halt for Solaris as a matter of habit. It even spills over to Linux on my part because of kernel upgrades and just because of muscle memory, plus it's a good idea to run sync anyways. Now i feel old! :)
- steerablesafe 6y agoI recently saw a comment that the advice `sync;sync;halt` is actually wrong and the correct one was: sync sync halt typed out manually, to give enough time for the first sync. https://lwn.net/Articles/843269/ https://lwn.net/Articles/843269/
- oilbagz 6y agoShould be: $ sync && sync && sync && halt BTW, the 'sync;sync;sync' thing was a necessary command given, mosty during the late 70's and early 80's, to park the tape head. Unix didn't have a 'rewind tape' command, so many manufacturers instead decided that three rapid syncs in a row meant 'rewind tape'. Disclaimer: had that muscle memory burned into me for decades, I still do it ...
- klyrs 6y agoTo be perfectly honest, I inserted the semicolons because I wanted it to make at least a little sense... I wasn't paying close enough attention to the old-timer reminiscing to recall his precise keystrokes. But thanks for the link!
- dvirsky 6y agoI'm 45 and there are people who've been using Unix for longer than I've been alive. That's really something when you think about it.
- dspillett 6y agoThis is exactly what I'm trying to do to get some of my rotting skills back up to date. I say "am trying"... more like "have been trying for ages but not finding time & motivation synchronously"! Partly it is failing because I end up thinking too big, spend so much time thinking what I _could_ do, eventually, then having no time to actually do any of it. Qudos to the young'n' for doing what I'm talking at! That is a person with the ability needed to go far.