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Fyi to anyone who reads your comment > because you can’t get your childhood back It seems to imply that the rest of childhood is lost because of git. You may

Fyi to anyone who reads your comment > because you can’t get your childhood back It seems to imply that the rest of childhood is lost because of git. You may want to correct or clarify your comment. Btw, childhood is a lot about throwaway exploring many things where we don't have to invent a purpose or utility for every single thing. It's all about spare time and trying things out with no strings attached. It doesn't matter if in some of their spare time they watch TV together, or go to movies together, or build a robot together, or code together. I think you're getting downvoted not because whether the utility is right or wrong, but because utility doesn't need to matter.

ushakov 4y ago
i'm getting downvoted because they don't want to be called out for essentially job-training their child git has absolutely no meaning for a child, it's a professional tool used for work you don't teach children how to operate a chainsaw, do you?
- ascar 4y ago
  I downvoted this comment as I disagree strongly with that statement: > git has absolutely no meaning for a child, it's a professional tool used for work It's not just a professional tool for work. It's a version control system to version whatever you might think needs versioning. What's this attitude that software engineering tools and skills are just valuable for work? > you don't teach children how to operate a chainsaw, do you? A chainsaw is very dangerous to the kid. My dad certainly told me how to use a hammer, handsaw and many other tools. We built a lot of things together like wooden remote controlled airplanes. It was certainly neither to train me to become a woodworker or aerospace engineer. And I will certainly build computer games with my kid some day which will involve git (or its future equivalent) as one of the first lessons.
  - ushakov 4y ago
    could you please explain to me why a 5-12 year old child needs "a version control system to version whatever you might think needs versioning"? like do you really think children are bothered with not being able to version-control files? is this an issue a lot of children are having? > software engineering tools and skills are just valuable for work? yes, work is still work, it doesn't matter if you're doing work as a fun hobby or as a job > I will certainly build computer games with my kid some day which will involve git yeah, why not also teach them law and performing a surgery? they'll have a great career potential, useful skills, much better than the other children!
    - viraptor 4y ago
      > like do you really think children are bothered with not being able to version-control files? I've used lots of "...-1.zip" files to preserve my files when learning coding for fun, so yes, someone showing me git (if it existed at the time) would help. It took me a few extra years to discover CVS/SVN. (the system itself was exciting) > yeah, why not also teach them law and performing a surgery? There are kids actually interested in law and finding the concept fun. You may be also shocked that I was really into accounting my allowance and spending in a double entry system. Surgery would be hard for practical/legal reasons, but I know two really young kids, one obsessed with the idea of performing medical procedures, the other with being a paramedic. (and not in a silly "I wanna grow up to be a doctor", but rather "I've found a first aid course for kids I want to do") What I'm trying to say is, don't assume kids are pushed / forced to do things like that. Some of them really enjoy things adults find hard / boring / too work related.
    - ascar 4y ago
      I agree with everything viraptor said in the sibling comment and just wanna add: > yes, work is still work, it doesn't matter if you're doing work as a fun hobby or as a job No it's not work. You do work to get paid if you like a particular task or not. You do your hobby for yourself because you enjoy doing it and you just stop if you want to. I certainly won't force my kids to do that. I will try to get them into the subject with patience and let it go if they gave it a fair shot and don't like it. It matters a great deal if you do something for work or fun.
    - sp332 4y ago
      > like do you really think children are bothered with not being able to version-control files? is this an issue a lot of children are having? Of course, everyone wants an "undo" button and lower consequences for experimentation. I really wanted one from the very first programs I wrote when I was 9 years old and don't have one. I had no intention of making a career of it and had no one to share programs with. Completely irrelevant.
- burntsushi 4y ago
  I downvoted you too. First of all, teaching someone git isn't necessarily job training. We don't have the broader context. Maybe the child initiated it because they were interested in what their parents are spending their time on. Secondly, teaching a child how to use git doesn't mean the child isn't learning other things too. Thirdly, I learned version control (SVN, before git existed) as a child too. Not as young as primary school, but I learned it on my own because I was interested in it. It wasn't done in the context of job training. Fourthly, your comparison with a chain saw is just plain vacuous. Git won't kill or maim you. Holy hell buddy. So at least in my case, your speculation about the reasons for downvotes is wrong. And also, stop whining about downvotes. :)
- aidenn0 4y ago
  Until a couple years ago, I didn't use Git at work (it was SVN at work). However, I used it all the time for personal projects. Come to think of it, SVN was the same way; I used it for personal projects while using CVS at work. Also, as an aside, my dad taught me how to use a chainsaw, including mixing the fuel for the two-stroke engine when I was 12. As an electrical engineer, he certainly didn't use a chainsaw at work.
- tbrownaw 4y ago
  > you don't teach children how to operate a chainsaw, do you? I didn't get to use a chainsaw as a kid, but I did get to use a table saw and a hand-held circular saw when there were projects to use them for.
- egypturnash 4y ago
  It makes sense if the kid’s already into programming, and is starting to run up against the sorts of problems a VCS is designed to solve like “oh no it was kinda working and my attempts to make it work better broke it and I closed the editor so I can’t undo my way back out of this”. A kid in first grade is not very likely to be having these kinds of problems, but a site like this full of professional programmers is certainly where you’re most likely to find parents whose kids are having these problems because they’ve been genuinely interested in learning what Mom and/or Dad do all day, and have been taught some of it.

ushakov 4y ago

i'm getting downvoted because they don't want to be called out for essentially job-training their child git has absolutely no meaning for a child, it's a professional tool used for work you don't teach children how to operate a chainsaw, do you?

ascar 4y ago
I downvoted this comment as I disagree strongly with that statement: > git has absolutely no meaning for a child, it's a professional tool used for work It's not just a professional tool for work. It's a version control system to version whatever you might think needs versioning. What's this attitude that software engineering tools and skills are just valuable for work? > you don't teach children how to operate a chainsaw, do you? A chainsaw is very dangerous to the kid. My dad certainly told me how to use a hammer, handsaw and many other tools. We built a lot of things together like wooden remote controlled airplanes. It was certainly neither to train me to become a woodworker or aerospace engineer. And I will certainly build computer games with my kid some day which will involve git (or its future equivalent) as one of the first lessons.
- ushakov 4y ago
  could you please explain to me why a 5-12 year old child needs "a version control system to version whatever you might think needs versioning"? like do you really think children are bothered with not being able to version-control files? is this an issue a lot of children are having? > software engineering tools and skills are just valuable for work? yes, work is still work, it doesn't matter if you're doing work as a fun hobby or as a job > I will certainly build computer games with my kid some day which will involve git yeah, why not also teach them law and performing a surgery? they'll have a great career potential, useful skills, much better than the other children!
  - viraptor 4y ago
    > like do you really think children are bothered with not being able to version-control files? I've used lots of "...-1.zip" files to preserve my files when learning coding for fun, so yes, someone showing me git (if it existed at the time) would help. It took me a few extra years to discover CVS/SVN. (the system itself was exciting) > yeah, why not also teach them law and performing a surgery? There are kids actually interested in law and finding the concept fun. You may be also shocked that I was really into accounting my allowance and spending in a double entry system. Surgery would be hard for practical/legal reasons, but I know two really young kids, one obsessed with the idea of performing medical procedures, the other with being a paramedic. (and not in a silly "I wanna grow up to be a doctor", but rather "I've found a first aid course for kids I want to do") What I'm trying to say is, don't assume kids are pushed / forced to do things like that. Some of them really enjoy things adults find hard / boring / too work related.
  - ascar 4y ago
    I agree with everything viraptor said in the sibling comment and just wanna add: > yes, work is still work, it doesn't matter if you're doing work as a fun hobby or as a job No it's not work. You do work to get paid if you like a particular task or not. You do your hobby for yourself because you enjoy doing it and you just stop if you want to. I certainly won't force my kids to do that. I will try to get them into the subject with patience and let it go if they gave it a fair shot and don't like it. It matters a great deal if you do something for work or fun.
  - sp332 4y ago
    > like do you really think children are bothered with not being able to version-control files? is this an issue a lot of children are having? Of course, everyone wants an "undo" button and lower consequences for experimentation. I really wanted one from the very first programs I wrote when I was 9 years old and don't have one. I had no intention of making a career of it and had no one to share programs with. Completely irrelevant.
burntsushi 4y ago
I downvoted you too. First of all, teaching someone git isn't necessarily job training. We don't have the broader context. Maybe the child initiated it because they were interested in what their parents are spending their time on. Secondly, teaching a child how to use git doesn't mean the child isn't learning other things too. Thirdly, I learned version control (SVN, before git existed) as a child too. Not as young as primary school, but I learned it on my own because I was interested in it. It wasn't done in the context of job training. Fourthly, your comparison with a chain saw is just plain vacuous. Git won't kill or maim you. Holy hell buddy. So at least in my case, your speculation about the reasons for downvotes is wrong. And also, stop whining about downvotes. :)
aidenn0 4y ago
Until a couple years ago, I didn't use Git at work (it was SVN at work). However, I used it all the time for personal projects. Come to think of it, SVN was the same way; I used it for personal projects while using CVS at work. Also, as an aside, my dad taught me how to use a chainsaw, including mixing the fuel for the two-stroke engine when I was 12. As an electrical engineer, he certainly didn't use a chainsaw at work.
tbrownaw 4y ago
> you don't teach children how to operate a chainsaw, do you? I didn't get to use a chainsaw as a kid, but I did get to use a table saw and a hand-held circular saw when there were projects to use them for.
egypturnash 4y ago
It makes sense if the kid’s already into programming, and is starting to run up against the sorts of problems a VCS is designed to solve like “oh no it was kinda working and my attempts to make it work better broke it and I closed the editor so I can’t undo my way back out of this”. A kid in first grade is not very likely to be having these kinds of problems, but a site like this full of professional programmers is certainly where you’re most likely to find parents whose kids are having these problems because they’ve been genuinely interested in learning what Mom and/or Dad do all day, and have been taught some of it.