Re: Is this True?
Ron via Ale <[email protected]> Mon, 11 May 2026 13:28:15 -0700
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lollipopman691 via Ale wrote on 2026-05-11 10:40:
> I am way more optimistic than this guy.
Me too. I started reading, didn't get far.
Too self-congratulatory, for one thing - acts as if poking at a system
for 20 minutes and having a working mental model of it is a vanishing
skill (that the author, of course, maintains), or that file system
hierarchies have relevance for normal people.
Too much conspiracy addled "decades of deliberate... effort by ... tech
companies ... to turn users into consumers"
Yeah, somewhat, maybe. Or decades of effort to turn consumers into
users? That sounds rather different phrased like that.
But also, 99% of drivers don't know how cars work. So what? More people
have computers in their pockets than drivers licenses, they use them to
get stuff done and for entertainment, not because technology needs to be
understood at a deep level by the masses.
I stopped reading at this nonsense:
> Ask a twenty-two-year-old to connect to a remote server via SSH. Ask > them to explain what DNS is at a conceptual level. Ask them to tell
> you the difference between their router’s public IP and the local IP
> of their laptop.
His "Kids today know nothing" whiny rant can be flipped to "geezer out
of touch with what the youth are doing" pretty easily.
His conflation of TCP/IP networking & sysadmin tasks with relevance to
average people is just ridiculous.
My YouTube feed is full of kids in their ~20s doing incredible,
unbelievable, sometimes "humanly impossible" stuff. They use all the
tools available to pursue their interests and due to the internet have
reached heights of mastery beyond what was possible for earlier generations.
The kids are alright (as much as they ever were, lots of our cohort were
"sex & drugs & rock 'n' roll" types who went on to be home owners, etc.).
Although that home owning thing is pretty hopeless for kids today - not
their fault. And we're handing them a ticking time bomb with climate
change that they'll have to deal with. I don't envy them that impending
disaster.
> From where I am sitting,we appear still very much alive. And the > 3D printing + MakerSpace folks are continuing the fight. Right to >
Repair is still very much in the news and being litigated both in >
courts and in legislatures.
Indeed, I agree, it's basic human nature to want to understand how stuff
works and geezers like the author has fallen for the oldest fallacy in
the books, "kids today aren't like *we* were".
> Doesn't mean we can relax though.
Human nature won't change. Ability to self-repair miniaturized
electronics won't get easier (but full support for Right to Repair!),
but people will find outlets for their curiosity.
Can I introduce the list to HTX Studios for a great example of "kids
today... that's amazing (engineering)!":
www.youtube.com
HTX Studio <#>
We are a DIY team from Hangzhou, China.Our goal is to create fun and
engaging videos.We are NOT involved in any cryptocurrency trading—please
verify accounts...
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/@HTXStudio <https://www.youtube.com/@HTXStudio>
Notable recommendations:
The assembly lines (plural), the one-handed keyboard, the visual musical
instrument that took 3 years, the tests of charging phones at 120W vs 5W
carried out over two years, the moving garbage cans that catch whatever
is thrown their way and self-empty overnight,...
They have a "NO AI" on screen when showing some of their inventions
because it looks like CGI or otherwise too incredible to be real.
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<p>lollipopman691 via Ale wrote on 2026-05-11 10:40:</p>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap; display: block; width: 98vw;">> I am way more optimistic than this guy.
</span>
<p>Me too. I started reading, didn't get far.</p>
<p>Too self-congratulatory, for one thing - acts as if poking at a
system for 20 minutes and having a working mental model of it is a
vanishing skill (that the author, of course, maintains), or that
file system hierarchies have relevance for normal people. </p>
<br>
<p>Too much conspiracy addled "decades of deliberate... effort by
... tech companies ... to turn users into consumers"</p>
<p>Yeah, somewhat, maybe. Or decades of effort to turn consumers
into users? That sounds rather different phrased like that.</p>
<p>But also, 99% of drivers don't know how cars work. So what? More
people have computers in their pockets than drivers licenses, they
use them to get stuff done and for entertainment, not because
technology needs to be understood at a deep level by the masses.</p>
<br>
<br>
I stopped reading at this nonsense:<br>
<br>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap; display: block; width: 98vw;">> Ask a twenty-two-year-old to connect to a remote server via SSH. Ask
> them to explain what DNS is at a conceptual level. Ask them to tell
> you the difference between their router’s public IP and the local IP
> of their laptop.
</span>
<p>His "Kids today know nothing" whiny rant can be flipped to
"geezer out of touch with what the youth are doing" pretty easily.</p>
<p>His conflation of TCP/IP networking & sysadmin tasks with
relevance to average people is just ridiculous.</p>
<br>
<p>My YouTube feed is full of kids in their ~20s doing incredible,
unbelievable, sometimes "humanly impossible" stuff. They use all
the tools available to pursue their interests and due to the
internet have reached heights of mastery beyond what was possible
for earlier generations.</p>
<p>The kids are alright (as much as they ever were, lots of our
cohort were "sex & drugs & rock 'n' roll" types who went
on to be home owners, etc.).</p>
<p>Although that home owning thing is pretty hopeless for kids today
- not their fault. And we're handing them a ticking time bomb with
climate change that they'll have to deal with. I don't envy them
that impending disaster.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap; display: block; width: 98vw;">> From where I am sitting,we appear still very much alive. And the
> 3D printing + MakerSpace folks are continuing the fight. Right to
> Repair is still very much in the news and being litigated both in
> courts and in legislatures.
</span>
<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; display: block; width: 98vw;"><span
style="white-space: normal">Indeed, I agree, it's basic human nature to want to understand how stuff works and geezers like the author has fallen for the oldest fallacy in the books, "kids today aren't like *we* were".</span></span></p>
<p><br>
</p>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap; display: block; width: 98vw;">> Doesn't mean we can relax though.</span>
<p>Human nature won't change. Ability to self-repair miniaturized
electronics won't get easier (but full support for Right to
Repair!), but people will find outlets for their curiosity.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Can I introduce the list to HTX Studios for a great example of
"kids today... that's amazing (engineering)!":</p>
<aside xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
class="moz-card url-replaced"
style="width:600px; display:flex; align-items:center; justify-content:center; flex-direction:row; flex-wrap:wrap; border-radius:10px; border:1px solid silver;"
id="card-1778530304760">
<div class="card-pic"
style="display:flex; flex-direction:column; flex-basis:100%; flex:1;">
<div style="margin:0 5px;"> <img
src="https://yt3.googleusercontent.com/e9Tv2HS3X6lzdqoG0jAsudM0HkhpQyd24EKWjvf_MuWP_KVg68jZvVeIHYlxl7jyUtF_mlK3gg=s900-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj"
style="width: 600px;" alt=""> </div>
</div>
<div class="card-content"
style="display:flex; flex-direction:column; flex-basis:100%; flex:3;">
<div style="margin:0 1em;">
<p><small class="site" style="font-weight:lighter;"><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.youtube.com">www.youtube.com</a></small></p>
<p> <a href="#"
style="font-weight:600; text-decoration:none;"><big
class="title">HTX Studio</big></a> </p>
<p class="description">We are a DIY team from Hangzhou,
China.Our goal is to create fun and engaging videos.We are
NOT involved in any cryptocurrency trading—please verify
accounts...</p>
<p> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@HTXStudio" class="url"
style="display:inline-block; text-decoration:none; text-indent:-2ch; margin-inline:2ch;"
title="www.youtube.com">🔗
https://www.youtube.com/@HTXStudio</a> </p>
</div>
</div>
</aside>
<p>Notable recommendations:</p>
<p>The assembly lines (plural), the one-handed keyboard, the visual
musical instrument that took 3 years, the tests of charging phones
at 120W vs 5W carried out over two years, the moving garbage cans
that catch whatever is thrown their way and self-empty
overnight,...</p>
<p>They have a "NO AI" on screen when showing some of their
inventions because it looks like CGI or otherwise too incredible
to be real.</p>
<p></p>
</body>
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