Geekiness

[mdlbear]

...does not appear to be hereditary. Odd. After several years I finally persuaded chaoswolf to try a computer course, in this case "Intro to Unix". We were going over the "script" for the third lab when I realized that I was just feeding her the lines -- she had no understanding at all of what she was doing. At that time I told her to research the commands she needed; pointed her at the man pages and a couple of beginners' books and suggested that she play around a little until she knew what she was doing.

Instead, what happened is that she turned off completely, did nothing, and is now dropping the course.

It's not as if she isn't a geek! She's an avid gamer -- she can handle arcane manuals, weird rules, and critters with funny names and dozens of bizarre special-case options. But she doesn't see the computer that way; it scares and confuses her. I think that if she'd gotten interested on her own, she would have enjoyed it immensely. It may be too late for that now that she's convinced herself that she "can't understand that command-line stuff".

Comments

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

I'm an avid geek, but programming is something that requires a certain mindset. I've never been able to wrap my mind around how it works, or even why it works.

[lysana.livejournal.com]

People are different sorts of geek. You can't expect her to be like you, so not trying would probably be for the best. And no, job skills are not hereditary. If they were, I'd either be an accounting clerk or a fiberglass wrangler.

[mneme]

Sure she's a geek. Just not -that- kind of geek; there's a lot of room in the world for lots of different kinds of geeks!

[sdorn.livejournal.com]

Geekiness in one context does not translate into comfort with all forms of geekiness. Silly example of the same problem in different contexts:

Logic puzzle version 1: In front of you are four cards with the following printed on them (respectively): E, 4, 7, K. What is the minimum number of cards you need to turn over to test the following statement? "If a card has a vowel on one side, it must have an even number on the other."

Logic puzzle version 2: In the next room is Gladys, George, a prismatic tumbler, and a wine glass. Gladys and George's drinks are being prepared right next to you by the party's hostess, who tells you, "The owners of the tumbler and the wine glass are out on the porch, but I'll tell you a secret: The women have the wine glasses." Which glasses or people do you need to link to owner or glass (respectively) to see if the hostess is telling you the truth?

Logic puzzle version 3: On the display shelf in the bookstore are four books, two facing you and two facing away from you. You see a front cover with a dragon and another with a spaceship. The back covers show a bearded author and an author in a dress. The store employee setting up the display tells you, "I made sure that if a woman's book is on the display, it's about dragons." Which books do you need to pick up to see if that's right?

Perfectly symmetrical puzzles, but people will inevitably have an easier time with one (which one depending on the person). You grok Unix. I'm ENUF (ENUF's not Unix friendly), though I've learned Pascal, SAS and SPSS (statistical languages), HTML, CSS, a bit of Flash, and I generally get along with computers. So I have a moderately-high geek factor. Just not in your area.

By the way, this is why I'm glad Kathryn plays violin, not viola.

[sdorn.livejournal.com]

Whoops—Logic puzzle 2 should read, "The women have wine glasses," no the.

They're not symmetric

[hazelchaz]

Logic puzzle 3 - you know which is the "front" and which is the "back." But in puzzle #1, we don't have assurances that every card has a letter on one side and a number on the other. So you have to check the other side of the K, to make sure it doesn't have a vowel on the back... (As well as the other two that have to be checked, of course.)

And "minimum" is the wrong term, although I'm not sure of the right one; the minimum course of action would be to have the statement disproved on the first card you turn over. I think it's "maximum number of cards you need to turn over".

In any event, you're right; geekiness comes in different flavors, and some people's brains aren't wired for breaking down problems algorithmically.

Chaz

[jilara.livejournal.com]

There are many forms of geek. She just has some markers but not others. Heck, I'm supremely geeky, but I program because I have to, not because I like it. It's a tool. I've always prided myself on doing well in things I have no aptitude for (like mathematics and computer stuff), which somehow makes it more of an accomplishment than, say, grokking botany or marine biology, which I love.

On the other hand, you can tell I'm a geek because I've done things like using a flowchart approach modeled after programming flow and algebraic transformations to teach English sentence structure, and I'm working on a dichotomous key approach for identifying type and era of kimono.

[patoadam]

I'm not sure Intro to Unix is the best choice for a first computer course. The importance of Unix, which is obvious to you, may not be so obvious to someone who experiences computers via GUIs and doesn't realize what is underneath.

Web page design or programming may be better starting points.

[mdlbear]

Likely; this was the course that fit her schedule and that she wanted to take.

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

I am curious as to how one wrangles fiberglass. Do you use a lasso? And does it scream when it's branded?