Re: [OT] Ubuntu vs Debian forums (was recompiling the kernel with a different version name)
On Sun, Apr 11, 2010 at 07:56:10AM +0100, Lisi wrote:
> On Saturday 10 April 2010 22:12:04 Dotan Cohen wrote:
> > On 10 April 2010 00:42, Stan Hoeppner <stan@hardwarefreak.com> wrote:
> > > Stephen Powell put forth on 4/8/2010 9:38 PM:
> > >> For some reason, this well-known proverb is going through my head:
> > >>
> > >> Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
> > >> Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
> > >>
> > >> I'd rather learn to fish.
> > >
> > > This is exactly the reason I chose Debian 10 years ago when I was looking
> > > for my first Linux distro.
> [snip]
> > > I only use Linux for non-GUI servers. I don't use desktop Linux. All my
> > > admin'ing requires knuckle busting. ;) And I like it that way.
> >
> > But you do understand that desktop users _don't_ want to learn about
> > their OS, correct?
>
> Recently I was trying to show my 15 year old granddaughter, who runs Open SuSU
> 11 on her laptop, how to do some small admin job. She said that she didn't
> want to know. When I queried this, she said:
>
> "When I am at school, the IT department does it for me. When I am at home
> here, you do it for me. When I am in Japan, Daddy does it for me. Why do I
> need to know how to do it?"
>
The best answer I can think of is "so that you don't get financially
abused by the people who do know how to do it".
Whenever kids ask why they need to learn math, I tell them "at the very
least, you need to know that the person behind the counter at McDonald's
is giving you the correct change".
Learning something doesn't mean you have to be an expert, or that you have to
do it all the time. But knowledge is power, and it seems silly to
actively avoid knowledge, as so many people seem to do. (By the way,
Lisi, this is not directed at your granddaughter -- your post just got me
thinking...)
-Rob
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