"Good at Hardware"
By: Web Product Owner
Back in middle school there was this kid who used to harass/bully me in PE class. He would start fights, make fun of kids, and throw a frisbees at me. Overall, this guy was a terrible person. Fast forward a year, the summer before freshman year I went to a cybersecurity camp for high schoolers. And guess who I saw there, the kid… At first we played it off cool, I didn’t think to make it a problem, and he didn’t either (although he then eased into harassing me...). The first day of camp we were learning about cyber-ethics, what to do and not to do with people’s computers and security. We also learned some basic concepts like security vs convenience, very valuable stuff. This guy was not happy though, you could tell it wasn’t the action packed hacker training he was thinking of. I remember this one line he said to me, this one line that has stuck with me for a long time and has been ingrained in my head as one of the most stupidest things I have ever heard. I ask him something on the lines of, “why don’t you like the camp?” and he responds, “I’m really good at hardware, not software.” The day after, he left, missing some really cool lessons.
While there are definitely people who are good at “hardware”, as in they are in depth hardware engineers or build complex server rooms and such, this is not what he was referring to. This kid thought because he was good at putting computers together, because he knew how to plugin a graphics card and a processor into a motherboard, he was somehow a technically advanced person. He thought because he was well versed in the marketing schemes and advertisements of hardware vendors, he was somehow technically advanced. Building a computer is easy, it requires some skill, but not that much and anyone with spare time (and money) can learn how to do it. Let me make this clear, that doesn’t make it a bad skill, it’s a good skill, and it can even protect you from repair shops charging exorbitant rates for computer repairs. The more knowledge one has of computers, the more they are protected.
What is so problematic about this kid’s statement is that he drew the line at hardware, “software” was too hard for him to figure out. This is a bad mistake. While hardware is important, I would say that software is even more important. What really puts you in control of your computer is an in depth understanding of operating systems, the command line, and program execution. With the knowledge I have of “software” I can easily (almost without thinking) make web and Minecraft servers. People love to brag about the hardware they own, but what is actually more impressive? Having two useless GTX2080tis or making a Minecraft server for your friends to play on? The latter of course. Because the first doesn’t benefit them and just shows you’re a jerk with a lot of money to spend. Or how about this, having an RGB keyboard or maintaining your own website? I think you get it by now. The funny thing is, making your own Minecraft server or Apache web server is super easy, yet many people, including those “good at hardware”, will struggle to do it. It’s too hard for them to figure out port forwarding so they have to use Hamachi! Because people find that “software” isn’t really associated with a material value, they don’t find it fun. Which is rather pathetic.
To all those who are “good” at hardware: remove yourself from the stupidity which is hardware marketing. Stop spending money on pointless things, and try to learn the real issues which affect computers today. People who are fanatical about hardware are the same people who say, “linux is bad because my games don’t work on it”, they’re the same people who say they don’t care about program developers spying on them, they’re the same people who don’t care about free and open source programs, and they’re the same people who put endless amounts of money into the pockets of mega corporations. You can judge yourself if this applies to you.
If you, who are good at hardware, were to put just some effort in trying to learn the command line, how operating systems work (especially UNIX), read computer history (especially UNIX), and educate yourself on the issues of software today, you would greatly grow in your understanding of computers. Get a Raspberry Pi, make a Virtual Machine, whatever, try to get some experience with the command line. Lookup tutorials and make your own website. Now, those things are useful! Those things are cool! I mean, tons of kids in high school know how to make a computer, but a website? Now that’s kinda cool. Be cool like me, be good at software.