I have never considered myself to be tech-savvy. However, there is a running gag in my immediate family where I claim to be terrible with computers (eg. “I dont think i could find that, my google-fu is weak”) which my family responds to by reminding me of that one time I did that one cool thing (eg. reminding me about I nearly got suspended because I showed my Health teacher how you could bypass our school’s firewall and buy drugs on a school computer.)
This imposter syndrome continued for a while after switching to Linux, but after having to do a shit ton of troubleshooting I’ve stopped feeling completely clueless. I still have no clue what I’m doing, but it’s honestly really motivating to know that neither does anyone else—outside of the periodic Github technomancer. Linux proved to me that I am good enough, that I can carry my own weight and solve my own problems, and that any failures I suffer are not just fine, they are expected!
a running gag in my immediate family where I claim to be terrible with computers
You don’t want to be known as someone who can fix computers. trust me
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This used to be my malicious response and now it’s my genuine response.
One of the best things that came from me using only Linux for last 10 years.
That I really don’t know how to fix problems on Windows. (Heck, I don’t even know how to fix problems on Linux, just no-one cares!)
I sencond this, just cuz I know how to change the HDMI doesn’t mean I know why your iBook 3 isn’t working, I just figure it out.
Mechanics, Medics, Lawyers can relate.
I thought I wanted that, but learned my lesson.
I’m so good at fixing computers that if I had a car repair shop, I would “fix” every car until it became a bike, because I believe, and refuse to negotiate, that bikes are better.
My dude I’ve been running Linux for literally 20+ years and I still don’t feel like I know anything.
Carry on bumbling along doing your best, it’s all everyone else is doing.
You’ve got this
Here’s another 20+ years Linux user. I too feel I still not know what I’m doing. My computers have been up and running thanks to the blessings of the godly devs!
One of the advantages of Linux over Windows is that if you have a problem and don’t give up digging, you’ll find the cause - even if you end up digging down to looking at the kernel source and interacting with the developers themselves. With Windows, you quickly get to a dead end (“try rebooting, then format and reinstall”).
Don’t forget every windows forum solution: “run sfck”!
reminding me about I nearly got suspended because I showed my Health teacher how you could bypass our school’s firewall and buy drugs on a school computer
It’s such a rejected behavior to even consider suspending you for this.
Anyway, yeah, I agree. I think if one has interest in the inner workings of a computer system, just trying to make Linux do whatever you want it to do is a good way to experience that. You will, over time, without knowing, accumulate so much information just by troubleshooting things that don’t work for one reason or another
It’s such a rejected behavior to even consider suspending you for this.
They did take the smooth-brain interpretation of “He figured this out because he was buying drugs on the school computer” instead of considering that if that was my motivation, I would no longer be able to buy drugs on the school computer after telling them
It was a very enlightening experience for me LOL
Assuming that suspension hasn’t inconvenienced you, I would say that was a valubale lesson. Authority cannot be trusted.
I didn’t get a suspension because my parents and social worker went to bat for me. But still
I would commend any student that would be able to figure this out in my hypothetical school
I have two kids. I have no idea what I’m doing. Everyone is figuring shit up as they go. The only thing that matters is the desire to learn and the focus to make that knowledge useful.
Dude, i have no idea what im doing most of the time and ive been using linux as my only OS for well over a decade.
I know what I’m doing!
No, I won’t answer any questions.I nearly got suspended because I showed my Health teacher how you could bypass our school’s firewall and buy drugs on a school computer
I don’t think Linux is being good for you.
I think you misunderstood the timeline. But your point would have been valid back then. I was a bit obsessed with the screen time that I wasn’t allowed at home, and did some pretty bad things to my parents computers so I could watch Warehouse 13 and Battlestar Galactica until 3 am.
I distinctly remember a moment when I was 21 when I suddenly realized that I could actually control my impulses. It’s so freeing to have a fully developed prefrontal cortex.
