[Nottingham] Linux learning curve

[Martin]

ForkBombFluf wrote:
> OK, I think I've deleted most of the swear words and inflammatory comments 
> now, so time for press--
> 
> On Thu, 9 Oct 2008, Martin wrote:

Oh dear, what /did/ I write?!


>>> From a minor memory jog just now (thanks Patek!) :-)
>> Over a beer or two in the Bell, Stef was showing off her learning
>> material for a one week Linux course that she'd just been on over
>> somewhere Newark-ish or thereabouts ;-) From a drunken quick scan
>> through, the course material looked pretty good.
> 
> The LPIC-1 training course was at ForLinux in *proper* Newark, castle and 

And a lot of information is lost in the brevity of text.

No 'geek' contest implied or indeed wished, sorry.

The "Newark-ish" description was because I couldn't remember where you
said it was exactly. UK "-ish" in this use was intended to mean "about"
or "somewhere near to"...


> all, and some details were posted to this very list none too long ago. 
> We were a very fortunate group of guinea pigs, a small class of 8 (err.. 
> 7, one mysteriously disappeared from the lab after the first day), and a 
> subset of those are on this list.

It sounded and looked like it was a good idea. All the more so for your
enthusiasm which is why I gave it a mention...


> Some had never seen a Linux OS before, apart from being intrigued by a 
> previous half-hour or so play with a LiveCD, and others were looking to 
> fill-in-the-gaps as it were, with any basic knowledge they were afraid 
[---]
> The atmosphere was very much one of "we're all here to learn," and as such 
> was a "safe" place to ask questions that some of us perhaps felt we 
> "should already know the answer to" without fear of ridicule.
> 
> It was definitely not a course suitable for someone new to computing 
> concepts in general, though, but more for someone who has used other OSes 
> and is newish to or not completely comfortable with Linux in particular.

Good summary and good comment.

That is how "Open Source" should be. Part of what I consider should be
the philosophy is to get away from the "secret knowledge is power" (and
IP entanglements) and promote more of the academic ideal of open sharing
knowledge for the good of all.

Perhaps that is why I put so much time into NLUG.


>> I was quite surprised for how big a volume was needed for what I
>> considered to be 'common' Linux/*nix OS knowledge. One full week and
[---]

Sorry, that was intended as a comment on what it does take to work with
computers. It all should be much easier...

I started out trying to get a BASIC program to do long division. That
took over a week at the time to get working! (That was a while ago...)

We all start somewhere.


[---]
> Just to keep things in perspective here, I actually had a work colleague 
> tell me I was a "sad geek" when she found out I was spending a week of my 
[---]

Unfortunately, there does seem to be quite a 'stigma' that some people
attach to the word 'geek'. Deserved or not?


>> So perhaps there is indeed a very steep learning curve to what is behind
>> the desktop in Linux and *nix...
> 
> Most of us, for example, found trying to use vim instead of pico/nano a 
> counter-intuitive and frustration inducing experience.  We understand that 
[---]

And there are various examples like that throughout the world of
computing. Does "flexibility" and/or "efficiency" have to come always
with an increase in cryptic usage?


> As another example, a topic like networking is a big bite to chew off for 
> those unfamiliar with it.  Learning and understanding the OSI model, 
> knowing differences between protocols, memorizing common port numbers, 
[---]

Yes, there are lots of that.

Are we building in too many layers of abstraction just to send an "Hello
World" message out across the LAN?


[---]
>> Interestingly, one of the Linux mags this month has an article called
>> "The Girlfriend Test" to see how well a naive computer user can do
[---]

Obviously, I'd better not comment further. I'll let others look up the
article and pass comment.


>> Perhaps computers are just simply too complicated!
> 
> For tasks that you already *koow* how to do efficiently without them, 
> there is always a learning curve.  Most of us have to learn to walk first, 
> before we can move on to flying spaceships.  Some may never progress far 

I'm still trying to tickle an Arduino... I think the spaceship will be a
little way off yet!

I was trying to suggest that computers and computing are /unnecessarily/
complicated...


[---]
>> Licensing issues even more so!!
> 
> EULA?  What EULA?  I've just learned to click "accept", because otherwise 
> the software never seems to work right.
[---]

And there I consider there is a problem.

Thankfully, we do have some zealots to fight for and make work the idea
of a "copy-left" license to protect against IP entrapment...

Without that, I don't think we would have GNU/Linux.


Sorry again for whatever! No toes stamping intended.

Cheers,
Martin


-- 
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Martin Lomas
martin at ml1.co.uk
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