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Show HN: I made an open-source laptop from scratch

byran.ee

251–260 of 338 posts

Re: Show HN: I made an open-source laptop from scratch

#251

For those that missed it, this Engineer is in _high school_. Byran, I have been a professional engineer longer than you have been alive, I can tell you right now that I have met very, very few people that would have the motivation, skill and sticktoitivness to pull this off.

Not just any high school. https://exeter.edu/

Yeah... Just checked and disclaimer I'm not trying to diminish OP's achievement which is huge but ... https://exeter.edu/admissions/financial-aid/tuition-costs/

Re: Show HN: I made an open-source laptop from scratch

#252
post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sometimes wonder how many talented engineers top colleges are rejecting because they were busy working on real engineering projects like this than academics and test scores.

Probably not a lot, kids who have the grit to work on projects like this are the ones most likely to succeed academically

Unless you aren't fit for traditional academic learning models.

I spent most of my young adulthood working on projects (not nearly as insanely technical as this! but) similar to this. But I dropped out of high school, didn't go to college, because none of them would teach me in a way, or a pace, that fit my learning disability or mental models. Luckily I had the drive to teach myself, and built a successful two-decade career, despite my parents and teachers telling me I'd fail and become homeless.

High school kids have insane potential, and can achieve truly amazing things. But often people disregard them and don't set them up for success. So many companies could hire really great engineers, even from high school, if they could just find the motivated ones and put them in a mentorship/apprenticeship program that aligned with their interests and ways of learning.

Re: Show HN: I made an open-source laptop from scratch

#253

For those that missed it, this Engineer is in _high school_. Byran, I have been a professional engineer longer than you have been alive, I can tell you right now that I have met very, very few people that would have the motivation, skill and sticktoitivness to pull this off.

And the time. Don't underestimate the amount of free time people have when they're in high school (vs when you have a family / intense job). Having said that, even with unlimited time this is such an awesome achievement and really shows the dedication. Well done!

tbqh, I vividly remember rolling my eyes in high school when older people would say: "don't squander the free time you have; you'll wish you had it back someday..." and while I don't outright regret doing kid stuff and squandering the free time in high school as kids do, some days those sentiments ring out more true than others; today being one of them after seeing this video.

Good job, kid

Re: Show HN: I made an open-source laptop from scratch

#258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless they are forced to learn things that are uninteresting to them. I almost failed the high school entry exams because I dedicated more time to soldering electronic devices and programming computers rather than writing essays about Polish literature or memorizing dates of historical battles. Same thing with the final high school exams - it was a really close call. I felt like they gave me good scores on non-STEM…

Man, you just triggered me. This was also me in school. I even have a huge interest in history, but I remember my first history exam on World War 1. I was ready to answer questions on its causes, the people, how industrial war changed the nature of fighting, the new countries that formed after the war... First Question: What was the date the Serbian nationalist Gavrillo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand.…

Holy crap - I have read the Hobbit many times (and LoTR a few less) and I would never have taken the time to commit 13-character names to memory - most of them simply were not that memorable.

Re: Show HN: I made an open-source laptop from scratch

#260

For those that missed it, this Engineer is in _high school_. Byran, I have been a professional engineer longer than you have been alive, I can tell you right now that I have met very, very few people that would have the motivation, skill and sticktoitivness to pull this off.

This is an incredible achievement! I've been working in hardware design for 10 years. I've touched on most of what was covered here across various projects in my career, but never all at once. To have the discipline and motivation to carry a project like this through to completion is seriously impressive.
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