Programming prodigy passes away at 16 • Hacker News Board

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#51

Post by drx » Sun, Jan 15, 2012, 4:19 PM UTC

reason wrote: post #28

andreadallera wrote: post #12

I hate to write this, since the tragic happening but really, the hype is widely unjustified. I started programming when I was 8, I know a lot of people that started meddling around with computer around the same age, and I was born a decade before her which, in computer years, is like a century. Everything programming related was a hundred times more difficult to accomplish than it is now - I wrote assembly on a C64,…

Jesus, every damn time someone of note passes away we get a bunch of morons on here telling us how the accomplishments aren't as good as they seem. You people need to learn when to bite your tongues. I'm willing to bet if it were some VC going on and on about his/her life's works, the last thing you'd do is point out how unremarkable and unimpressive any of it is. Let's see if a similar article is written up about yo…

> You people need to learn when to bite your tongues.

While I appreciate your proselytizing suggestion that we change our entire moral and ethical framework based on what some random person on the internet wrote in anger and eschew logic and reason, I will bite my tongue whenever I please, thank you very much.

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#52

Post by bane » Sun, Jan 15, 2012, 4:21 PM UTC

hoodq19 wrote: post #15

andreadallera wrote: post #12

I hate to write this, since the tragic happening but really, the hype is widely unjustified. I started programming when I was 8, I know a lot of people that started meddling around with computer around the same age, and I was born a decade before her which, in computer years, is like a century. Everything programming related was a hundred times more difficult to accomplish than it is now - I wrote assembly on a C64,…

Really? A young girl dies, hacker or not. A writer who was touched by her writes about it. And the only thing worth writing is that you beat her to programming by 2 years. Bravo! Not that this applies to you, but at what age do people learn empathy and sensitivity?

I think andreadallera just wants an msnbc digital life writeup as well.

andreadallera, here's the author's email address todd@geekwire.com, enjoy petitioning him for your own digital ink noting and praising your deep feelings of self worth -- those being more important than the death of a child.

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#53

Post by wallflower » Sun, Jan 15, 2012, 4:23 PM UTC

_corbett wrote: post #7

jeswin wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://wherearejohnandtodd.com/arfa.mp3 She talks about a calculator and a few other things, written in C#. It could be the same things many of us did when we were kids. But you should listen to it; I can't find the right words to tell you how I felt.

really enjoyed this interview. what an amazing young woman and a tragedy she is already gone...

Great interview.

A child who can teach us, if we are willing to listen.

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#54

Post by drx » Sun, Jan 15, 2012, 4:25 PM UTC

ascendant wrote: post #44

andreadallera wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your reply makes me sad. I'll try to explain why: Empathy should have nothing to do with your ability to evaluate facts. Empathy has an evil cousin, politically correctness . When politically correctness comes into play, you lose the game. You can't talk about anything with a straight perspective because, you know, somebody might get offended . A 16 years old kid has died. That is a sad fact by itself. If she was the…

You are a true engineer right to the end. Sticking your foot in your mouth and then continually trying to use logic to climb out of the hole you dug for yourself. The next time someone of note passes away, resist the urge to take them down a notch and just keep your mouth shut.

> limb out of the hole you dug for yourself

How delightfully patronizing.

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#55

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Jan 15, 2012, 4:25 PM UTC

andreadallera wrote: post #12

I hate to write this, since the tragic happening but really, the hype is widely unjustified. I started programming when I was 8, I know a lot of people that started meddling around with computer around the same age, and I was born a decade before her which, in computer years, is like a century. Everything programming related was a hundred times more difficult to accomplish than it is now - I wrote assembly on a C64,…

[deleted]

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#56

Post by oakgrove » Sun, Jan 15, 2012, 4:26 PM UTC

andreadallera wrote: post #12

I hate to write this, since the tragic happening but really, the hype is widely unjustified. I started programming when I was 8, I know a lot of people that started meddling around with computer around the same age, and I was born a decade before her which, in computer years, is like a century. Everything programming related was a hundred times more difficult to accomplish than it is now - I wrote assembly on a C64,…

Like you, I don't wish to disparage what she actually did but calling her a "prodigy" is a bit of a stretch. I see it more of an insult to her memory to over hype her accomplishment than anything else. She came from a very rich family and she passed a test. Yay for her but what about the real poor people in Pakistan that will never have the opportunities she had no matter how talented they are. The emotional outbursts on HN of all places in her defence are, um, disappointing to say the least.

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#57

Post by hythloday » Sun, Jan 15, 2012, 4:45 PM UTC

andreadallera wrote: post #45

hythloday wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason why it's remarkable (and I use the word literally) is because 16-year-old girls from Pakistan do not start with the same advantages as 16-year-old boys in the US. It's not surprising, given that, if one outcome is ignored and the other is celebrated.

Again, perspective. On average, that's certainly true. In this specific instance, not so. Take a 16 year old boy from the ghetto in the US and compare it to a rich upper caste Pakistani girl. Who has the most advantages?

I think, in changing your thought experiment, you're making my point for me.

If a 16-year-old boy from the ghetto in the US became the world's youngest MCP at the age of 9, I would absolutely expect that to be news.

I would also think it was particularly unworldly to comment on the reporting of his untimely death, "well, I, as a white man with excellent access to education, got an MCP at the age of 20, and it wasn't all that hard".

The challenges that Arfa, or your hypothetical ghetto programmer, faced, were entirely different, and quite probably greater to the ones you faced, and they achieved a specific milestone a long time before you did. I genuinely can't imagine the mindset that attempts to minimize rather than celebrating their achievements.

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#58

Post by ceol » Sun, Jan 15, 2012, 4:45 PM UTC

andreadallera wrote: post #47

ascendant wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are a true engineer right to the end. Sticking your foot in your mouth and then continually trying to use logic to climb out of the hole you dug for yourself. The next time someone of note passes away, resist the urge to take them down a notch and just keep your mouth shut.

And you're a true manager right to the end, my friend. Making decision with your heart alone and refusing to see logic and data when they're in front of you. May our paths never cross in real life.

There's nothing logical about your post, because a logical post wouldn't ignore that she was a 9 year old girl from Pakistan when she became a MCP and you weren't a 9 year old girl from Pakistan when you became a MCP. You refuse to see the vast amount of differences between you and her and then continue to make a comparison as though it has any meaning.

That's not logic. That's jealousy.

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#59

Post by mgkimsal » Sun, Jan 15, 2012, 4:48 PM UTC

fiaz wrote: post #19

mgkimsal wrote: post #16

I don't know quite what Pakistan's cultural norms are, but I suspect that being female, the "youngest MCP" thing may have been even that much more remarkable.

Keep in mind Pakistan had a female prime minister many years ago.

Good point - had forgotten about that.

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#60

Post by ceol » Sun, Jan 15, 2012, 4:50 PM UTC

dodedo wrote: post #31

fiaz wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you care to elaborate on your last statement? EDIT: Actually never mind. This is only going to end up bad. You have your opinion and I have mine.

I believe he's pointing out, accurately, that wealthy families in Pakistan can be just as privileged as middle-class Americans. He's saying it's unfair to use this girl as an example of those actually living in under-privileged poverty conditions in Pakistan. It's a fair objection, though rather emotionally contentious given the context.

Pakistani women are still not as privileged as men. Even if you were to compare a wealthy Pakistani family to some sort of American class (which would be very hard, since you would be ignoring both cultures), she would still be notable for being a 9 year old girl who became a MCP.