51–60 of 80 posts
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I'm hoping his next step is to create a full computer and port Linux to it... :-)
It would be neat, but honestly the complexity of a modern CPU is not something that any individual would be able to recreate in a life time if they were building it piece-by-piece. I imagine that's true for any CPU capable of running recent Ubuntu releases or even something light like, I dunno, Puppy.
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> What do you want this person to do instead? I get that Minecraft is fun , but wouldn't it have been more practical , in the long run, to have built something equally cool in a real CAD/HDL/etc. software? It'd be really cool if someone could build a CAD/HDL/programming "IDE" that was as "fun" to "play" as Minecraft, but still as "useful" as something used in "the real world." But I suppose this is the same desire th…
> I get that Minecraft is fun, but wouldn't it have been more practical, in the long run, to have built something equally cool in a real CAD/HDL/etc. software? I find it all the more impressive because he used an environment that was not meant to be used like this. That's like running the marathon with a handicap and still winning. And if he can do it in minecraft I think that he'll take like a fish to water once he…
Given his/her choice of tools, most people would probably be more expressive with Photoshop/GIMP than MS Paint, or AutoCAD/Blender/Poser/HDL/etc./etc. than Minecraft.
Programmers debate the expressivity of programming languages all the time. We're impressed when some genius kid re-implements Doom in TI-BASIC, but at the same time, I want to see that genius applied with the full leverage of the most expressive tools available.
Minecraft doesn't quite pass the Arc challenge. :)
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My mind boggles at the sheer size of 8M RAM in minecraft...
According to NASA the Minecraft world is pretty big: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120312.html [NB It's just to the left of Neptune]
I honestly love seeing stuff like this -- it's really cool. But part of me always wonders, "I wonder what this kid could've built if he had a more meaningful project in mind?" I understand that you need to have a certain amount of "fun" before you can do "serious" things, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed that he didn't "dream bigger." It's not really a criticism. This kid is probably really smart, but…
He is sixteen. "Meaningful" has a different definition for someone that age. I am in awe of the achievement not only because of the stupendous scope and complexity, but the sheer willpower and colossal amount of time it must have taken. I hope the kid gets a lot of mileage out of it and goes onto great things. At the very least, he has earned his geek union card for life.
Because Minecraft is purely a game, it limits what a kid can accomplish from the start. A kid can only interact with their creations through the game itself, which is fine, but could it be better?
I honestly love seeing stuff like this -- it's really cool. But part of me always wonders, "I wonder what this kid could've built if he had a more meaningful project in mind?" I understand that you need to have a certain amount of "fun" before you can do "serious" things, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed that he didn't "dream bigger." It's not really a criticism. This kid is probably really smart, but…
How would one decide what their full potential was? Or perhaps, deeper, who would decide what their full potential was? Seems like a massive achievement to me, and that such effort and focus will translate well into the real world and if it doesn't for him personally, it could well spur others on.
I honestly love seeing stuff like this -- it's really cool. But part of me always wonders, "I wonder what this kid could've built if he had a more meaningful project in mind?" I understand that you need to have a certain amount of "fun" before you can do "serious" things, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed that he didn't "dream bigger." It's not really a criticism. This kid is probably really smart, but…
What do you mean by 'more meaningful'? I think it is fantastic that he managed to be so creative that he managed to turn a game into a calculator, something it clearly wasn't intended to be. That shows a lot of skill and resourcefulness, it also shows quite a bit of dedication and stamina. All of those are great traits and I'm sure the experience improved on these. This impresses me very much. Can you give an example…
Imagine what that kid could build if a tool existed that was as interesting as Minecraft, but tailored toward making iPhone apps (or another very specific type of application). In the same amount of time, he could've probably made something even more impressive.
I was trying to express a slight disappointment that the tools were a limiting factor to the ability of people (like this kid) to build amazing things.
Instead of building a calculator, would he be able to do more in the same amount of time?
In that case, could he build a game? An app? Really, it doesn't matter what the end product (or the project) is. I was only trying to express a little disappointment that there wasn't a more efficient way to channel his energy into a final product that would allow him to accomplish an even more ambitious goal.
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In the game there is a resource known as redstone. It can be acquired underground when mining in the game or made available in the game's creative mode. With it you can build various kinds of circuits. The game also includes various input and output blocks, such as buttons, switches, lights, and pistons. Put together, the player can do anything from as simple as a button opening a door to as complex as the article de…
So... did this kid assemble the whole thing manually brick-by-brick, or did he use some kind of compiler? Does minecraft have macros? Stored procedures? Hard to believe every individual brick was placed by hand.
I honestly love seeing stuff like this -- it's really cool. But part of me always wonders, "I wonder what this kid could've built if he had a more meaningful project in mind?" I understand that you need to have a certain amount of "fun" before you can do "serious" things, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed that he didn't "dream bigger." It's not really a criticism. This kid is probably really smart, but…
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What do you mean by 'more meaningful'? I think it is fantastic that he managed to be so creative that he managed to turn a game into a calculator, something it clearly wasn't intended to be. That shows a lot of skill and resourcefulness, it also shows quite a bit of dedication and stamina. All of those are great traits and I'm sure the experience improved on these. This impresses me very much. Can you give an example…
I only now realized that my comment was a bit unnecessarily patronizing! I meant it as a wish that programming could be as fun as Minecraft, but also remain as efficient as something like Python. Imagine what that kid could build if a tool existed that was as interesting as Minecraft, but tailored toward making iPhone apps (or another very specific type of application). In the same amount of time, he could've probabl…