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Programming prodigy passes away at 16

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Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#81

Post by Karunamon »

rolypoly wrote: post #78
Karunamon wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a 9 year old? Yes. For a 9 year old female in Pakistan? More so. For a 9 year old female in Pakistan with an outlook on life that is more mature than some 20 year olds? I'm having trouble coming up with reasons that this wasn't a very big deal.

if she was that genius then she should have solved NP-P problem at 14-15 years old. And in Pakistan elite class females don't face discrimination. Frankly speaking i have more respect for that Boy http://launchpad.net/~bilalakhtar than her.At least he can program.

And comparatively, I have no respect for you. What have you done, except belittled?

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#82

Post by aGHz »

ScottBurson wrote: post #73
pbsd wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Think before you speak" is always good advice. The "confidence of the mind" referred above does not mean that you should shit out everything that pops in your head.

Ah, but the question is, are you saying something stupid, or something actually quite intelligent that other people just don't want to hear? The latter tends to attract even more hostility than the former.

And neither have anything to do with shyness. "Think before you speak" is still very important advice, and then if you prefer to not raise hostility, do it because you chose so not because of shyness.

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#83

Post by simplegeek »

I'm a long-time HN member and I'm surprised at some of the comments here. Probably she wasn't a prodigy, also probably she wasn't a genius. Though she had every possibly trait that must have made her a genius later in her life.

Still, she was very intelligent, very sweet and a very caring kid. I met her and also her dad around 2005.

Also, she came from a very humble background and when I met her, her father was travelling with her using public transport (I know this because I did drop her and her father few times).

That having been said, given where she came from, she did few things in her 16 years of life that I know may people cannot. RIP.

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#85

Post by da_coke_chef »

chc wrote: post #80
mibbitor wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"world's youngest MSP" is still pretty meaningless. I have no clue why this is even on hacker news, let alone top story.

Well, you have only been here eight days. Give it some time and I'm sure you'll come to understand what HN appreciates better.

"cracked out programmers gambling the trustfund on ocaml"

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#86

Post by jacquesm »

This thread and a the story make me equally sad.

The thread because this is one of the most hateful and ugly threads I've ever seen on HN. A thread like this would be literally unthinkable a year or more ago, and now I'm not even surprised it is here.

The story because it is about the death of a person that could easily be a role model for a large number of young children, but females especially in third world - and other - countries.

Those writing from their comfy first world lives that feel the need to point out how 'privileged' this girl was and belittle her achievements have to stop and think - excellent advice from elsewhere in this thread - before they continue to write.

The internet has a long memory. Being insensitive to the death of any child makes you look ugly, stupid and negative in ways that I find hard to describe.

Whatever your motivation, jealousy, a general misunderstanding of the station of women in many third world countries or any other thing that might have prompted you to write what you wrote here: Let me tell you straight from the heart that I think this girl was everything you in particular should aspire to be.

Smart, articulate, compassionate and gifted. The fact that she may or may not have been a member of a family of some standing in Pakistan does not diminish her achievements.

More often than not those that are born into positions of wealth or with other so called advantages squander their fortunes and end up with less than their parents left them with. That's an all too common story.

This girl took what little life she had and grasped it with both hands, then made the best of it. I hope that when my time comes I'll be able to say I did the same.

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#87

Post by khalidmbajwa »

JVirissimo wrote: post #10
khalidmbajwa wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She was the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional in history at age 9. Her genius can be better appreciated in a geographical context. Pakistan has a non-existent culture of Start ups and original products. Thinking out of the box can sometimes even become a Taboo. The support system for doing a start up, building a product or even meaningful contribution to a real-world project , especially at her age simply doe…

Being a "genius" is not the same as a "programming prodigy". In order to be a "programming prodigy" you have to "program" something. The above comment was asking for evidence that this very smart girl "programmed" something. Neither claiming Pakistan is a poor programming environment nor that she is an MCP (very impressive BTW) constitutes such evidence.

>In order to be a "programming prodigy" you have to "program" something Programming an actual product is but just ONE measure of someone's programming prowess. Standardized tests is another one, and one that is quite Valid. In fact, it's the one used by almost every Technology Company out there to gauge programming skill and aptitude. Passing of MS Certification , at her age, in my book atleast is valid evidence.

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#88

Post by khalidmbajwa »

tluyben2 wrote: post #6
khalidmbajwa wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She was the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional in history at age 9. Her genius can be better appreciated in a geographical context. Pakistan has a non-existent culture of Start ups and original products. Thinking out of the box can sometimes even become a Taboo. The support system for doing a start up, building a product or even meaningful contribution to a real-world project , especially at her age simply doe…

Are you sure? I mean, yes, this goes for the become an mscp at 9 in Pakistan (which is harder than elsewhere), but she got such a large amount of media attention and I think her father is some kind of big shot in Pakistan as well. It sounds like she was able enough despite the limitations you mention, she just didn't do it?

Look, wealth of family is just one very minute side of it. To actually translate your programming skills into an actual product, or startup or contribute to a real-world project, you need a lot more than that. You need mentors, you need awareness, you need tangible inspirations around you, ones that you can learn from and follow, you need advice, you need peers that you can collaborate with. That her achievements remained limited to passing a certification at a young age was because she didn't have any opportunity, or i would even argue , even awareness to take it to the next level. This awareness and opportunity is a product of so many more factors that i have highlighted above, not just media attention and financial power of one's family.

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#89

Post by dodedo »

ceol wrote: post #60
dodedo wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I think the point that it's more about the notions of the wealthy family than of the girl. Wealth allows families to transcend or disregard social norms. In this case it is clear that her family chose to raise her a particular way, and give her particular opportunities that, as you point out, would not be available to most Pakistani women.

This is precisely the point raised above, that this story is primarily about the opportunity provided by the family. But you are right, it's important to note that her family was evidently both wealthy and progressive.

Re: Programming prodigy passes away at 16

#90

Post by vl »

andreadallera wrote: post #34
reason wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bullshit. Utter bullshit. I don't get this angry when commenting here but the disgusting lack of empathy continually expressed on HN really, really gets to me. If you truly felt sorry for the girl, for her family, considered her family's pride for what she accomplished not only for herself but possibly for other kids in Pakistan, then you wouldn't feel the need to point out any of what you've stated. I read the artic…

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…

Spot-on. This entire thread is a good example of people stopping thinking rationally and trying to censor people who disagree with them just because once they got into irrational empathic state they think they have higher moral ground.

Feeling empathy and being sad for whatever reason is ok, but trying to project to other and decline them the right to ask the question or to make a statement in a respectful manner is not.

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