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What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

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Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#81

Post by Zikes »

treenyc wrote: post #73
deftnerd wrote: post #57

I am a developer/hacker who spent 6 months in prison about a decade ago. They had a room of old broken computers that were donated and I offered to fix them up in exchange for increased library privileges. Normally inmates could only visit the library once a week and check out two books, but I read about 4 books a day during my time there. I fixed up the computers and supported them once they got a teacher, read my b…

let me know what kind of developer you are. Can you PM me on Hacker News.

HN has no PM system. You'll have to give him an email.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#82

Post by 6d0debc071 »

eplanit wrote: post #60

Hmm. He makes no mention of what crime he was convicted of, and expresses no remorse, either. Although he does seem to be feeling regret (which I think is an appropriate function of prison), he sees himself as being a victim -- no other victim is referred to. It seems he's proud of his murdering, home-invading comrades. This is certainly a testament to the failure of prisons (at least in his case). The education he n…

> Hmm. He makes no mention of what crime he was convicted of, and expresses no remorse, either.

Which doesn't give you enough information to judge his character either way. Maybe he went to jail for something trivial, like drugs. Maybe he just feels ashamed enough not to talk about it. Maybe he just considers it off topic.

There are a great many potential explanations for the observation that he doesn't talk about his crime and his feelings about the crime - other than his just being a horrible guy.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#83

Post by simpsond »

mjolk wrote: post #8

"I learned that you should go straight to the person you're upset with rather than go to authorities." This is bullshit and dumb advice. If someone steals my bike and I find out who it is, I'm not going to go to his apartment and beat him to death in the middle of the day (smart money on confronting a scumbag not leading to a productive conversation). Fuck that. The reason we have "authorities" is because we have peo…

I think the quote means: "I learned that you should go straight to the person you're upset with rather than go to authorities [in prision]." Are you saying this quote is bullshit when it applies to the world outside prison, or inside prison?

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#84

Post by Theodores »

null_ptr wrote: post #67
mjolk wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting, thanks. I wonder if Quora does this to scam on SEO

No question about it. There's no difference between Quora and Experts-Exchange when it comes to SEO deception.

Expert Sex Change - there, fixed that for you.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#85

Post by Arnor »

mjolk wrote: post #54
Arnor wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kidding aside, I would be extremely unlikely to resort to a violent act in the case of a stolen wallet. If a_hole won't give it back, it's really not that big of a deal. Reprint photos of wife and kids, Visit ATM, Cancel some credit cards, register a hold with a credit bureau, and move on with your life.

It's not just about the wallet, it's about respect and the lizard brain telling you that if you don't get it back, you're allowing said a_hole to win. I would be extremely likely to resort to violence if I felt that the official channels would not help. I guess I'm a caveman in that way.

That doesn't make you a caveman, it just means that we have a very different perspective on what winning and losing is. People who resort to petty theft have their own set of problems. They are rarely winners in any way that I would envy them. There is a point to be made in the fact that letting someone get away with theft sets a precedent that it is tolerated. That is certainly wrong and a clear hole in my outlook which I have yet to resolve.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#86

Post by kiba »

swalkergibson wrote: post #64
Estragon wrote: post #21

I help teach a nonviolent communication program at a nearby prison, and the technological restrictions placed on the prisoners are pretty shocking to me. They are allowed an electric typewriter with 7K of memory (down from 16K.) The only audio media they are allowed are cassette tapes. DVDs are forbidden, apparently because a shard from one could conceivably be used as a weapon. A co-ordinator of a college program fo…

> I can't imagine them having the education for any kind of gainful employment when they get out. Has this ever been the goal of the justice system in the United States? It seems to me that the primary function is purely punitive and expends very little effort to rehabilitate anyone.

It seems to me that the primary function is purely punitive and expends very little effort to rehabilitate anyone.

Which stems from humans liking "just deserts" and liking people to be punished for their crimes. A rational theory about deterrence, rehabilitation, and harm reduction may be more humane, but also difficult to implement and propagate through the populace. That being said, we humans are getting better at treating minority and animals.(Say, gay marriage is being legalized in more states) So I have some hope that our treatment of society's most unsympathetic and hated group better will improve as we become more rational and "nicer".

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#87

Post by g8oz »

eplanit wrote: post #68
bennyg wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You literally don't know shit about him or his situation. I honestly feel bad for you; there's no point in being hostile about somebody's character based on a short synopsis of somebody else's jail time.

Yeah. "Feel bad for me because I'm in prison. Never mind how I got here. I can write the DDL for a simple database. I'm a hero! NO DISUSSION ALLOWED". Simple world you live in, it is.

He shouldn't have to go on an apology tour to ask questions. He's already been judged by the courts. You stay out of it.

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#88

Post by cstavish »

treenyc wrote: post #74

"I learned many things from inmates that I never learned in my prior life. I learned that you should go straight to the person you're upset with rather than go to authorities. I learned that giving and keeping your word is the ultimate measurement of character. I learned that loyalty is easy to promise, but few really deliver. Don't be that guy. Prison is really a learning crucible since the reactions are so quick an…

Well considering that California spent almost $50k per inmate in 2008 alone [1], it's certainly cheaper for the "student", but not exactly less expensive all told.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_Sta...

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#89

Post by sean-duffy »

mjolk wrote: post #8

"I learned that you should go straight to the person you're upset with rather than go to authorities." This is bullshit and dumb advice. If someone steals my bike and I find out who it is, I'm not going to go to his apartment and beat him to death in the middle of the day (smart money on confronting a scumbag not leading to a productive conversation). Fuck that. The reason we have "authorities" is because we have peo…

I'm also very surprised at peoples responses to this. If I have a serious crime committed to me I'm not going to confront a potentially dangerous individual. It simply isn't worth the risk. Why put yourself and your family at risk just for the chance of securing some kind of respect from a criminal?

Re: What is it like to be a geek in a prison?

#90

Post by bjoe_lewis »

deftnerd wrote: post #57

I am a developer/hacker who spent 6 months in prison about a decade ago. They had a room of old broken computers that were donated and I offered to fix them up in exchange for increased library privileges. Normally inmates could only visit the library once a week and check out two books, but I read about 4 books a day during my time there. I fixed up the computers and supported them once they got a teacher, read my b…

That was a nice read.

How exactly did your "felonious history" affect your career?

Just curious, do the world of startups and hackers, actually bias on things like this?

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