I learned all the basics of computers when I was 10 from Minecraft. Learned basic life concepts from there much earlier. I learned file directories from modding Java edition. Learned networking from multilpayer. Get an error message? Read it, Google and try to figure out how to fix it. Learned some Java coding around age 12 from a modding lesson program my parents got me. Also learned electronic skills and soldering at the same age from disassembling broken stuff and savaging motors to make stuff.

If kids are given a difficult, nerdy interface in one hand, and all the world's knowledge in the other, they'll be genius. If they're given an iPad they'll have no idea what a folder is, much less a MAC address.

This is why all children should start on a $100 ThinkPad running Arch Linux, a cheap rooted phone, and Firefox with the links to stack exchange and arch forums bookmarked for them.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

Just yesterday I couldn't play a game I bought two years ago because ubisoft couldn't authorize steam.

I spent a whole hour of my own free time trying to fix it through their interface. Resetting the password, restarting steam, unlinkin and relinking etc.

My final and only solution that worked was to download 11mb of cracked dlls and executables from that one russian counter strike forums and then drag the files to my game folder.

It took 2 minutes.

On an unrelated sidenote I noticed video games don't feel fun anymore. I guess I grew up just a little lmao?

I learned so much about computing by modding my own games. Adventure Construction Set, shitty mad libs games in basic, and then later spending basically every free hour from 12-18 years old modding Morrowind.

Gotta wonder how many modern programmers learned from modding Minecraft.