6 ms·

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 st

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, because that's all my poor family could afford, with nothing more than a printsheet of the opcodes. And no internet, keep that in mind. And I won't say I'm a prodigy because of that. I am also an MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) and I can tell you that the exam was nothing but difficult - basically, it had nothing to do with actual programming and more with knowing what checkbox to flag. I studied for it the evening before the test. I've seen so many stories like this, most of them not as tragic and not as heartwarming. For example, a heir of a very wealth family that I know has been featured in at least 10 Italian newspapers as "the new Mark Zuckerberg" or "the 20 years-old startupper" or "the genius behind <his startup>", all because his family has deep ties with the editors. That has taught me never to believe a thing of what I read on something even vaguely institutionalized.

hoodq19 15y ago
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?
- andreadallera 15y ago
  No no no not at all - Sorry if it came out that way. On a personal level, I am deeply sorry for her death. Given time, she might have become a great programmer. On a more general level, when I see something like this on the news, I can't help but ask myself why exactly somebody has written an article about this particular person. In this case, it doesn't seem to me that she was the prodigy they're talking about. A smart kid with a will to improve herself? Certainly. But think about the context - she came from a very rich Pakistani family. What would you think, as a 16 year old boy from Pakistan, coming from a poor family and working your bones off to make a living, coding at night, of this story? Because, you know, it's very likely that there's somebody like the boy in question in Pakistan. Scope mixing is the bane of modern communication. You can't use empathy as an excuse to talk about anything. This personal tragedy should have remained personal, not brought up on the news. Just my humble opinion.
  - bmahmood 15y ago
    My family is of Pakistani origin, and I have lived in Pakistan for several years. I think discounting her talent, simply because she's from a "very rich Pakistani family" is unfair. Yes, elitist families have more opportunities than the rest, but counter-intuitively given the feudal elite culture of Pakistan, the rich are often devoid of ambition and simply join family businesses. Girls, especially, are raised with no other ambition than to get married. I think for this girl to have such greater ambitions, despite the rampant chauvinistic expectations of her society, despite a country where everyone (including the rich) have 5-10 hrs of electricity/gas/water a day, despite living in a country in political upheaval, is pretty exemplary. And her talent, as such, is impressive in context.
- bane 15y ago
  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.
GigabyteCoin 15y ago
I believe I read "SAMS 24 Hours to HTML" at 8-9 years of age and produced my own "replica watches" website (because i figured they were profitable to sell, and I sure wanted one :P). I remembered getting about 80 emails from potential customers, asking my parents for their credit cards/money in order to acquire some merchandise and a domain name, and them completely freaking out (because of all the "credit cards + internet = FRAUD!" adverts at the time). So thankful the internet has progressed into what it is now.
reason 15y ago
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 your achievements when you pass away. Thanks for the insight, though!
- andreadallera 15y ago
  > we get a bunch of morons on here telling us how the accomplishments aren't as good as they seem. Whoa, easy. I have expressed my opinion and I have backed it up well I think. No hate for the poor girl, that's just terrible that somebody 16 years old have to die, no matter his or her accomplishments. On the other hand, what accomplishments are we talking about here? Seriously, I'm really sorry for the poor girl, I really am, but still I can't see the accomplishment she's made. And, honestly, I don't give a rat's ass about what people will write about me when I'm dead.
  - reason 15y ago
    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 article and found it quite inspirational that a girl her age had so much motivation. Most kids at the age of 9 are playing their Wii's and watching early-morning reruns of Power Rangers. Her achievements go beyond technical certification. But it's alright. Let's be champions of truth and justice at the sacrifice of appreciation and empathy. It'd be the hacker thing to do, anyway. It's happened with Dropbox, AirBnB, Steve Jobs, etc, already; so one more added to the list is a drop in the bucket.
    - andreadallera 15y ago
shingen 15y ago
What is wrong with you? What does her death have to do with you? That was one of the most disgusting, least human, comments I've ever seen written on HN.
- andreadallera 15y ago
  What does her death has to do with you? What does her death has to do with all of us? What disgusts me is the lack of tact and consideration of editors and maybe her parents - the first are ready to exploit the death of a 16 years old girl to make some uniques, the seconds (I really hope that's not the case) are ready to put their child on the cover for some advertising.
  - rooshdi 15y ago
    Have you considered that their motive may have been to inspire? Life is very frail, and this young girl's accomplishments in life may have a profound positive impact on other children for generations to come. How can you not honor that?
grannyg00se 15y ago
It's supposed to be a positive inspirational story and it is supposed to attract readers. Perhaps there is some liberty being taken with the adjectives but as you are aware, there are many things to consider when it comes to putting a piece of news together. The hype is not necessarily created for the benefit of the subject.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
oakgrove 15y ago
Like you, I don't wish to disparage what she actually <I>did</I> 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.
pooriaazimi 15y ago
Worst defense is a bad defense. I'm sorry that she had to die (really, I was shocked when I read she had died), but dying at a young age does not make one prodigy. She was (I'm certain of that) an extremely bright and self-confident kid. But better leave it at that. Saying that she was the greatest programmer of all time or the greatest person that had ever walked this earth is just insulting her memory, and belittles her achievements (which is much greater than mine's when I was her age).

hoodq19 15y ago

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?

andreadallera 15y ago
No no no not at all - Sorry if it came out that way. On a personal level, I am deeply sorry for her death. Given time, she might have become a great programmer. On a more general level, when I see something like this on the news, I can't help but ask myself why exactly somebody has written an article about this particular person. In this case, it doesn't seem to me that she was the prodigy they're talking about. A smart kid with a will to improve herself? Certainly. But think about the context - she came from a very rich Pakistani family. What would you think, as a 16 year old boy from Pakistan, coming from a poor family and working your bones off to make a living, coding at night, of this story? Because, you know, it's very likely that there's somebody like the boy in question in Pakistan. Scope mixing is the bane of modern communication. You can't use empathy as an excuse to talk about anything. This personal tragedy should have remained personal, not brought up on the news. Just my humble opinion.
- bmahmood 15y ago
  My family is of Pakistani origin, and I have lived in Pakistan for several years. I think discounting her talent, simply because she's from a "very rich Pakistani family" is unfair. Yes, elitist families have more opportunities than the rest, but counter-intuitively given the feudal elite culture of Pakistan, the rich are often devoid of ambition and simply join family businesses. Girls, especially, are raised with no other ambition than to get married. I think for this girl to have such greater ambitions, despite the rampant chauvinistic expectations of her society, despite a country where everyone (including the rich) have 5-10 hrs of electricity/gas/water a day, despite living in a country in political upheaval, is pretty exemplary. And her talent, as such, is impressive in context.
bane 15y ago
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.

GigabyteCoin 15y ago

I believe I read "SAMS 24 Hours to HTML" at 8-9 years of age and produced my own "replica watches" website (because i figured they were profitable to sell, and I sure wanted one :P). I remembered getting about 80 emails from potential customers, asking my parents for their credit cards/money in order to acquire some merchandise and a domain name, and them completely freaking out (because of all the "credit cards + internet = FRAUD!" adverts at the time). So thankful the internet has progressed into what it is now.

reason 15y ago

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 your achievements when you pass away. Thanks for the insight, though!

andreadallera 15y ago
> we get a bunch of morons on here telling us how the accomplishments aren't as good as they seem. Whoa, easy. I have expressed my opinion and I have backed it up well I think. No hate for the poor girl, that's just terrible that somebody 16 years old have to die, no matter his or her accomplishments. On the other hand, what accomplishments are we talking about here? Seriously, I'm really sorry for the poor girl, I really am, but still I can't see the accomplishment she's made. And, honestly, I don't give a rat's ass about what people will write about me when I'm dead.
- reason 15y ago
  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 article and found it quite inspirational that a girl her age had so much motivation. Most kids at the age of 9 are playing their Wii's and watching early-morning reruns of Power Rangers. Her achievements go beyond technical certification. But it's alright. Let's be champions of truth and justice at the sacrifice of appreciation and empathy. It'd be the hacker thing to do, anyway. It's happened with Dropbox, AirBnB, Steve Jobs, etc, already; so one more added to the list is a drop in the bucket.
  - andreadallera 15y ago

shingen 15y ago

What is wrong with you? What does her death have to do with you? That was one of the most disgusting, least human, comments I've ever seen written on HN.

andreadallera 15y ago
What does her death has to do with you? What does her death has to do with all of us? What disgusts me is the lack of tact and consideration of editors and maybe her parents - the first are ready to exploit the death of a 16 years old girl to make some uniques, the seconds (I really hope that's not the case) are ready to put their child on the cover for some advertising.
- rooshdi 15y ago
  Have you considered that their motive may have been to inspire? Life is very frail, and this young girl's accomplishments in life may have a profound positive impact on other children for generations to come. How can you not honor that?

grannyg00se 15y ago

It's supposed to be a positive inspirational story and it is supposed to attract readers. Perhaps there is some liberty being taken with the adjectives but as you are aware, there are many things to consider when it comes to putting a piece of news together. The hype is not necessarily created for the benefit of the subject.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

oakgrove 15y ago

Like you, I don't wish to disparage what she actually <I>did</I> 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.

pooriaazimi 15y ago

Worst defense is a bad defense. I'm sorry that she had to die (really, I was shocked when I read she had died), but dying at a young age does not make one prodigy. She was (I'm certain of that) an extremely bright and self-confident kid. But better leave it at that. Saying that she was the greatest programmer of all time or the greatest person that had ever walked this earth is just insulting her memory, and belittles her achievements (which is much greater than mine's when I was her age).