When I was 4-years-old my mom and dad took me over to a house I thought was the coolest place ever. The second-story balcony had a very large pile of varying sizes of plush penguins I loved, and I got to play with other kids while mom and dad talked with adults. I was having so much fun that when my parents said it was time to go I cried about it. Yes, I had a temper tantrum in front of Linus Torvalds, a man I had for the longest time just considered a nerdy friend of my nerdy parents. Who also had a funny accent. How was I supposed to know that years down the line I would be learning that he’s considered one of the greatest hackers in the history of computer science?
Linus Torvalds grew up as the classic nerd of school and family life. He found the computer that his grandfather had to be more interesting than playing sports and happened to be naturally smart enough to get away with not studying a lot. He didn’t fit in with the “cool” people stereotype. Even when his father told him to join the basketball team, he ended up being bad at the sport and hating that he signed up. All these aspects described about Linus’ childhood fit very well into the life of a hacker. The key aspect here was that he had a fascination with computers at a young age, and wanted to learn more about them. Growing up in Finland seemed also ideal for a young hacker since it has become a hub in Europe for advancements in tech. Linus continued on meeting and exceeding the standards for living as a hacker when he found it just a better idea to create his own operating system. He saw there were systems that weren’t working, so he had an itch to make it better, faster, and in general more effective. When Linus created his own operating system, it was out of the need to make something that would work. He worked with the computer he had, a Commodore VIC-20, and learned to code because he had a love for it and that enjoyment he had for coding is what drew him to want to make it better. From his hacker life, Linus found others that also had the same interest in solving an “itch” when it came to computer programming. This was all to solve an itch though, not to make a big company that would influence the world of computing. Much like the title of the book, he in a way did it very much “just for fun.”
It’s honestly very difficult for me to think about the similarities in our childhoods, seeing as part of my childhood was that I would listen to meetings and friendly chats between him and my dad. In a weird way though, I did begin to see similarities, while also seeing distinct differences. We both just so happened to grow up in an area that would become a major place for computer science and engineering. Finland and California seem to actually have more similarities in tech to each other than I first though. I had always thought that California wanted to really be like Japan, but maybe they want to take some influence from Finland, too. Also, we both happened to be introduced to the potential that computers had when we were young. I actually remember my dad calling me into his office and taking apart a computer to show me the basic parts of one. The difference though is timing, and Torvalds grew up during the perfect time for him to start and spread is own operating system and heavily influence the world of open source. Dad always said this to me that Linus’ success and his own happened through luck and timing. They both happened to be in the right place at the right time, and while some may just say that that’s the business side of my dad talking, I can definitely see why he claims that. I also happened to be born and grew up in the right place and the right time to be influenced by the world of tech, but it’s different because I’ve honestly yet to find something that I would consider a true “itch.” I definitely has a desperate need t join the gaming industry and create games that people can enjoy, but I don’t think that’s considered an itch. It’s more of a need to entertain, like a stand-up comedian wants to make their audience laugh. One of my greatest fears is that my story will always be “Larry Augustin’s daughter did…” I don’t want to ride on the tailcoats of my dad’s success, nor do I want to live in his shadow. I want to make my own name in the world and find my own itch and passion in computing. It’s just a gut feeling, but that itch may be in the world of gaming.
Hackers in the Bazaar 