I have been keeping a log of my Linux experiences since August of 2002. At first, I set it up as a textbase of tips. Using the wonderful program Tuxcards, I maintained a diary.very time I had a tough question, I recorded it. When I found the answer, I recorded that, too. I worked hard to sprinkle this textbase with enough key words so I could find the answer again.
When I began, I was a noob. Two and a half years later, I sometimes wonder how much has changed — until, that is, I go back and look at the log.
The innocence of those first questions! How obvious the answers today!
It reminds me of the Donovan song:
First there is a mountain
then there is no mountain
then there is
I can think of no clearer explication of the Linux experience.
I’m using this, of course, exactly opposite the Zen meaning. Before one sits in zazen, Zen meditation, mountains are just mountains.
The deeper one gets into spiritual practice, the more mysterious everyday things become. Mountains are no longer mountains. They are, instead, something altogether mysterious, even anxiety-producing.
Finally, at the breakthrough, one rediscovers the natural and normal, finding a new clarity in simple reality. Mountains are again mountains.
That is NOT how it works when you’re learning Linux. When I started, basic operating system conventions (which files were important, where they were stored, command line syntax) were not just mysterious, they were positively threatening. The learning curve was vertical, straight up from my level of understanding. A mountain.
Over time — after lots of stupid mistakes, lots of reading, lots of Googling — it no longer looked like a mountain. It began to look possible, even ordinary or normal. A meadow.
Then, on occasion, I’m going along on my desktop, imagining myself to be reasonably competent. Then I run into a wall so hard, so steep, so resistant to my analysis, that I feel anxious and dwarfed. I am once again confronting a sheer expanse of rock.
There are similarities between spiritual exploration and the exploration of operating systems.
When confronted with total existential panic, do this: breathe. Don’t run away. Don’t hide behind the drama of self-blame (“I am so STUPID”).
Be there. Slow down. Stay in the moment. Open your eyes and look around. What do you see? Character by character, line by line, screen by screen, handhold by handhold, you can climb, touching the wall, pulling yourself up.
The way to climb a mountain is not to. Just concentrate absolutely on the immediate, the necessary, next step.
Trapped? Do what all students do. Ask. Seek a teacher or teachers.
Go to the ashram of Google. Type your query, as directly as possible. Google is the index to the unwritten manual of Linux.
Remember: Google is only one path. The humble physical place, the roadside shrine of the public library, is another. Here one may find multiple texts. These may be carried to a place of quiet, read through in calm, absorbed. Some answers must be not just swallowed, but digested, as part of a balanced meal.
The advantage of the printed text over the electronic is the stamp of authority — of editorial review. It is the difference between the forum — where a mistaken statement is corrected three screens later — and the FAQ, where the right answer is given first.
Or — and I realize this is apostasy — try to find a real human being, one to be in the same room with you, at the same screen, the same keyboard.
Alas. There are many false teachers. As the answers come, ponder them a moment before peppering the source with new questions. There are many questions, many teachers, many opportunities for learning. If one is fruitless, move on.
But before speaking again, posting on an infinity of mirrors, look again. Listen.
Linux, like Zen, must be lived to be grasped. You have to type the right, and the wrong, command. You have to live in not just the moment, but the moment before, and the moment after. The Buddha said, “life is suffering.” And this was BEFORE computers. He had no idea.
One might ask, “Why?” Why put yourself through the torment, the mental and emotional agony of news feeds and blogs and the endless incarnations of distributions?
Because the alternative is the Illusion, the Maya, of Microsoft. And here the delicate soul recoils.
I leave you with the poignant words of Issa, the Japanese haiku poet , deeply imbued with the spirit of Zen. At the top of the mountain, there are eagles. Elsewhere, life is different.
When you are tender
to them the little sparrows
will poop on you
About the author
James LaRue is a public library administrator and student of Asian philosophy.
Was posting this really needed? I mean, the whole thing comes down to:–
(1) A noob records his answers;
(2) Later he’s not a noob;
(3) Google is your friend;
(4) MS is teh evil;
(5) Learning is fundamental.
Reading this article was a waste of time, and I bet so was writing it.
I wouldn’t agree with you. It’s nice to have such articles every now and then on tech sites. Spirituality is a nice thing.
Some people left to ask questions,
Some people wandered,
Some people stayed behind
Those that questioned found answers and grew up,
Those that wandered found a home and grew up,
Those that stayed asked the others how they grew up.
I know I where I am do you know were you are?
And in the beginning, there was the word. And they cried the word, for it was all they had and all they were. It was theirs and it was them, and the word was “RTFM”.
Or something. Nice article. :>
google for the teachings of grand master foo 😉
seriously though, microsoft is a company, not a demon. linux is an operating system, not a path to salvation. to draw direct parallels means you gotta really stretch stuff. cool idea, dont think it really works.
I agree. Completely useless drivel.
… why actually use your computer to get what you want to do done, when you can make getting your OS configured correctly a life-long zen journey…
What a complete waste of time.
First there is a story
then there is a WTF
then there is a yawn
Why does it bother you so much to read our responses, I’d say that’s the real question.
Anybody looking for a program like this on Windows, check out Keynote. It’s both free and open source:
http://www.tranglos.com/free/index.html
Also, if you don’t mind paying for software, a superior alternative exists called WinOrganizer:
http://www.tgslabs.com/en/winorganizer
This is the best of the ‘outliner’ programs that I have ever seen, and is one of the apps (amoung a few others) that keeps me on Windows – I use it religiously.
You mention that you recorded all the problems you ran into over this period of time and the solutions. I would think that such a collection of common problems, mistakes and misconceptions and their solutions would be very useful to some as a website. Have you considered cleaning up your notes and making them publicly available? The fact that they are chronological would give some people a unique look at someones venture into Linux (for so many developers who have forgotten what it is like to be a new user.)
Chaps, this thread is rather peculiar.
</Herr Flick mode>
and post your experiences somewhere…so you help us to avoid some mistakes..
How did this article make it onto OSNews? This is a story of someone learning to use Linux. There is nothing new, innovative or particularly interesting about this. The output of this persons “journey” has not even been linked to. This is a blog entry or has this site become OSStoryTime.com?
The notes please! As someone else has already stated, to developers this can be a godsend. Especially if they are chronological.
Beautiful and well written.
To the author, don’t let the naysayers get to you. By the tone and nature of your article, I suspect you are by now above the ebb and flow of these pubescent idiots.
Anything that is worth learning requires commitment, reflection and discipline. Linux allows you to experience computing in very different terms if you are willing to travel down the road of self empowerment through careful learning.
i liked that article.
this guy just describes what everybody has experienced, but as i can see, some of us just don’t want to remember it.
describing ms as “maya” is overkill, though.
Yes, definately clean those up, and make them public. I could seriously help alot of people, both users and developers.
</2cents>
> The Buddha said, “life is suffering.” And this was BEFORE computers. He had no idea.
How true…
Computers solve only problems, which you wouldn’t have without them.
I enjoyed the article. And it was something different than the usual news, so it was unexpected but a good read nonetheless.
…describing ms as “maya” is overkill, though.
Not for those of us for which it is not overkill.
I rather liked the article, though I agree that he needs to make the actual notes available too. The author is not the only one who attaches some spiritual significance to his journey into Linux. Computers are such a central and integral part of my life, work and play, that it seems impossible not to.
Nice, short article rehashing the always-important question: why?
If you want to find out if something is worth investing time/money/effort in, it is this question you should keep asking. In a kid-style manner, take the answer, and repeat the question for that. Then take the next answer, and re-ask. And so forth. The answers may not satisfy you, but help define your problem more clearly.
A friend of mine asked me some time ago to help with setting up some webpages (photo-album style), with a ‘private area’, and a ‘split entrance’ because he wanted to share the ISP account with somebody else. I had no problem in sinking some time in it, as long as I knew what for. So I asked him: Why? Why this? Why that? A couple of mails back and forth showed that he couldn’t even explain what he wanted to archieve, why he wanted to do it. So I asked him to think about that, and contact me again when he knew. Nothing happened since, no webpages created. Should I feel sorry for not helping out here? I think not. I am glad to help somebody with the ‘how’ of a problem, or turn some answers into solutions, but the underlying ‘why?’ often looks like ‘what should I do with my life?’. And that is really one question everybody should figure out for themselves.
It’s interesting to note, that for many people it is really hard to think about that ‘why?’. Why not switch to Linux, or *BSD, or by a Mac? (answer). Okay, why? (another answer). Okay, why is that a problem? With 0 time wasted on messing with distro choice or re-partitioning harddrives, people just find it too hard to think about why they want something. A major cause for the masses of clueless Windows-users, I think.
So the author states it was worth the effort to learn about Linux, because sticking with Microsoft offerings would have been worse. OK, but this may not be true for others. Secondly, assuming that this is the case for others, is an even bigger mistake. Never forget to ask about the why, the answer helps you fill in the ‘how’ for making somebody happy with your input.
So the author states it was worth the effort to learn about Linux, because sticking with Microsoft offerings would have been worse. OK, but this may not be true for others.
Well, as a friend of mine likes to say: “I don’t like Windows. I like what I can RUN on Windows.” It just doesn’t get any more simple than that, does it?
i love it – he captures he almost ritualistic self flagellation of googling, maillisting, man-paging, HOWTOing, updating, recompiling, relinking, distro-agony…
at 3 years, all is wonder and colours are good
at 10 years, windows clicks and pops, as it should
at 15 years, his puter crashes and dies
can’t email his girlfriend, cries
at 20, l33t master is he
windows no he does use, l1nux and bsd
then 30, jaded, tired of shaolin shadowboxin
wants to just email and browse and just stay in
days of ninja textedits and cobra-compiles are gone
playing tetris and frozen bubble, and phoning his mom
after divorse, death and therapy, renwed is his vision
thoughts shoot darts with precisions
no, not beos or macosX, no, no fashine
el maestro baile con un lisp machine
Lol
I loved the article. I particularly like the parts about the ‘ashram of google’ and comparing linux and zen.
This article rocks, I love it.
PS: what is ‘Maya’? I’ve never heard that term before except with reference to the 3D graphics program.
Great article. rofl
Yes, good article.
Hey tech_user, that’s a very apt IP address you have there.
This was a freaking great article.
It would be neat to read those notes, though!
And I was up there, on the mountain. Everything so peacefull, and quiet, and there was just the wind blowing by my ears. And then I open my eyes and there is the Pinguin in front of me. I knee down in front of him, and say:”Hai!!! Master Tux, rekishi tzumaranai!!! But all he does is keeping his eyes closed and and whisper: Zeeeeen….. Then I wake up all of a sudden in front of my machine, and I’m thinking:”Sh*t, I ran out of p*t again!!!”
@The Dude
I suppose you were never a noob were you?
People have to start somewhere. As the great unwashed start to look at linux they will need to take a similar approach to the author.
Some early adopters hate to see the masses muscle in on their little partly.
If linux is going to be adopted the masses need to find an easy way up the ‘mountain’
A refreshing change from the seemingly endless supply of ‘Random Installer still needs work because it doesn’t detect foo on my x-year-old laptop’.
that article freaked me out. as you regulars know, I always get called a linux zealot etc etc
but after reading that, I get a clear insight into the general populations view that linux users are all stinking hippies
I will repartion my drives after I type this and immediately install Windows XP, and send an apology email to Mr Gates telling him I will never stray again.
BTW – For the usual muppets with no sense of humour who hang around her… this whole post is sarcasm
I like tidlewinks!
I enjoyed reading it. At first it seemed like another newbie’s experience with Linux. Then the zen bits came in and made it interesting. Thanks.
I loved this article, and the comments that followed were most amusing! Though the haters would have you believe differently, the article was excellent! The funny thing is how much it depicts my own my personal experience! Very well done! And one comment I found very funny, well two:
1) ‘Say What?’ by chris:
He start by, “How did this article make it onto OSNews?”…and then finishes with, “…has this site become OSStoryTime.com?” (I thought his comment was very funny)
2) ‘excellent’ by tech_user:
The poem, haiku, rhyme, or what ever, after his short comment was particularly amusing!
3) ‘in the begining’ by peragrin:
His haiku was also very interesting!!
So great article, and comments that followed just as good!
I liked it. It was a little relaxing, after having just struggled with postfix…and then stopped struggling…because I got a kernel panic and couldn’t continue my ssh session. fun.
Great article, one of the sort I would never expect on this site. It points out a very valuable aspect of computers: they show you with blinding obviousness that the source of all your frustrations is actually between your ears…
Thanks for sharing.
The kind writer could makehis linux answers available to all?
I don’t think you understood the article. Read it again. The mountain of Linux answers doesn’t exist, because the answer is for you to climb the mountain, not read a story about it.
Once you do it all on your own, google the answers, solve the problems, etc. Then you will know the truth. That there really is no mountain, it was all in your head.
Was posting this really needed?
Yes it was. I was acutally move to tears by this text. The most beautiful thing I have read in a long time.
A big thanks to James for that.
oh wait, we just post from someone’s blog now….
Nice article! Having a great deal of facination with Eastern philosophy myself, I found the article very “enlightening.” I liken Linux to a Harley: if I have to explain, you wouldn’t understand. Not sure why others didn’t like the article. Some people are just hard to please.