aptitude vs apt-get ???

lincor@mattdamon ~/Projects/mysite $ sudo aptitude install ipython
[sudo] password for lincor:
Reading package lists… Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information… Done
Reading extended state information
Initializing package states… Done
Writing extended state information… Done
Building tag database… Done
The following NEW packages will be automatically installed:
blt dvipdfmx dvipng gcc-3.4-base lapack3 latex-beamer latex-xcolor libg2c0 libgd2-noxpm libt1-5 lmodern perl-tk pgf preview-latex-style prosper
python-dateutil python-dev python-matplotlib python-matplotlib-data python-numeric-ext python-pexpect python-tk python-tz python2.4 python2.4-minimal
python2.5-dev refblas3 tetex-bin tetex-extra tex-common texlive texlive-base texlive-base-bin texlive-bibtex-extra texlive-common texlive-doc-base
texlive-font-utils texlive-fonts-extra texlive-fonts-recommended texlive-generic-extra texlive-generic-recommended texlive-lang-croatian
texlive-lang-cyrillic texlive-lang-czechslovak texlive-lang-danish texlive-lang-dutch texlive-lang-finnish texlive-lang-french texlive-lang-german
texlive-lang-greek texlive-lang-hungarian texlive-lang-italian texlive-lang-latin texlive-lang-mongolian texlive-lang-norwegian texlive-lang-other
texlive-lang-polish texlive-lang-portuguese texlive-lang-spanish texlive-lang-swedish texlive-lang-vietnamese texlive-latex-base texlive-latex-extra
texlive-latex-recommended texlive-math-extra texlive-pictures texlive-pstricks texlive-publishers texpower texpower-manual tipa tk8.4
The following NEW packages will be installed:
blt dvipdfmx dvipng gcc-3.4-base ipython lapack3 latex-beamer latex-xcolor libg2c0 libgd2-noxpm libt1-5 lmodern perl-tk pgf preview-latex-style
prosper python-dateutil python-dev python-matplotlib python-matplotlib-data python-numeric-ext python-pexpect python-tk python-tz python2.4
python2.4-minimal python2.5-dev refblas3 tetex-bin tetex-extra tex-common texlive texlive-base texlive-base-bin texlive-bibtex-extra texlive-common
texlive-doc-base texlive-font-utils texlive-fonts-extra texlive-fonts-recommended texlive-generic-extra texlive-generic-recommended
texlive-lang-croatian texlive-lang-cyrillic texlive-lang-czechslovak texlive-lang-danish texlive-lang-dutch texlive-lang-finnish texlive-lang-french
texlive-lang-german texlive-lang-greek texlive-lang-hungarian texlive-lang-italian texlive-lang-latin texlive-lang-mongolian texlive-lang-norwegian
texlive-lang-other texlive-lang-polish texlive-lang-portuguese texlive-lang-spanish texlive-lang-swedish texlive-lang-vietnamese texlive-latex-base
texlive-latex-extra texlive-latex-recommended texlive-math-extra texlive-pictures texlive-pstricks texlive-publishers texpower texpower-manual tipa
tk8.4
0 packages upgraded, 73 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 345MB of archives. After unpacking 716MB will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n/?] n
Abort.
lincor@mattdamon ~/Projects/mysite $ sudo apt-get install ipython
Reading package lists… Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information… Done
The following extra packages will be installed:
python-pexpect
Suggested packages:
python-profiler
Recommended packages:
python-numeric-ext python-matplotlib
The following NEW packages will be installed:
ipython python-pexpect
0 upgraded, 2 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 1164kB of archives.
After unpacking 3142kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue [Y/n]?
Get:1 http://ie.archive.ubuntu.com gutsy/main python-pexpect 2.1-1 [117kB]
Get:2 http://ie.archive.ubuntu.com gutsy/universe ipython 0.8.1-1 [1047kB]
Fetched 1164kB in 3s (309kB/s)
Selecting previously deselected package python-pexpect.
(Reading database … 112495 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking python-pexpect (from …/python-pexpect_2.1-1_all.deb) …
Selecting previously deselected package ipython.
Unpacking ipython (from …/ipython_0.8.1-1_all.deb) …
Setting up python-pexpect (2.1-1) …

Setting up ipython (0.8.1-1) …

lincor@mattdamon ~/Projects/mysite $

are you one of the best? The Dunning-Kruger effect.

I’ve been looking at some ideas for a final year project in College lately, and the best ones seemed to stray far from what we’re being taught in college, and what I even know, which of course got me thinking…

Am I competent enough to pull off learning enough C and enough about the kernel & glibc to be able to hack them to do what I want? Miriam Ruiz pointed out and formulated exactly what my worries are.

Some years ago I was offered a huge project, and knowing a little php I figured I’d be able to pull it off no problem at all. The project never materialized. Now, years later, I realize how incredible naive I was to think that. If I was offered the same today, knowing a bit more php, plenty more python, java, C# and now using linux for home, work and college I have a very different view and would not be so quick to accept, but back then I didn’t see the slightest problem.

I saw a bit of America’s Inventor a few days ago. One guy on it had a great idea… a portable computer with voice recognition software, and a voice reader, so that deaf people didn’t have to rely on a translator and could be more independant. He wasn’t a programmer, but he believed in his idea. It was only a sketch he had drawn out. He believed in his idea so much, that 3 out of 4 judges gave him a ‘yes’.

Now I feel rather in the same position as I was years ago with that huge project but with more experience. I now know enough to realise that I may not actually know enough.

“People who have little knowledge tend to think that they know more than they do, while others who have much more knowledge tend to think that they know less.”

I guess if I’m thinking about it, I can’t be that incompetent. Self assessing your own skills is extremely hard, especially when it comes to hackers. It’s rather hard to define what a good hack is. Of course there are certain traits and skills that a good hacker needs to have, but there’s more to it than that. Hackers can only compare themselves to others around them so it’s a relative, subjective point of view each time.

“Bright students, far above the others, considered themselves below their real skills, standard students saw themselves as above the average, while real bad ones were fully convinced of being among the best.”

Does this make someone arrogant or one of the “real bad ones” if they are convinced of being among the best? Arrogant, perhaps. One of the real bad ones? I guess that depends on who you compare yourself to. If you see things or understand things quicker than the person beside you, then perhaps you really aren’t one of the bad ones. If you notice yourself learning from others around you a lot, then I think you can’t be a bad one. You may not be amongst the best, but consistantly trying to improve certainly makes you a good one in my eyes.

I guess what I’m trying to say, is thank you to Miriam for making my thoughts clear. Without being conscious of issuse like these, you’re a puppet, helpless to the dangers of over- or underestimating yourself. So, never stop trying to improve your skills and cut yourself loose of the mis-represented self.

This has greately helped me be more aware and more cautious of what it is I’m trying to do as my final year project. Thanks!!

Hello world!

my first post