One of the things I wanted to develop is critical thinking. Not only by myself, but also by my kids themselves. The led to a rather unpleasant start of one of those dad kid conversations.

There was no way back: a subject I tried to delay for a few years:
computer security.

The complaint about a program was packaged as a request:
“I want to have a computer, which can execute [dangerous module] programs without using [dangerous module].”

I exhaled. My kid had absorbed the information and realised that the use could have a severe consequence for the computer. No more computer time. On the other hand the disadvantages were too big to forget about it.

I tried to find a solution, but I could not find one. If a program can change things on a computer, then it can do bad things.

While blogging I realised I was wrong. There was a work around.
There are programs, which can do same things like the original program, but they are built differently. They are called emulators. Some gamers like to play low resolution games on emulators of very old operating systems.
Wow, that’s my kid.

It’s hammer time

“If you have a hammer, then you can use it to break a window. But that’s not right.”
My kid nodded.
“So I program the hammer, so it cannot be used for a window glass. Then I can go to a door and use it to break a lock. I can program it not to break a lock. Then I can use it for a window frame.”

It would be easier to tell the hammer it could only be used on wood. This looks brown and it has grains. But it could be changed, so that everything looks like wood.”
I made a wide gesture with my arm pointing to different objects in the room.

“But I could change the picture. All objects would look like wood. That is not a good idea, so I store the picture in a book. But the picture in the book can still be changed.

Then I could place a lock on it. But the lock could be picked. I could place a better lock on it, but then the whole book could be replaced by another book.

And that’s why it is so difficult to secure things.”

Another unpleasant guest
My kid had seen a cool app. And it should be installed absolutely. So I did my dad thing:  looking at the permissions, which I would grant to the app. It could handle my files. It was just a game and why should game have a peek at my files? Time for the bad news.

So I told my kid, that the app would access files on the phone. The reply was to buy a phone just for games. Then I told that after a while the phone would be also used for other purposes like making pictures. “You don’t want your pictures in someone else’s hands.” There was a lack of nod.

I needed another way to tell the warning. A visual one.
“Suppose someone comes in. He looks television for the whole evening. And he eats the whole fridge empty.

If you protest, he will say:
“You said I could come in.”

The next evening he comes back. He takes the table and the sofa out of the house.

If you protest, he will say:
“You said I could come in.”
“