It's bad because I do not want a child flying a plane.

Posted Apr 25, 2004 2:11 UTC (Sun) by leonbrooks (guest, #1494)
In reply to: It's bad because I do not want a child flying a plane. by penfold
Parent article: Windows vs Linux - Which is easier to install?

First the mere operation of the "run of the mill" car has a pretty limited set of options.

Wrong. The controls on a car are relatively straightforward, but a car is analogue and obeys the laws of physics, and there can be a lot of other objects around to interact with. Given that you're throwing a tonne or two of hard steel (glass and plastic) around, that can be more important than the "technical" stuff like how to find 'em instead of grind 'em with that stick thingy ("wand of power" [do a find]) on the floor.

For example, the first thing your average city slicker will do when they find a dirt road is go around a corner too fast or tramp on the loud pedal and break the back wheels loose - hellooo, fence!

On the other hand, a country bumpkin will be slow, confused, unlikely to use the yellow flashy things much and then totally shocked the first time someone cuts in front of them when they visit the Big Smoke.

A lack of understanding of momentum will send the novitiate sliding into a busy intersection or cringing under a hail of horns and abuse as they putter/kangaroo-hop away from a stop sign. More often, they'll do annoying little things like stop instead of letting their momentum carry them safely across facing traffic.

Dunno how it works where you are, but here in Oz, you pass a basic road-rules exam to get your Learner's Permit, then drive under instruction with black-on-gold 'L' plates until you pass a driving test and are granted a provisional licence for a few years (speed limited, red-on-white 'P' plate and some places you can't go). At the end of that you automatically get a licence.

I reckon you ought to pass a practical test before that happens, to demonstrate that you've learned how a vehicle actually works, then be re-tested every five years, put back on 'P' plates for six months if you fail and lose your licence if you fail three 'P' graduations running (or on top of the other penalties if you are caught doing something dumb like drunk driving). The test for getting onto 'P' plates ought to be stiffer if you've had them for a while.

The only controls at the moment (other than outright loss for drunk driving or the like) are demerit points, which you accrue for stuff like speeding and going through stop signs. At 12 points, you lose your licence for three months - at the end of which you get it back without any testing, which I also reckon falls short of the mark.

Aussies can't get a car licence until they're 17, which IMESHO is silly because you can fly a 'plane as soons as you demonstrate that you can, and a 'plane can do a lot more damage than a car.

In the Open Source world, you're generally judged on how useful you are rather than by arbitrary measures like age or gender, or rituals like having sat through (and not absorbed much from) classes. I'd like to see that extended into The Real World(tm) a bit more.