MAKING TROUBLE

BY SAUL GRIFFITH

Baby Hacking

Having a child to build things for is the maker’s dream, and the maker’s curse. I had a son seven months ago. It is every bit as wonderful, and every bit as exhausting, as everyone will tell you. As a hacker, a maker, and a builder, I find that it’s definitely a humbling experience. This is, quite literally, my life’s work — in the strict biological sense.

It’s also humbling because he is so much cooler than anything else I’ll ever make (or half make). So far he’s done little more than transform from a strictly input/output device to an interactive robot; all the same, watching his operating system boot up makes any code I’ve ever written look trivial.

In observing his every movement, I can only be ...

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