[muzani]

I think HN assumes some knowledge of tech and underlying knowledge on that. You can assume the average person knows how a transistor works or has at least taken linear algebra (even if we failed the class). Your average teenager is still going through algebra.

I mean, as a 13 year old I tried to figure out anti-aliasing, but my conclusion was completely different to the reality.

[solardev]

Heh, even as a 40 year old, I still don't know what "linear algebra" even is, much less what it's for or how to do it. I also don't know what a transistor is aside from "some component in electronics". Still, I manage to enjoy the softer side of HN, like the fluffy pop-sci/pop-tech stuff.

Even as a not-very-educated person, by the time I was a teenager, I learned a lot by reading Slashdot, PCGamer, Tom's Hardware, CNet, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Britannica, Encarta, Wikipedia, and the such. I was also involved in various BBSes, IRC, Usenet, MUDs, etc., and exposed to all the violence, sex, and general depravity that was the 90s-2000s internet. I learned a lot that way... for better or worse, lol. Definitely stumbled upon a few scarring videos on Napster, purposefully mislabeled as popular music videos...

I'd never want to shield a teenager from all that freeform learning. Or from the environments where they could anonymously participate as equals with other adults (or unknown persons). HN counts too... I have no idea whether you're a 30-year-old man, a 90-year-old grandma, or a 4-month-old AI puppy. Sometimes it's nice to not know and to just be able to focus on the topic at hand.

But then again, heh, I didn't exactly grow up to be the most stable or balanced adult... maybe there IS a reason to keep them protected... shrug.

[gnatman]

How else are you supposed to learn about it? The main reason I come to HN every day is to hear about the stuff I don't know about!