Kids who like to break things

Back in the early 1980s, I went to my little brother's room and found him sitting hunched over his desk looking either very busy or very much in trouble. I sneaked closer and saw he had a screwdriver in hand and his radio in a million pieces. (This is the part when my brother says, "Actually, it was only 258 pieces.")

I exclaimed, "What did you DO!?! You'll never get it back together again!" Without looking up he replied, "So?" I asked him WHY in the world he would do such a thing to a perfectly good radio, and he said simply: "I wanted to see how it worked." That 8 year old boy grew up to be a disgustingly successful software engineer in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Today, I read an article about a 17 year old from New Jersey who hacked the iPhone so it would work on other networks. Despite the number of hours I spend in front of a computer, my life is surprisingly gadget-free, so this iPhone update doesn't really interest me. But I did get a kick out of reading his blog. If you start from the first post, you see that he begins the process by taking apart this expensive toy with a guitar pick, with bits and parts all over his desk. After about the 8th post, I have no idea what he is talking about. But apparently, he traded this summer project for a brand new car and is now 'retiring' to start his college career. Good for him!

In the end, it makes me feel a little less edgy when my four year old son disassembles things (I call it 'breaking') to see what is inside. Now, if only I could find a good reason that he dips any food into any condiment. Waffles and ketchup anyone?

Links:

• Teen Trades Hacked iPhone for New Car (Yahoo News article)

• Finding JTAG on the iPhone - Blog