Learning drive 5. Using once learned 8
this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2025
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Decimal or binary? I'd say a two.
Scale is always a problem with questions like this. If these are percentiles of the general population, then I'm easily 10 and even trying to dig deep enough into Linux to break a Steam Deck puts you near the upper end of the scale.
If on the other hand, 0 is an otherwise intelligent adult who refuses to have anything to do with anything having a screen and 10 is Lovelace, Turing, von Neumann, etc... then I might be a 7 or 8.
Like a 7 or 8 maybe?
I "hacked" my wii to get free games one time does that count? other than that I can operate most devices but I have no idea how to code and don't have time to learn. I'd put myself at a 6/10.
Compared to people who work on cryptography and AI magic? Like 2/10. Compared to Boomers? 9/10.
The number of computer scientists I've known that couldn't set up a VPN, or alter a firewall rule, or change the layout on a web page slightly, or set their out of office replies...
Basically the experience I've had is that those people you imagine are gods of tech are frequently terrible at tech beyond their very narrow niche.
But boomers, yeah. Even my mom who was a programmer and mostly stayed current on tech. But when Facebook stopped using a chronological news feed, she couldn't handle it.
I have an English Master's and my wife has a PhD in Comp Sci. Guess who sets up all the techie stuff. That'll be meeeee.
PS fuck Facebook's feed. I found out about a friend's death 2 weeks after she died (her parents couldn't get at her address book so they posted with her account on Facebook instead). I had to tell her other friends because NOBODY had seen the post.
Depends on how you are using your scale.
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One way is to quantify how much knowledge do you have right now. This might be average or low or whatever. This doesnt matter at all.
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The better way is to think about your willingness to learn and try with confidence. This is what you should actually put on a scale.
My existing knowledge is better than average. I've spent the last 2 years learning to put together some hardware (NAS/server, custom keyboard from scratch, hitbox videogame controller) and using more software (Linux basics, Docker and server basics, emulators, etc). I'm still probably way behind the tech professionals who are on Lemmy, but I would say my willingness to learn and try is very very high and that's more than enough for an enthusiast and hobbyist.
Also worth considering benchmarking against the general population rather than Lemmy's tech community. The general public mostly hasn't even heard of the Steam Deck or Linux, and certainly can't manage anything beyond pressing the install button in an app store. Compared the the general public, my wife thinks I'm a literal wizard for having an email address with my own domain and being able to access a remote desktop.
Hard to put this on an absolute scale with no frame of reference, but maybe like 7-8? I've got a CS degree and I run Linux at home. I know enough to know how much I don't know, but I know how to Google the things I don't know and figure it out. Which is the skill that really matters, right?
i3. I know how to confidently issue commands to search and then confidently type it in my computer.
yup, the 'i' means imaginary.
I can pirate games, movies and books, can use SciHub to download articles behind paywalls, and have installed ReVanced on my phone. 🤷
6-7. I’ll consider 5 the average user, since there’s no ranking criteria given.
I am a 10/10. With tech you know it or you don’t.
Once you know it, the shit is routine… If you don’t know it, it is impossible.
Also 9.999/10 whatever issue you are having with that tech is some other process that is shitting the bed.