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if it walks like a clock, and it talks like a clock...
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“It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)
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An atomic clock? I believe them, I hear it ticking.
As with most news stories there are a multitude of unanswered questions compared to the answers we do know. But, one thing we know is this young man doesn't know the definition of the word invention. He didn't invent that clock. It's a digital clock with it's original case removed. (It's actually a dangerous contraption because you have exposed AC circuitry. Any electronics hobbyist would have used a low voltage battery power.) If I disassemble this laptop and attach it's entire bare working mechanisms to the inside of a briefcase with a few screws, I have not invented anything, and I shouldn't be surprised when the cops show up if I opened up the case in public.
In interviews this young man has confirmed that he knew in advance that the contraption could raise suspicions but, everyone is supposed to be supportive of this poor little science geek who got arrested for a "home made" clock. Is this young man really that much of a science wiz kid? What's the bottom line? The nightly news wants to wrap up this story in a neat little package with a pretty bow on top. "Poor little Muslim science geek is abused by islamophobic officials. End of story. Move along people. Nothing more to see. Show's over."
One of the unanswered questions is where are the rest of this kid's science projects? Has he really done anything besides disassemble manufactured electronics and reassemble them minus the original casing? If not, then why the adulation for him from MIT? I'd like to know more.
On Thursday, Irving high school students said Ahmed has a reputation as a tinkerer and creator. He made small robotics, fixed phones and assembled a remote that could turn on projectors at school, they said.
"I remember seeing him in middle school, and he used to always bring stuff," said Sara Williams, 15. "He was just one of those kids that created stuff."
Doesn't sound too far out of the realm of normal for the young man.
Also, I didn't see our president defending any kids that got suspended for making a gun shape out of their thumb and index finger or a Pop Tart.
Clearly the detention was handled wrong to say the least and will most likely be determined to have been illegal. That is the most important issue to the family and to the local authorities. But the broader media story, and how the world has reacted to the young man and blindly lauded him for his inventiveness is fascinating.
How is this supposedly smart, inventive and clever teenager is so proud of a clock he simply dismantled? I'm not saying the kid isn't smart, inventive and clever but,........ I'm asking for the truth. He didn't "invent" that clock. There's no "home made" whatsoever in that clock but the media repeats that phrase over and over. In that regard, these media outlets are broadcasting false info.
People with an open mind should bring further scrutiny of the electronic/robotic things this boy may have actually created or is capable of creating. But, I doubt we will hear much about that if it turns out he never really created anything. because that would put a damper on the whole white house visit if we were to find out this kid has no real skills except knowing how to turn a phillips head screwdriver.
Nerds weigh in.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/21/nerds-rage-over-ahmed-s-clock.html
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain