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Comment by tptacek | Hacker News Reader

Yes, it's true, me and my high school freshman friends really should have had a better grounding in pyrotechnics and demolitions before taking on the projects in the Anarchists Cookbook. Maybe we should have gone to mining school first. I'm sorry.

I'm not sure why this was left as a comment on my comment, though, since it doesn't have anything to do with it. We weren't "resorting to violence", unless "violence against garbage cans" is a political statement to you.

You also appear not to have noticed me crediting my career to the book you think I want to burn.

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It's really about common sense and responsibility. If I were going to make some thermite or something, I'd do a bit of research to see what safety precautions to take. I'd keep a good distance between myself and the thermite, and I'd make sure that everyone else was also a good distance away. I'd make sure nothing of value was near the thermite, and I'd make sure I could ignite it without being too close.

When something is dangerous, you have to approach it with caution. Specific knowledge (like "grounding in pyrotechnics and demolitions") lets you know how many liberties you can get away with, but in general, you just have to be cautious. Sometimes cautious is "don't do it at all", but only rarely.

A small bomb in a dirt field with nobody around doesn't really do anything dangerous. A mega-bomb in your basement does. You don't have to know much about pyrotechnics to know this, you just have to have some common sense.

Watch Mythbusters, they do it right every time. Start with small scale, if it seems to work, try a bigger version. That applies to everything.

Yeah this is all good but I'm not sure how it's relevant to 13 year olds.

Also: small bomb, dirt field, nobody around, "doesn't really do anything dangerous", thanks, I'll take 4 of your fingers for that assumption. Don't thank me, thank static electricity! =)

And many of these 13 year olds were doing this before that thing called the world-wide-web was around. It made it rather difficult to do any real research, even if they wanted to.

People need to take responsibility for their actions. If you blow off your fingers mixing up some chemicals you read about, that's your own fault. If you're not sure whether or not the activity you're about to perform is going to result in the loss of your fingers, don't do it.

I probably knew at least that much in high school.

> It's really about common sense and responsibility

I'm not taking a position on whether the book should or should not be made available, but it's worth keeping in mind that the sorts of people who are most interested in trying the stuff in the book are the least mindful of the consequences of their actions. On balance, the fewer teenagers with access to thermite, the better - for themselves and us.

> the fewer teenagers with access to thermite, the better

Don't know about that, there have been a lot of famous scientists who got their start by fiddling around with dangerous chemicals in their basements when they were teenagers.

>I'm not sure why this was left as a comment on my comment, though,

Some people are just looking for any excuse to preach, even if it's a stretch that requires willful misinterpretation.

Why? To draw a parallel: Video games teach kids how to shoot up schools.

No they don't. Think harder. You may have turned 12 knowing how to make a pipe bomb. Me and my friends weren't.

I'm not up on the videogame scene, but is there really one out there that simulates breaking into a highschool or college and shooting up students and teachers, before finally winning the game by offing yourself?

No, and that's my point.

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