How to Build a Computer

This isn't just a normal "how to put pieces together" computer building guide. This will actually focus on what parts you should look for based on what you need, but first a basic "how to assemble" guide should probably happen. For a standard computer, you really just need to know a few main parts:



In order:
Motherboard - the thingy that lets things send information to other things
Processor (CPU) - processes data (the actual computer part)
RAM - where data that is in use that can't stay on the processor is held
Power supply (PSU) - supplies power
Graphics card (GPU) - basically, a processor specifically for visuals
Hard Drive (HDD) - stores data

Basically the best way to assemble a pc is to connect each part where it looks like it fits on the motherboard. I'm not joking, somewhere around 90% of the time this will work without breaking anything if you're gentle. Okay fine I'll be a bit more specific.

First, put the cpu in the cpu-shaped thing (lift the metal thing on the side of the slot, match the golden triangles in the corners of both, and set the cpu down with no pressure) then put  thermal paste on the cpu like that, and put the heatsink (90% of the time there will be one with the cpu, if it didn't come with one your parts are probably too expensive for a first build).

Now, install the RAM in the motherboard. That's really all there is to that.

If you have a case, now would be a good time to screw the motherboard into it. Line up the screw holes on the motherboard and the PCIE slots with the holes in the back of the case. Use a screwdriver.  

Install the hard drive next. Take a SATA cable, connect one end to the SATA connector on the hard drive, and connect the other to one of the SATA ports on the motherboard (HINT: it's the only thing the connector will fit in). There's another connector on the hard drive, but we'll get to that with the PSU. If you're using a case, find the thing that looks like it fits a hard drive and see if it actually fits a hard drive. If it does, screw in the drive.

The power supply (connector types in link) is the last mandatory step for almost every system there is. Now, all you need to do is connect the 24-pin cable (it's the really really big cable end, or the cable that splits and has a 20 pin and a 4 pin together) and the 4-pin cable to the 4 pin connection on the motherboard (most of the time it's near the cpu because that's what it powers.) You also need to connect either a 4-pin peripheral power cable or a SATA power cable to the hard drive. If you have a case, it should go in the bottom by the back, and a few screws go in the back of the case to hold it in place. Attach the cord to plug the whole computer in whenever you're ready to boot.

If you want to game, you have a graphics card. It's almost guaranteed to have the same type of connector as the one in the photo above, so just put it in the slot it fits in (This is called a pcie x16 slot, it will fit in the things next to this that look the same but smaller, but these can't move as much data at once). If it needs a power connector from the power supply, it'll have a connector like the ones you used to connect the psu to the motherboard before, but with six or 8 pins instead. Just plug in a cable with the same number of pins from the power supply. Use a screw to secure it to the case.

Now, you have to boot the computer. This is actually sometimes the hardest part, and you might even have to read something to do it. If you have a case, take the wires connected to the power button and connect them to the power pins, then push the button. If you're lucky, you can find the panel with the pins and they're labelled on the board. If not...you have to google a manual. They'll look like this though. Once you've done that just push the power button. If you don't have a case, just touch both with a piece of metal. That sounds dangerous, but I'm not joking. You can install windows via usb, or, if you're not nerdy enough to know how to do that (which is fair it takes almost as much effort as building) you can just connect a cd/dvd player the exact same way you connected the hard drive (but to a different SATA port on the board) and install it that way.

Okay, that should be it. Just plug in a monitor and boot it. If it doesn't work when you turn it on, check if you missed a cable somewhere, then unplug it and plug it back in again. Yay for technology!  

Author Conversation

Who's Smartest In Class Response

     Don't worry guys, this time I won't be tryng to prove that the study is awful garbage, and actually agree with it. Women receive worse treatment than men in almost every thing there is, other than (sometimes) from their partners, but that depends on the relationship and the people in it.

     I can't figure this out, to be frank. I've tried every historical analysis to see why men would think other men are smarter, and nothing I can think of fits. The only explanation I can think of that would apply at all is that men may have learned throughout history that it takes intelligence to be bold and speak out in groups, but that doesn't account for nearly that big of a skew in the genders' perspectives, implies women wouldn't have learned that as well. Also, that would imly that Donald Trump is smart.

     That leaves good old sexism as the probable cause. I can't find a solid piece of evidence to back this up, but women being viewed as less intelligent would likely have roots clean back in elementary school. If teachers encourage girls to behave better than men and be quieter, that would at least support the last paragraph's point. 

     This explanation also applies to the part of the page about classroom celebrities: if teachers tell girls to be quieter than the rowdy hooligan guys, that definitely prevents them from achieving class clown status. 

     Whether this behavior has an explanation or not, it's a massive problem with no easy solution. Emphazsizing STEM for girls would help, but it may lead to guys being excluded in STEM programs, and that's no better. However, the current system prevents girls from entering the field, so it seems what elementary school teachers teach students needs looked into.

That Thing About Teens

     Yeaaahhh, I didn't recognize ANY of those people, most of the apps, or y'know, fit in in any way shape or form. http://www.businessinsider.com/what-teens-are-like-in-2016-2016-1

     I realize I'm definitely the exception here, and far from the rule, but I feel like that's something that really isn't accounted for. In a sample size of sixty teens, there's a pretty significant chance that they missed entire cliques of people. Based on the photo (the one under the "Who Did We talk To?" subtitle, though I can't say that it's accurate because I wasn't the one doing the interviews) it seems that they interviewed teens I would personally say look "approachable" or "popular." However, two of them are wearing wire sunglasses and that seems far more uncommon in this time period, so I may be completely wrong here.
     "Every teen we spoke to owned a smartphone" automatically says to me that they missed a representative of ten percent of teenagers. Even in the class this is for, two students (that I can think of) don't currently have smart phones and one (yours truly) only bought one a few weeks ago. Basically, I think this study was done pretty badly, but I probably can't argue any of its findings as accurate...or can I?
     Six hours a day on their phones, sure that seems fair. Surely they accounted for the fact that most teens can send messages in just a few seconds, then it takes five minutes until the other person sees it and replies. That admittedly won't matter for all the time, but assuming its what a third of teens do, it would still bring down the average a pretty heavy amount.
     The screen time is also probably at least somewhat off due to the sample size. To emphasize this, the number of teens recorded by the last census was 41844000. 60 teenagers, therefore, accounts for .0001% of this group.
     Sayng social apps are popular is like someone saying newspapers were popular decades ago: obvious. Humans live in groups, of course they want to socialize. The same applies to music apps and the radio. Most of the stars will fade away like their predecessors.
     30% of teens mentioning buzzfeed apparently means they're obsessed with it. That makes less sense than anything else in the article; they wern't "obsessed" with social media even though the numbers were higher. Slang changs constantly, just like celebrities.
     Teens liking Sanders shouldn't surprise anyone, because historically younger people are more liberal and more open to radical change. Also, he pushes for free college for students, which of course gains him some support from teenagers.
     Their conclusion seems like something that could've been written without the study that's backing it. The quote from Trudon as the final sentence is pretty random and unsupported by anything from the study unless they want to say voting for Sanders is smart. I honestly don't see what this study accomplished. Teens use their phones? OH MY GOD WHAT A SHOCKING DISCOVERY! The ridiculously small sample size shows less effort than I've seen in studies about gerbils too.  
   

Most Attractive Literary Figure

     This assignment had me confused really really badly until I read Stryffeler's blog on it, at which point I said "Ohhhhhhhh, wait what?" I attempted to understand what the point of this was, then gave up and started googling random authors whose names I remembered.

I settled on Veronica Roth, the author of the Divergent series (otherwise known as the Second Edition of The Hunger Games). She has a nice face, I guess? I obviously have no idea how to compliment women, but she has bright, smiling eyes, and looks like the type of person who is always smiling. She doesn't have any piercings or tattoos, and I personally like that.