"carrying a bunch of detail around in your head" used to be called knowledge. LOL
Yes, I have played with the AI bots. I use them a lot. Sometimes you just can't get them to address the actual problem you have. Sometimes they are great. As a matter of fact, they helped me form the idea for this great mesh network I want to create that has multiple gateways and AP's and uses ipvs.
I'd like to, at a minimum, have enough understanding that I can be more efficient with the AI bots, if I need them. Sometimes, the most popular thing on the internet isn't the best. SEO affects everything on the internet, including ideas and concepts. With the knowledge I have, I can do pretty well. But I get the feeling there are holes and other options.
I mean, reading a book on something isn't a radical concept or a complete waste of time. I've been using the bots and was just looking for something different and perhaps more efficient. I could ask AI to write me a book, but maybe I'd like to see if there is a different author available, free of the things that influence AI responses.
I find when I have detailed knowlege on something, lets say, car repair, I can really filter AI resposes. Sometimes, you have to prompt, "We are on the wrong track, the solution lies in this direction." As you point out AI can go in circles and sometimes is just plain wrong.
But the man pages and AI are there. Back in the day, when there were just the man pages, I always felt that someone who read a good book on the topic was ahead of me and had a better understanding of the topic with less effort.
Times change.
nceptsOn Sat, Jul 25, 2026 at 02:31:32PM -0700, Chris Miller wrote:
Hi Folks,
Can anyone recommend any good Docs/Tutorial/Book/Cookbook on Linux networking? I'm finding I'm a little rusty and need a refresher on everything from VM's to mesh and making AP's. Plus things change. I'm not as familiar with ip was I was with the older stuff and it's time to upgrade that too. Step by step with examples would be my preference. But I'll take what is out there.
"Networking" has not changed; the tools have changed. Google Gemini, ChatGPT, Grok are all experts on the available tools. I specifically exclude "Co-Pilot" because my experience with it is that it is obsequious, and stupid. It forgets where you are and what you have done and will happily wonder around in circles.
This is a problem that would have been solved by reading manuals. No longer. Manuals had topical chapters, but they also had indices for more pointed instruction. If you have not tried it, you cannot believe how much better the chatbots are then manuals! Even if that is all you do, that is an improvement, but you can also ask for explanations of anomalous behavior. Google was pretty god at that, but you still had a lot of "filtering" to get to the one valid explanation.
So, find a "project" or a problem to solve. Talk about it with A.I. Describe the problem, ask for recommendations. Form a strategy. Implement the strategy. Paste error messages into the chat session and ask for explanations. You will learn so much more so much faster!
The first thing you will learn is that you don't need to carry a bunch of detail around in your head anymore.
Chris.
V:916.799.9461 F:916.974.0428 A: Because we read from top to bottom, left to right. Q: > Why should I start my reply below the quoted text?
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