Every tech-savvy kid knows the struggle of explaining computers to parents who just want things to “look neat.”

This 12-year-old tried to reason with his mom about why all those cables were necessary, but she just wouldn’t listen.

So he gave her exactly what she asked for by unplugging all the cords, and the look on her face was priceless.

Read on for the full story!

No cables? No problem.

When I was 12, my mom got an Apple ][+ computer.

I set it up for her after carefully reading all the manuals. Back then, manuals were actually useful and contained a lot of good information.

The computer had two external hard drives, a modem, a monitor, and a printer. Everything was connected with various cables.

Once everything was set up, his mother had a few notes.

My mom used it for a couple of days and then said to me, in an exasperated voice, “These cables are all over the place and it’s driving me crazy! Clean it up so there are no cables!”

I had explained to her several times that the cables were necessary, but she just wasn’t hearing it.

So he decided this was a lesson she would just have to learn the hard way.

OK, I unplugged every cable from every external piece of the computer system and put them in a box.

She walked into her den and said, “Now this is what it should have looked like from the beginning. Keep it this way from now on.”

Of course, it eventually dawned on her.

A few minutes later, she called me back into the den.

“The computer won’t turn on.”

“Of course,” I said, “there are no cables. There’s no way to get power to the computer and no way for the computer to talk to any of the other devices.”

Now, she was beginning to see the light.

She grumbled for a moment but then had me reinstall everything so it worked.

Sometimes, to get people to understand a concept, you have to give them exactly what they ask for.

Sounds like everyone got on the same page eventually!

What did Reddit make of this?

Cables may be unsightly, but they do keep things running.

This malicious compliance could have ended even worse for this mom!

There’s always been a bit of a generational divide when it comes to technology, even back then.

Technology sure has gone a long way.

In the end, this tech-challenged mother finally learned that those unsightly cords were a necessary evil.

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.