I wonder if the best way to get people learn programming (and mathematics) is by showing people how it can help in something they are really interested in. Of course I'm from an older generation & in my youth few people had access to computers. There were a subset of guys who
https://twitter.com/shrikanth_krish/status/1336663915451871232
wanted to become engineers as it paid well. They used to learn programming in some local sheds where it used to be taught mostly without computers. They would write out code on paper with pencil and on the last day of their course get once chance to enter into real computers
to see if it ran. I found that utter bizarre & unappealing. Hence, rather than following their course I bided my time carrying out biological/astronomical/mathematical/chemical experiments with a hand calculator.But once I got access to a computer I knew exactly what I wanted so
it was relatively easy to instruct the computer in a language that it understood to make it do what I wanted. That way there was a on a goal that drove learning to speak that language. Likewise, if you have use for mathematical manipulations to the degree your IQ permits it can
drive your acquisition of that knowledge. However, I someone had try to instruct me about hardware then start from binary numbers, printing hello world and so on with no objective in sight, I would not have been interested& not stopped paying attention. Likewise with math.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
