Is there anybody out there who still wants to learn programming by hand?
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Is there anybody out there who still wants to learn programming by hand?
@mttaggart We program by
around here -
@donaldball @drwho I think I need to get on the Zig train
@mttaggart @drwho I don’t like all of the design choices, but I deeply respect the principled thought that seems to have gone into them.
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Is there anybody out there who still wants to learn programming by hand?
I do
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Is there anybody out there who still wants to learn programming by hand?
@mttaggart me. Always me
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Is there anybody out there who still wants to learn programming by hand?
@mttaggart
I do, but I do not currently have the time and energy to dedicate myself to it as I would need to.When I've gotten enough things off of my plate, I wish to learn. I can't be any worse than Claude.
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Is there anybody out there who still wants to learn programming by hand?
@mttaggart You're only a programmer if you program by hand so anyone who wants to be a programmer is the answer to your question
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Is there anybody out there who still wants to learn programming by hand?
@mttaggart Yes.
Using LLMs to write code feels like using Google translate to have a conversation with a tribal elder. Sure, a lot of words are being said, but I don't feel like I've understood much, and quite frankly I'm insulting everyone around me.
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@donaldball @drwho I think I need to get on the Zig train
@mttaggart @donaldball So... We should move all Zig?
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Is there anybody out there who still wants to learn programming by hand?
@mttaggart Learning to program is learning a new way of thinking. I don’t know of any other mind skill that can do it all: Detail orientation. Clarity. Problem solving. Procedures. Functions. Communication. Timing. Simplification. Experimentation. Testing. So much more …but above all, logical thinking. We should teach it in first grade.
You program with your mind, not your hands.
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@mttaggart Learning to program is learning a new way of thinking. I don’t know of any other mind skill that can do it all: Detail orientation. Clarity. Problem solving. Procedures. Functions. Communication. Timing. Simplification. Experimentation. Testing. So much more …but above all, logical thinking. We should teach it in first grade.
You program with your mind, not your hands.
@meltedcheese I did.
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@mttaggart Learning to program is learning a new way of thinking. I don’t know of any other mind skill that can do it all: Detail orientation. Clarity. Problem solving. Procedures. Functions. Communication. Timing. Simplification. Experimentation. Testing. So much more …but above all, logical thinking. We should teach it in first grade.
You program with your mind, not your hands.
@meltedcheese @mttaggart Maths is similar, though not the kind of maths we teach in first grade.
Analysing language might be similar, but again, not the way it's generally taught in school...
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@mttaggart @hrbrmstr Even a brief look at most sites’ CSS can be terrifying. So much bloat. It’s amazing anything works at all.
Sometimes I miss the simplicity of H1-H6 and OL and all that. An occasional HR. Just plain old structured documents.
They have played us for absolute fools….
@darthnull @mttaggart @hrbrmstr Learning markup languages and configs is not programming. Writing the HTML compiler is programming.
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@darthnull @mttaggart @hrbrmstr Learning markup languages and configs is not programming. Writing the HTML compiler is programming.
@meltedcheese @darthnull @hrbrmstr Don't do this
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@meltedcheese @mttaggart Maths is similar, though not the kind of maths we teach in first grade.
Analysing language might be similar, but again, not the way it's generally taught in school...
@meltedcheese @mttaggart case in point: as a teenager I was told that good maths skills are a good basis to have when studying CS - it wasn't before several years after graduation - and after meeting several people who had studied maths that I finally understood, why
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Is there anybody out there who still wants to learn programming by hand?
I've been programming for about 45 years, but I need to learn a new language just for the challenge. With age, it becomes harder and harder to keep the brain flexible, lively and open, but learning new stuff really helps.
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@mttaggart Learning to program is learning a new way of thinking. I don’t know of any other mind skill that can do it all: Detail orientation. Clarity. Problem solving. Procedures. Functions. Communication. Timing. Simplification. Experimentation. Testing. So much more …but above all, logical thinking. We should teach it in first grade.
You program with your mind, not your hands.
@meltedcheese @mttaggart Jeannette Wing calls that “computational thinking”: https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~15110-s13/Wing06-ct.pdf
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@meltedcheese @mttaggart case in point: as a teenager I was told that good maths skills are a good basis to have when studying CS - it wasn't before several years after graduation - and after meeting several people who had studied maths that I finally understood, why
@mainec @mttaggart Agreed. A program is not so different in the skills needed than a proof, but with certain contrast: proofs are sometimes not easily translated into software (guaranteed to finish before the heat death of the universe) and programs, except the more trivial and independent, are not generally amenable to proof.
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@mttaggart Learning to program is learning a new way of thinking. I don’t know of any other mind skill that can do it all: Detail orientation. Clarity. Problem solving. Procedures. Functions. Communication. Timing. Simplification. Experimentation. Testing. So much more …but above all, logical thinking. We should teach it in first grade.
You program with your mind, not your hands.
@meltedcheese @mttaggart You’re right, and seeing what you listed out made me realize there are several points of overlap with playing musical instruments. Especially in group settings.
There’s plenty of stories about how important jazz was in the 1920s through the 1960s, and I think the world would be a better place if more people had at least some time spent learning to play an instrument collaboratively in an unstructured environment.
We should absolutely teach the logic and structure of programming and music theory & performance along side the basics of science and history. It’s about engaging your brain in different ways, and heavens know we need more folks to do that.
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@meltedcheese @mttaggart Jeannette Wing calls that “computational thinking”: https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~15110-s13/Wing06-ct.pdf
@duarte @mttaggart To me, there isn’t another way (in ordinary consciousness).
I talked with Jeanette Wing on one of my visits to CMU Robotics Lab and CS Department early 99’s. Very impressive then and now. -
Is there anybody out there who still wants to learn programming by hand?
Absolutely. I even using dislike the tools that set up projects for the first time because I then have to go figure out why everything is done the way it is. And don’t get me started on when they install out of date dependencies and everything breaks when I upgrade those. I know nothing yet and find myself in deep water.
