[Edu-sig] Programming for the fun of it

[Kirby Urner]

You mention you're not out to convince someone to give up their 
day job. But of course many of those we're hoping to reach with 
this stuff don't have day jobs (yet), are still in school full 
time.

So lets not remove the "more interesting career" incentive from 
the model -- some programming experience would open new doors
in many of these scenarios (including, but not limiting our 
scope to already-employed adults).

The goal of "fixing the software you use" is realistic in an
open source context in many cases, but most software users 
today have no ability to access the source code of the 
products they're using.  If Microsoft Windows or Word has 
bugs, you'll have to wait for Microsoft to fix them -- even 
if you're a top notch programmer.

[An argument for open source that's often made:  more eyeballs 
examining the code means faster bug fixes and broader 
understanding of how to evolve/integrate in an OS context
-- the development of Python itself being a case in point
(the bazaar vs. the cathedral idea (even in the bazaar 
model, you can have decision-makers like Guido von Rossum 
or Linus Tovalds guiding the process) 
See: http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/]

Your twin goals of learning math and understanding computers and 
the digital world better also suggest the historical dimension:  
how people have met challenges using their evolving knowledge 
of principles (e.g. "the laws of physics") is what history 
is about in large degree.  The historical info woven through 
my clubhouse.html (and 'Cryptonomicon') is a small example of 
this.

For some fairly engaging discussion re learning math and 
history in tandem, using each to enhance the other, see:
http://forum.swarthmore.edu/discuss/nctm.standards.2000.A/t/645

Kirby

At 01:02 PM 12/11/2000 -0800, Dethe Elza wrote:
>So, I've been working for awhile on the how of teaching programming to 
>non-geeks.  What I think is a more important question, is Why?  Why 
>should someone be interested in learning to program?  I'm not talking 
>about convincing them to give up their day job, or learn higher math, 
>just to have an interest in occasional programming.  Here's my first cut 
>at some possible motivations, but I'm very interested in finding more:
>
>* Build problem-solving skills
>* Learn math
>* Create toys
>* Fix the software you use
>* Understand computers and the digital world better
>* Extend the software you use
>* Create tools you need.
>
>Any ideas? 
>
>--Dethe