[Edu-sig] Fwd: Do we "teach computers" when we write code?

[Laura Creighton]

In a message of Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:09:36 PDT, Edward Cherlin writes:
>There is a long-running rwar between those who think that mailing
>lists should have a reply-to set to the mailing list address, and
>those who think that replies should go to the previous sender by
>default. Is it worse that mistakes result in private replies going to
>the list (big-endian) or list replies going to an individual
>(little-endian)? 

Much worse when private replies go to a list.

>You still have to be able to remember what you are
>doing. What _I_ want is a menu item clearly labeled "Reply to List".

Many mailers have one of these.  Writing one is not hard, what mailer
are you using, and is the source available?

Laura

>> the sum of the first and last number is 1+n; and then divide by two.
>
>You can do this in preschool with Cuisenaire rods.
>
>> And then to have the students try to represent a similar problem, and
>> to check their answer against the formula, and THEN to have them do a
>> set of practice problems, that might be teaching.
>>
>> If the computer were able to understand the story about young Gauss,
>> then we could teach it. Instead, we can use it to confirm that the
>> formula seems to work (because computers can add numbers in the
>> fashion that Gauss' elementary school teacher expected just as fast as
>> we can apply the formula),
>
>+/i.100
>
>0.5 * (] * (] + 1))
>
>> and we can show that using the formula is
>> still faster for the computer than actually summing the list, but no,
>> we are not teaching the computer.
>
>I still say that even though the computer is not learning, children
>writing programs have the same impact on their learning _as if_ they
>were teaching.
>
>> Perhaps if the computer were then able to, of its own volition, wonder
>> what we would get if we were to sum consecutive squares, then we could
>> teach it. As hard as it is to get students to wonder about things,
>> it's even harder to create that state in computers.
>
>There are theorem-proving programs, and I know of an instance in which
>one was turned loose and came up with a novel proof in geometry (of a
>well-known theorem, of course.) Still, one shouldn't make too much of
>an isolated incident.
>
>> -Lloyd
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 6, 2009 at 18:05, kirby urner <kirby.urner at gmail.com> wrote
>:
>>> I'm wondering what others on this list think of this non-standard use
>>> of "teaching" when talking about programming a computer.
>>>
>>> The authors say we're "teaching" the computer....
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>
>
>-- 
>Silent Thunder (默雷/धर्ममेघशब्दगर्ज/دھرÙ
Ù
یگھشبدگر ج) is my name
>And Children are my nation.
>The Cosmos is my dwelling place, The Truth my destination.
>http://earthtreasury.net/ (Edward Mokurai Cherlin)
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