Interview by a 15 Year Old
paulgraham.com
Interview by a 15 Year Old
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Re: Interview by a 15 Year Old
#2"I think all kids should learn how to program at some point. I'm not sure what's the right age."
I do not think all kids should learn how to program. I think programming is just one of many skills that one can master, not a must-have skill.
Re: Interview by a 15 Year Old
#3"I think all kids should learn how to program at some point. I'm not sure what's the right age." I do not think all kids should learn how to program. I think programming is just one of many skills that one can master, not a must-have skill.
I assume PG meant that every kid should learn how to code like every kid should learn how to write, not that every kid should become a professional programmer or writer.
Re: Interview by a 15 Year Old
#4"I think all kids should learn how to program at some point. I'm not sure what's the right age." I do not think all kids should learn how to program. I think programming is just one of many skills that one can master, not a must-have skill.
I assume PG meant that every kid should learn how to code like every kid should learn how to write, not that every kid should become a professional programmer or writer.
Even then I don't really see the point. If you want to teach kids problem solving skills, logic, breaking down a problem, etc. then that makes much more sense as it is applicable in many areas of life but spending an hour a week for several months teaching a kid how to make a little game in Python isn't really going to benefit them at all in the long run in my opinion.
Re: Interview by a 15 Year Old
#5"I think all kids should learn how to program at some point. I'm not sure what's the right age." I do not think all kids should learn how to program. I think programming is just one of many skills that one can master, not a must-have skill.
>I think programming is just one of many skills that one can master, not a must-have skill.
Programming/coding/software engineer is, probably, the only skill that provides high income opportunities, freedom to relocate, a global market and low financial cost of entry. Unless a kid is coming from a rich family, learning programming among other skills is her/his best bet at achieving a decent quality of life.
Also, saying that programming is just one of many skills is like saying that communication and persuasion is just one of many skills. Just as "people" skill, programming skill is a powerful multiplier.
Re: Interview by a 15 Year Old
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
I assume PG meant that every kid should learn how to code like every kid should learn how to write, not that every kid should become a professional programmer or writer.
Even then I don't really see the point. If you want to teach kids problem solving skills, logic, breaking down a problem, etc. then that makes much more sense as it is applicable in many areas of life but spending an hour a week for several months teaching a kid how to make a little game in Python isn't really going to benefit them at all in the long run in my opinion.
perhaps it will shape how they see programming in general. I would rather have a manager that had a reasonable knowledge of how difficult programming is so that reasonable expectations can be made about schedule and budget.
Re: Interview by a 15 Year Old
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even then I don't really see the point. If you want to teach kids problem solving skills, logic, breaking down a problem, etc. then that makes much more sense as it is applicable in many areas of life but spending an hour a week for several months teaching a kid how to make a little game in Python isn't really going to benefit them at all in the long run in my opinion.
perhaps it will shape how they see programming in general. I would rather have a manager that had a reasonable knowledge of how difficult programming is so that reasonable expectations can be made about schedule and budget.
You can make that argument about every type of work.
Re: Interview by a 15 Year Old
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even then I don't really see the point. If you want to teach kids problem solving skills, logic, breaking down a problem, etc. then that makes much more sense as it is applicable in many areas of life but spending an hour a week for several months teaching a kid how to make a little game in Python isn't really going to benefit them at all in the long run in my opinion.
perhaps it will shape how they see programming in general. I would rather have a manager that had a reasonable knowledge of how difficult programming is so that reasonable expectations can be made about schedule and budget.
> I would rather have a manager that had a reasonable knowledge of how difficult programming is so that reasonable expectations can be made about schedule and budget.
True. But the trouble with programming is that once you have the basic skills, you start thinking that anything is possible. Yet, the real problems start knocking on your door when you want to build large real-life long-lived systems with changing requirements.
Take for instance the issue of "technical debt" or "code rot". Someone who has had just a little exposure to programming might say that those issues don't exist (how could code "rot"?), whereas a manager with no programming experience will more easily accept them as part of life.
Re: Interview by a 15 Year Old
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
I assume PG meant that every kid should learn how to code like every kid should learn how to write, not that every kid should become a professional programmer or writer.
Even then I don't really see the point. If you want to teach kids problem solving skills, logic, breaking down a problem, etc. then that makes much more sense as it is applicable in many areas of life but spending an hour a week for several months teaching a kid how to make a little game in Python isn't really going to benefit them at all in the long run in my opinion.
>If you want to teach kids problem solving skills, logic, breaking down a problem, etc. then that makes much more sense as it is applicable in many areas of life but spending an hour a week for several months teaching a kid how to make a little game in Python isn't really going to benefit them at all in the long run in my opinion.
I'm willing to bet it will do more good for 90% of them than learning about Chemical Bonds, Hooke's law, solving quadratic equations, enumerating mass movement processes in geography, memorizing historic time periods, reading Dostoevsky/Kafka and whatever other nonsense we were supposed to learn during high-school education that I can guarantee you 90% of my peers (myself included) couldn't answer even at a basic level even if they passed an exam on it at some point with great scores.
Almost every office job I can think of can benefit from familiarity with programming concepts - not even knowledge - just a basic familiarity - enough so you can reason trough a simple SQL query or write a non trivial excel formula.
Re: Interview by a 15 Year Old
#10"I think all kids should learn how to program at some point. I'm not sure what's the right age." I do not think all kids should learn how to program. I think programming is just one of many skills that one can master, not a must-have skill.
I think it's like learning an instrument. It's a thing you should do so you know it's there and you appreciate it's a very deep (and hopefully interesting) space. If you don't like it, no worries.