Conversations with a six-year-old on functional programming
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Conversations with a six-year-old on functional programming
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Re: Conversations with a six-year-old on functional programming
#2>\lambda x.\, 6 was also surprisingly difficult for him to guess (though he did get it right eventually). I think he was just stuck on the idea of the function doing something arithmetical to the input, and was having trouble coming up with some sort of arithmetic procedure which would result in 6 no matter what you put in! It simply hadn’t occurred to him that the machine might not care about the input. (Interestingly, many students in my functional programming class this semester were also confused by constant functions when we were learning about the lambda calculus; they really wanted to substitute the input somewhere and were upset/confused by the fact that the bound variable did not occur in the body at all!)
Just goes to show, our intuition works on linear types.
Re: Conversations with a six-year-old on functional programming
#3What is truly astounding about this is the patience to even attempt to explain free theorems to a 6 year old. Most parents would likely answer "math" and that would be the end of it. I don't (yet) have kids, but when I do I hope I have the wherewithal to recognize and take advantage of moments like these.
Re: Conversations with a six-year-old on functional programming
#4>\lambda x.\, 6 was also surprisingly difficult for him to guess (though he did get it right eventually). I think he was just stuck on the idea of the function doing something arithmetical to the input, and was having trouble coming up with some sort of arithmetic procedure which would result in 6 no matter what you put in! It simply hadn’t occurred to him that the machine might not care about the input. (Interesting…
I'm curious what you mean. Is the problem that it is a constant function, or that you are asking them to ignore parameters? Or is that missing the point, still?
Re: Conversations with a six-year-old on functional programming
#5> “A function is like a machine where you put something in one end and something comes out the other end. For example, maybe you put a number in, and the number that is one bigger comes out. So if you put in three, four comes out, or if you put in six, seven comes out.”
Examples are such a useful tool to explain complex subjects and make them approachable.
Re: Conversations with a six-year-old on functional programming
#6What is truly astounding about this is the patience to even attempt to explain free theorems to a 6 year old. Most parents would likely answer "math" and that would be the end of it. I don't (yet) have kids, but when I do I hope I have the wherewithal to recognize and take advantage of moments like these.
It's fun to talk to kids! Many of them are way more curious than most people are.
Re: Conversations with a six-year-old on functional programming
#7What is truly astounding about this is the patience to even attempt to explain free theorems to a 6 year old. Most parents would likely answer "math" and that would be the end of it. I don't (yet) have kids, but when I do I hope I have the wherewithal to recognize and take advantage of moments like these.
Dad of 8 here. It makes life so sweet when we acknowledge the child's capacities. Notice it didn't take that much patience...it's almost just a matter of creatively overcoming a language barrier.
Re: Conversations with a six-year-old on functional programming
#8beautiful read, thank you. Does anyone collect these educational inspirational stories?
Re: Conversations with a six-year-old on functional programming
#9beautiful read, thank you. Does anyone collect these educational inspirational stories?
Well, you could be starting today ;)
Re: Conversations with a six-year-old on functional programming
#10>\lambda x.\, 6 was also surprisingly difficult for him to guess (though he did get it right eventually). I think he was just stuck on the idea of the function doing something arithmetical to the input, and was having trouble coming up with some sort of arithmetic procedure which would result in 6 no matter what you put in! It simply hadn’t occurred to him that the machine might not care about the input. (Interesting…
I'm curious what you mean. Is the problem that it is a constant function, or that you are asking them to ignore parameters? Or is that missing the point, still?
The child was stuck on the intuition that the argument must change in some way (i.e. that the function was linearly typed).