How to teach your girlfriend programming • Hacker News Board

Re: How to teach your girlfriend programming

#11

Post by acqq » Mon, Sep 23, 2013, 10:36 AM UTC

Don't even try to teach anybody anything unless he/she actually wants you to do that. Teaching is completely different from giving somebody idea what you're doing.

Especially try to be aware how many things you "know" as a "professional" are fully irrelevant details about the technologies or methods that are going to be obsolete in very, very short time. Most of the "knowledge" that make you money today is irrelevant even in just a few years. Or I have a lot of lectures about Clipper 5 and CP/M to teach you.

Re: How to teach your girlfriend programming

#12

Post by Wintamute » Mon, Sep 23, 2013, 10:37 AM UTC

To those saying this post is partly sexist, I think it says more about the prism through which you choose to view the world than anything about the author. This is just a guy and girl that have found themselves in a relationship where one is interested to learn the skills of the other. He's happy and excited to teach her, which is totally understandable. I see no evidence to suggest he feels like he's paternalistically teaching her about the world, rather he's glad he's found a partner he can share his enthusiasm with.

Re: How to teach your girlfriend programming

#13

Post by jtheory » Mon, Sep 23, 2013, 10:38 AM UTC

jacalata wrote: post #6

This is kind of like the ways I have helped my boyfriend learn programming except for how it is hopelessly mired in the idea that programmers are guys who have cutely technologically impaired girlfriends.

Did you teach your boyfriend how to quicksort your knife collection? Way to go, brothe- uh, friend.

Re: How to teach your girlfriend programming

#14

Post by reginaldjcooper » Mon, Sep 23, 2013, 10:45 AM UTC

jacalata wrote: post #6

This is kind of like the ways I have helped my boyfriend learn programming except for how it is hopelessly mired in the idea that programmers are guys who have cutely technologically impaired girlfriends.

Where exactly is that idea expressed?

EDIT: Fine, if you read into the preface where he talks about his programmer friends I guess they are all male. That's hardly hopelessly mired, it's more like an unfortunate choice of description. I bet the author would assume women programmers feel the exact same way about their partners as well.

Re: How to teach your girlfriend programming

#15

Post by jtheory » Mon, Sep 23, 2013, 10:48 AM UTC

Wintamute wrote: post #12

To those saying this post is partly sexist, I think it says more about the prism through which you choose to view the world than anything about the author. This is just a guy and girl that have found themselves in a relationship where one is interested to learn the skills of the other. He's happy and excited to teach her, which is totally understandable. I see no evidence to suggest he feels like he's paternalistical…

It does say something that he doesn't realize his ideas could also apply to relationships where the tech/non-tech roles are reversed; the possibility just didn't occur to him.

Imagine an article about teaching other people how to, I don't know, paint with watercolors, and the author kept assuming his audience was women, teaching their hopefully attractive, fit boyfriends how to do it, even though it might seem like an impossible task.

Re: How to teach your girlfriend programming

#16

Post by novalis » Mon, Sep 23, 2013, 10:52 AM UTC

bromagosa wrote: post #8

A bit too much of a patronizing tone in this article... it even felt quite sexist at some points.

Having read the article, I think it would be good for you to quote something out of it that is blatantly sexist. So that your comment doesn't equal a mixed insult to the writer based on a general feeling you had at times.

Re: How to teach your girlfriend programming

#17

Post by novalis » Mon, Sep 23, 2013, 11:03 AM UTC

jtheory wrote: post #15

Wintamute wrote: post #12

To those saying this post is partly sexist, I think it says more about the prism through which you choose to view the world than anything about the author. This is just a guy and girl that have found themselves in a relationship where one is interested to learn the skills of the other. He's happy and excited to teach her, which is totally understandable. I see no evidence to suggest he feels like he's paternalistical…

It does say something that he doesn't realize his ideas could also apply to relationships where the tech/non-tech roles are reversed; the possibility just didn't occur to him. Imagine an article about teaching other people how to, I don't know, paint with watercolors, and the author kept assuming his audience was women, teaching their hopefully attractive, fit boyfriends how to do it, even though it might seem like a…

I see where you are going with that. But he does write from his own perspective and doesn't set out to approach your specific concerns. In his case I hope his girlfriend doesn't teach him about medicine at all so he doesn't get any ideas. Except for the real basic parts, because who knows, that could be useful at some point. But not because he is a man, of course.

Re: How to teach your girlfriend programming

#18

Post by johnplaxton » Mon, Sep 23, 2013, 11:09 AM UTC

Wintamute wrote: post #12

To those saying this post is partly sexist, I think it says more about the prism through which you choose to view the world than anything about the author. This is just a guy and girl that have found themselves in a relationship where one is interested to learn the skills of the other. He's happy and excited to teach her, which is totally understandable. I see no evidence to suggest he feels like he's paternalistical…

Then why does he say "teach your girlfriend" rather than teach your partner, or teach your friend, or teach someone? If the fact that it is his girlfriend is just his situation, why suggest that I teach my girlfriend in the title?

Re: How to teach your girlfriend programming

#19

Post by johnplaxton » Mon, Sep 23, 2013, 11:10 AM UTC

novalis wrote: post #16

bromagosa wrote: post #8

A bit too much of a patronizing tone in this article... it even felt quite sexist at some points.

Having read the article, I think it would be good for you to quote something out of it that is blatantly sexist. So that your comment doesn't equal a mixed insult to the writer based on a general feeling you had at times.

Why is it "teach your girlfriend"? Why does he presume that his audience has a girlfriend who needs to be taught, rather than a boyfriend? You can't say "well he has a girlfriend so he wrote it like that" because he's not talking about him in the title, he's talking about you - he's presuming you have a girlfriend who needs to be taught, and that's sexist. I don't think it's the crime of the century, but I do think less of the guy.

Re: How to teach your girlfriend programming

#20

Post by novalis » Mon, Sep 23, 2013, 11:35 AM UTC

johnplaxton wrote: post #18

Wintamute wrote: post #12

To those saying this post is partly sexist, I think it says more about the prism through which you choose to view the world than anything about the author. This is just a guy and girl that have found themselves in a relationship where one is interested to learn the skills of the other. He's happy and excited to teach her, which is totally understandable. I see no evidence to suggest he feels like he's paternalistical…

Then why does he say "teach your girlfriend" rather than teach your partner, or teach your friend, or teach someone? If the fact that it is his girlfriend is just his situation, why suggest that I teach my girlfriend in the title?

Is that a throw away account ?

But anyways, because some other person who happens to be a man and is in a relation with a person that happens to be a woman may feel like teaching her some basic programming and a title that ports this situation to a possible reader elicits a stronger connection. That and "How a humam should teach another human partner how to program" would be very daft.