Maybe if everyone knew how to code, we could fix healthcare.gov.
I am under the impression that this was a project management failure, not a technical failure.
No, it's because we need more coders or at least that's the essence of the problem.
President Obama calls on every American to learn code
41–50 of 441 posts
Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code
#42The message is clear: top political donors want cheaper labor.
Yep. Can't have high-paying jobs. That would empower people. We are very rapidly moving toward a time when the labor battles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries will have to be re-fought. History is clearly showing us that the alternative to activist labor is feudalism. In "natural" markets, multiple overlapping network effects cause nearly all wealth to flow to a very tiny number of strategically positioned or…
how's that state-subsidized going to college working out for everyone? Or state-subsidized home ownership?
Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code
#43While I think more people should learn code, I think the president getting up and telling everyone to do anything that isn't applicable to... well... every-freaking-one ... is stupid. Washington is clueless in two ways. (1) It normally doesn't get new things and lags behind. (2) When it does get things, it proceeds to fail at execution or not really get them and do ham-fisted things like this. So that means that Wash…
I agree. How many of those making laws right now know anything about technology let alone how to code? So why does Joe Public specifically need to know how to code? It would be much better to teach people math and proper grammar, that would get them much further in life.
What do you mean by proper grammar? Stuff like using "you and me" correctly and not falling into the "you and I" prestige English trap?
People acquire proper grammar naturally with their native language.
Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code
#44This "learn to code" meme is getting tiresome. Why not focus on the more critical skills in life that are more applicable to most people. Here's a big one: 1. Learn to communicate. Improve your writing and speaking skills.
From my experience with administration work in a bank: just a little bit of code will go a very long way. Programming very much seems to obey the 90/10 rule. For 10% of the effort, you get 90% of the reward. (Maybe work the numbers a bit and call it 80/20).
Just consider how much Excel is used in just about any business. A tiny bit of VBA can really work wonders. Sure, a guy emptying bins isn't going to be helped by learning to code, but there are a huge number of people in desk jobs where just a bit of coding ability would make an enormous difference to productivity.
In short: I'm not convinced your assertion that writing and speaking skills are broadly more important is correct.
Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code
#45A lot of people are getting attached to the "every American" aspect of things, and I think its important to note the distance between "knowing how to code" and "becoming a programmer." Amateur programming (for lack of a better term) like basic Python for data analysis or HTML/CSS to work on Wordpress sites (Hell, one of my friends who's a Social Media Manager learned Python to create some QoL scripts for her day-to-d…
Maybe if everyone completed a few software projects, we would have better social appreciation for the difficulty and scale of large software tasks.
Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code
#46In the back of my mind, I secretly resent this code.org initiative. It is clearly a good effort that needs to happen, but man, I really enjoy my cozy position as a web developer in 2013 making an insane amount of money doing relatively little work.
Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code
#47I do think it would be a good thing if more people, preferably in management positions or office-positions would get the chance to learn to code, or at least an introduction to it.
It would allow them to appreciate the hard work that get's done on the background, make them think twice before defining deadlines and most importantly realise some of the work they do on a daily basis could be automated! In result to that they might at least consider getting in touch with a programmer and trying to find a way to make theirs own job more efficient.
But that everyone should go get a degree in CS or everybody should be able to program is to me, the same thing as saying everybody should be able to cook 3 star restaurant dishes.
Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agreed. No matter how effective you think he is, or how much you like his policies, it seems pretty clear he's under tremendous stress.
The job is brutal. Look at photos of Bush Jr. before & after -- same thing.
it's only brutal because those jokers take themselves too seriously. If I were president, I'd pay myself a minimal salary, go on extended vacation, veto everything, and the only responsibility I'd take upon myself would be that big fat red button.
Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code
#49This "learn to code" meme is getting tiresome. Why not focus on the more critical skills in life that are more applicable to most people. Here's a big one: 1. Learn to communicate. Improve your writing and speaking skills.
Well presumably because we already are telling people to learn how to write and communicate. Public schools spend more time on those topics than probably any other. Furthermore, advocating mastery of one skill is different from advocating basic literacy in another skill. This said, I agree that "learn to code" is tiresome. Why aren't cries of "learn basic electrical engineering" as popular? Or, if we want clear socie…
> "learn basic electrical engineering"
Because when, outside of work and hobbies, have you ever found it useful to know basic EE? Unless you're rewiring houses on a regular basis, I can't really think of a common situation where you'd need this type of knowledge. OTOH and IMHO, everybody should know how to use a computer and have at least a rudimentary idea what the thing is capable of.
Edit: Actually, rewiring houses isn't even EE, it's whatever we call what electricians do.
Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code
#50A lot of people are getting attached to the "every American" aspect of things, and I think its important to note the distance between "knowing how to code" and "becoming a programmer." Amateur programming (for lack of a better term) like basic Python for data analysis or HTML/CSS to work on Wordpress sites (Hell, one of my friends who's a Social Media Manager learned Python to create some QoL scripts for her day-to-d…
Maybe if everyone completed a few software projects, we would have better social appreciation for the difficulty and scale of large software tasks.
Or people might under-appreciate the complexity of software.
"A little learning is a dang'rous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring".