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President Obama calls on every American to learn code

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Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code

#191

Post by beambot »

vezzy-fnord wrote: post #174

Personally I find the contemporary "learn to code movement" to be asinine for several reasons: 1) It supports affirmative action and seeks to set sex quotas. ( http://slashdot.org/story/13/11/24/187255/codeorg-more-money... ) 2) It offers a very sugar-coated and frankly nauseating view of "coding". It adulates this mysterious and powerful essence dubbed only as "code" and is highly biased towards the imperative parad…

Wow, that was a lot of strawman arguments. (1) The OP's title calls for every American. (2) "Code" is pretty agnostic as far as paradigms. Many people would be served just fine by learning how to do basic computation, graphing, and scripting in Excel. (3) These folks are not computer scientists, but they don't need to be to advocate tech literacy. (4) It's about life skills (esp. tech literacy) -- more like Thoreau-style self reliance rather than becoming a disposable cog. (5) Cart before the horse... (6) You mean like math, science, reading, and writing? (7) Learning to code basic programs helps you accomplish real tasks. Insight into "software development" be damned. I drive a car, but I'm not a ICE thermodynamics expert.

Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code

#192

Post by robomartin »

I'd rather have every American learn how to vote. Far more damage is being done to this country by ignorant voters. Far more benefit could be derived by having an intelligent, well informed voting population. The best way to protect your future and that of your children is to elect representatives that will truly do what's best. The economic implosion of 2008 had nothing to do with not knowing how to code, write, cook or weld. It had everything to do with horrendously misplaced public policy and legislation. Learning how to critically analize issues without the influence of emotion, religion or political indoctrination to then intelligently cast votes is what we need people trained on.

Then again, no politician would want this reality.

Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code

#193

Post by toomuchtodo »

rjtavares wrote: post #189
toomuchtodo wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We should also be teaching how to change a tire, how to cook basic nutritious meals, personal finance, etc.. “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a compu…

I hate that quote. It starts fine, but then reaches a stupid conclusion. I wonder how much worse our life would have been without centuries of specialization: in science, in education, in business...

I still find value within in. Sorry! Specialization is important for society collectively, diversity is important for the individual. Balance is key.

I don't want to die gallantly though, just satisfied with whatever I've accomplished and left behind.

Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code

#195

Post by rjtavares »

vasilipupkin wrote: post #181
United857 wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We teach writing as a required subject in schools, without the expectation that everyone is going to be a professional writer. We teach science without the expectation that everyone is going to be a scientist. We teach physical education without the expectation that everyone is going to be a professional athlete. These are all good life skills to have even if you don't learn enough to make it your career. So it shoul…

Just because we currently teach everyone trigonometry, it does not mean we should also teach everyone X. What exactly is the point of knowing how to code a little, without being very good or proficient at it, which most people won't be able to attain ? But I do agree that every school should have C.S. curricula as an option, not as a requirement

Most people in developed countries need to handle significant amounts of information. Knowing how to code a little (even just simple loops and conditions) allows you to be an order of magnitude more productive.

Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code

#197

Post by rjtavares »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #193
rjtavares wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate that quote. It starts fine, but then reaches a stupid conclusion. I wonder how much worse our life would have been without centuries of specialization: in science, in education, in business...

I still find value within in. Sorry! Specialization is important for society collectively, diversity is important for the individual. Balance is key. I don't want to die gallantly though, just satisfied with whatever I've accomplished and left behind.

I can certainly agree with that. "Specialization is for insects" is needlessly insulting, though...

Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code

#198

Post by davorak »

kamjam wrote: post #97
Crito wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Proper grammar, for practical purposes, should be defined as "is capable of talking in a way that will not put them at a disadvantage in job interviews" . Use of the the word "ain't" probably isn't worth worrying about; stunted vocabulary and inability to match tenses probably is.

Yes, this is exactly what I meant. I'm not pedantic enough about the "you and me" stuff, or even fully correct in my own punctuation and I'm a native English speaker. But knowing the difference between "there, their and they're" is very important for example.

It seems like you might be more concerned with people knowing how to communicate well. Knowing how to format their thoughts so that they will be understandable through conversation or text. The ability to adapt this formatting process to fit the audience they are trying to reach.

Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code

#199

Post by rickyc091 »

vasilipupkin wrote: post #181
United857 wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We teach writing as a required subject in schools, without the expectation that everyone is going to be a professional writer. We teach science without the expectation that everyone is going to be a scientist. We teach physical education without the expectation that everyone is going to be a professional athlete. These are all good life skills to have even if you don't learn enough to make it your career. So it shoul…

Just because we currently teach everyone trigonometry, it does not mean we should also teach everyone X. What exactly is the point of knowing how to code a little, without being very good or proficient at it, which most people won't be able to attain ? But I do agree that every school should have C.S. curricula as an option, not as a requirement

The thing is most people don't know what they want to do. That's the reason why schools force you take a variety of subjects so you could find your niche. I had no intention of growing up and becoming a developer, but here I am, all because my friend showed me a few lines of HTML. The idea is to give people a little spark and let them follow through if they want to continue down this path or not.

Re: President Obama calls on every American to learn code

#200

Post by mikeleeorg »

aestra wrote: post #190
mikeleeorg wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America already overproduces scientists and engineers. Out of curiosity, do you have a link to any evidence or supporting materials to this claim? It's the first I've heard of it.

There's some conflicting reports and I read a pretty good analysis a while ago that convinced me, but I don't have it, here's some light reading. http://spectrum.ieee.org/at-work/education/the-stem-crisis-i... http://www.businessinsider.com/the-real-truth-about-the-stem... http://gizmodo.com/there-may-not-actually-be-a-shortage-of-s... http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-the-stem-job-advantage-a-myth...

Wow, very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

It's also interesting (and perhaps, sad) to me how there are stories in Silicon Valley where a top engineer or two are offered massive financial incentives to join another company. Those stories are usually cited as examples of a technical talent shortage in the Valley, but in reality, they are exceptions, not the rule.

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