41–50 of 190 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
When I studied CS , only a small minority arrived with programming skills, a much larger number came with knowledge of gaming and by extension computer building because it was much easier to afford a PC required for the newest games if you could build it yourself.
Gaming has been a hell of a gateway drug for programming.
This story makes a compelling case that women stopped programming because - 1. Computers started being sold as consumer products - 2. They were marketed almost exclusively to boys - 3. Boys played with computers and learned about them, while girls were made to feel that computers weren't for them - 3. Men showed up to college with more computer experience - 4. Women felt they must not be "naturally good" at computers…
This seems to miss an explanation for why the marketing was directed at boys in the first place.
They couldn't find any data one way or another about if that marketing made sense.
This story makes a compelling case that women stopped programming because - 1. Computers started being sold as consumer products - 2. They were marketed almost exclusively to boys - 3. Boys played with computers and learned about them, while girls were made to feel that computers weren't for them - 3. Men showed up to college with more computer experience - 4. Women felt they must not be "naturally good" at computers…
I find this explanation extremely hollow. Most programmers didn't start programming when they were kids. They started when they realized it was a good paycheck.
This story makes a compelling case that women stopped programming because - 1. Computers started being sold as consumer products - 2. They were marketed almost exclusively to boys - 3. Boys played with computers and learned about them, while girls were made to feel that computers weren't for them - 3. Men showed up to college with more computer experience - 4. Women felt they must not be "naturally good" at computers…
Interesting link in the comments: http://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs181/projects/women-... This graph shows that the drop off was nearly identical for men. Maybe the initial bump was just people getting overexcited for this computer thing and then hearing from their friends that it's kind of nerdy. Edit Another interesting link seems to show that women receive degrees at a significantly higher rate than men, a…
Read the graph again. The dropoff for women is much larger. $ python >>> 20000.0 / 17000.0 1.1764705882352942 >>> 12500.0 / 7000.0 1.7857142857142858 CS enrollment for women in 1984 was 78% larger than in 1996; For men, it was 17%.
* Men: 27,500 - 17,500 -> 1.57 ~ 36% drop * Women: 15,000 - 7,500 -> 2 ~ 50% drop
So yes, you're right that women did seem to drop off more but not as much as you say.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
When I studied CS , only a small minority arrived with programming skills, a much larger number came with knowledge of gaming and by extension computer building because it was much easier to afford a PC required for the newest games if you could build it yourself.
Gaming has been a hell of a gateway drug for programming.
I got into programming because I couldn't complete a level in a game, and I resorted to cheat-codes and hacks.
First it was the missing-no hack in Pokemon, then getting the console for "sv_cheats 1/god/impulse 101/noclip" for Half-Life and then rules.ini for the Red Alert series.
Hand hacking rules.ini for Red-Alert made a massive impression, any of the game's dynamics could be altered, you could spew out units for $1, bolt a tesla-coil on a tank etc...
Cheats and trainers got me to look into the workings of a computer program, plus the midi music from trainers is addictive :)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is that not ad hominem? Attack the content of his post, not the content of his character.
Goes to credibility. When you're talking about a post with zero evidence presented, sometimes it really is more believable coming from Neil Degrasse Tyson versus the guy who believes in Timecube.
He posted some evidence. Not a lot, but some. More than his detractors here have posted so far. There's also more in that reddit thread, it looks like.
I'm not saying he's right, but it does no one any favors to slam someone instead of refuting their argument.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Gaming has been a hell of a gateway drug for programming.
What do you mean?
This story makes a compelling case that women stopped programming because - 1. Computers started being sold as consumer products - 2. They were marketed almost exclusively to boys - 3. Boys played with computers and learned about them, while girls were made to feel that computers weren't for them - 3. Men showed up to college with more computer experience - 4. Women felt they must not be "naturally good" at computers…
I find this explanation extremely hollow. Most programmers didn't start programming when they were kids. They started when they realized it was a good paycheck.