[Sussex] Worth a read

[Geoff Teale]

On Mon, 2003-11-10 at 10:05, Mark Harrison wrote:
> > some sort of new-fangle thingummybob
> 
> Quite the opposite :-) It's on a 1980 Morgan... which was basically designed
> in 1968...

It's not just used on Morgans, a number of older Jaguars use them as
well.  Not really an integral part of the operation of a car though (I'm
not giving it away though Mark), and pretty obscure, compared to say a
piston, valve or spark plug in the operation of a car.

My point is that knowing how to use a CLI or a simple programming
language is not a question of truely understanding the operation of a PC
- but a question of using it more effectively.

Using your car analogy:

We do not currently have a car that presents you with a map of the UK
and asks you where to go.  You have to learn to use complex, arcane
mechanisms like a steering wheel, an accelerator, a brake and a clutch. 
It _is_ possible to make a self-driving car that will take you to where
you want with a simple interface (and indeed studies since the 1950's
have shown that self driving cars are safer) but that is simply too
inflexible.   What happens when you need to park in a field for a fete
or wedding, what happens when you need to drive on the continent - and
so on.

Ultimately the points are:

* Not everyone needs to learn to program.  For entertainment purposes a
simple UI is best.

* Businesses would do better to develop specialised applications rather
than get unskilled people to knock up shoddy solutions in generic
applications.

* People who do large amounts of data processing _should_ learn to use
more effective tools to do the job - often these tools require them to
learn some syntax.

* We _should_ be teaching kids in school about programming, not just
word processing.  As Mark correctly points out, not everybody needs to
know the workings of the internal combustion engine, but most of us
where taught it anyway - because Science is one of many fundamental
things you need to understand to follow many modern career paths. 
Equally a proper understanding of at least the basics of the potential
of computer technology is essential to a young person entering the
working world.  Hand up anyone who can name an industry in which you
will be guaranteed not to have to use a computer (if you can I'd like to
talk to you about an exciting new business opportunity!).

-- 
GJT 
gteale at cmedltd.com 
-- 
Lots of girls can be had for a song. Unfortunately, it often turns out
to be the wedding march.