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* Getting a little exposure to it is wonderful and valuable for all. But I believe that being good at computer science requires having some skill at a type of a

* Getting a little exposure to it is wonderful and valuable for all. But I believe that being good at computer science requires having some skill at a type of abstract thinking that many people, even otherwise really intelligent people, don't possess. If this ever becomes mandatory for all students, I believe that it will be a recipe for a lot of wasted time and frustration. * If it ever becomes mandatory, I also wonder if this could also be a recipe for really hampering kids who are actually interested and talented in this field. You'll have a bunch of untrained teachers trying to corral a group of kids, the majority of which won't be interested in the subject matter. That will end up with dumbed down classes so the majority don't feel uncomfortable and the talented folks also being frustrated at being slowed down and made to do a bunch of busy work.

rhino369 11y ago
A lot of people are really bad at math and we give them at least 10 years of it. I think at least some exposure to CS is important to just give kids a sense of it before college.
dopeboy 11y ago
> But I believe that being good at computer science requires having some skill at a type of abstract thinking that many people, even otherwise really intelligent people, don't possess. So don't try at all? I don't follow. > If this ever becomes mandatory for all students, I believe that it will be a recipe for a lot of wasted time and frustration. I agree, kids need to self-select into it. Making it mandatory would be a mistake.
dougabug 11y ago
The assumption that the general public is dumb and must be protected from difficult subjects/intellectual work, is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Removing everything from the curriculum that "a lot of people are bad at" is a bad idea. Most people are bad at something, there's nothing wrong with trying and failing; what's wrong is not trying when there's so much possibility that might be unlocked in people's minds. The ability to program, to debug logic, to understand algorithms brought to the general public could be the biggest cognitive advance to society at large since free compulsory education. Frankly, most people take classes in geometry, trig, linear algebra and calculus which never really gels in their brains and they never productively use in their adult lives. Learning how to make computers solve problems elevates and empowers the mind. Let's suppose that only a third of the population every becomes halfway proficient at writing software. That will be 2.5 billion people! With that many computer literate people in the world, finding teachers for the subject will not be difficult. I wouldn't worry about bright young hackers being crowded out by the dull masses; young hackers have been teaching themselves since there were close to zero teachers who could code.

rhino369 11y ago

A lot of people are really bad at math and we give them at least 10 years of it. I think at least some exposure to CS is important to just give kids a sense of it before college.

dopeboy 11y ago

> But I believe that being good at computer science requires having some skill at a type of abstract thinking that many people, even otherwise really intelligent people, don't possess. So don't try at all? I don't follow. > If this ever becomes mandatory for all students, I believe that it will be a recipe for a lot of wasted time and frustration. I agree, kids need to self-select into it. Making it mandatory would be a mistake.

dougabug 11y ago

The assumption that the general public is dumb and must be protected from difficult subjects/intellectual work, is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Removing everything from the curriculum that "a lot of people are bad at" is a bad idea. Most people are bad at something, there's nothing wrong with trying and failing; what's wrong is not trying when there's so much possibility that might be unlocked in people's minds. The ability to program, to debug logic, to understand algorithms brought to the general public could be the biggest cognitive advance to society at large since free compulsory education. Frankly, most people take classes in geometry, trig, linear algebra and calculus which never really gels in their brains and they never productively use in their adult lives. Learning how to make computers solve problems elevates and empowers the mind. Let's suppose that only a third of the population every becomes halfway proficient at writing software. That will be 2.5 billion people! With that many computer literate people in the world, finding teachers for the subject will not be difficult. I wouldn't worry about bright young hackers being crowded out by the dull masses; young hackers have been teaching themselves since there were close to zero teachers who could code.