I dunno. This seems a little like the "putting a GUI over the CLI" discussion. > its intellectual core is about formulating things with enough clarity, and in

I dunno. This seems a little like the "putting a GUI over the CLI" discussion. > its intellectual core is about formulating things with enough clarity, and in a systematic enough way, that one can tell a computer how to do them. I think the thing to teach is logic. (Make that Logic with a capital "L.") It covers all the basics: clarity of thought, language and its hidden dangers, definitions, systematic thinking, order, etc. Studying Plato and Aristotle is a great place to start.