4 ms·

Let's not forget that it was not rare that kids learned Assembly in the 1980s.

smnplk 10y ago
Also, let's not forget that some more fortunate cough John Carmack's cough kids are exposed to lisp in this day and age. https://goo.gl/Fy4CSa https://goo.gl/Fy4CSa
Theodores 10y ago
...6502 instruction set and things like undocumented Z80 instructions can be fully memorised as a child, even if some concepts, e.g. a stack, strange maths, comes later. If only I could remember syntax so well now.
- marisa_kirisame 10y ago
  Z80 assembly was the first 'real' language I learned as a kid (I did some basic GWBASIC but never got far with it). I wasn't very good at it, but I did write some programs that did what they were supposed to do.
mwcampbell 10y ago
Good to know. I learned Applesoft BASIC when I was 8 (in 1988-89), then moved on to 6502 assembly around age 11 or 12. I copied a lot of assembly routines out of books, though. And for some reason I can't remember now, I especially struggled with the Apple ProDOS Machine Language Interface (MLI). When I first expressed interest in learning to program at age 8, my mother told me that an 8-year-old couldn't learn to program. Fortunately, I found a way to begin learning without any involvement from my parents (our computer, an Apple IIGS, came with a disk that included an introductory lesson on BASIC). I guess she just assumed I couldn't learn at that young age because home computers were still relatively new, so kids hadn't had direct access to computers for very long, so people just didn't know yet what was possible or realistic.
octorian 10y ago
I never did, but I often wonder if it was due more to a lack of exposure than anything else. Back then, one's exploration was somewhat limited to what resources the surrounding adults provided you with. And when none of those surrounding adults are "computer people" in a useful sense, you don't get exposed to all that much. The computer itself, and its supporting documentation, tended to just dangle BASIC in front of your face and little else.

Also, let's not forget that some more fortunate cough John Carmack's cough kids are exposed to lisp in this day and age. https://goo.gl/Fy4CSa https://goo.gl/Fy4CSa

Theodores 10y ago

...6502 instruction set and things like undocumented Z80 instructions can be fully memorised as a child, even if some concepts, e.g. a stack, strange maths, comes later. If only I could remember syntax so well now.

marisa_kirisame 10y ago
Z80 assembly was the first 'real' language I learned as a kid (I did some basic GWBASIC but never got far with it). I wasn't very good at it, but I did write some programs that did what they were supposed to do.

mwcampbell 10y ago

Good to know. I learned Applesoft BASIC when I was 8 (in 1988-89), then moved on to 6502 assembly around age 11 or 12. I copied a lot of assembly routines out of books, though. And for some reason I can't remember now, I especially struggled with the Apple ProDOS Machine Language Interface (MLI). When I first expressed interest in learning to program at age 8, my mother told me that an 8-year-old couldn't learn to program. Fortunately, I found a way to begin learning without any involvement from my parents (our computer, an Apple IIGS, came with a disk that included an introductory lesson on BASIC). I guess she just assumed I couldn't learn at that young age because home computers were still relatively new, so kids hadn't had direct access to computers for very long, so people just didn't know yet what was possible or realistic.

octorian 10y ago

I never did, but I often wonder if it was due more to a lack of exposure than anything else. Back then, one's exploration was somewhat limited to what resources the surrounding adults provided you with. And when none of those surrounding adults are "computer people" in a useful sense, you don't get exposed to all that much. The computer itself, and its supporting documentation, tended to just dangle BASIC in front of your face and little else.