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I find a lot of people, even developers, have no idea about the history of computing. Things like where Unix came from and why our computing world looks the way

by smabie 7y ago

I find a lot of people, even developers, have no idea about the history of computing. Things like where Unix came from and why our computing world looks the way it does today. Talk about mainframes, Alan Turing, ENIAC, etc. Also a discussion on the Unix way vs the Lisp way (NJ School vs MIT School) should be informative. Impress upon the students that the computing world we live in today is mostly an accident, things could have been very different: we could have all been using Lisp machines, for example.

mattrp 7y ago
Second this! With heavy emphasis on Unix and IP networking fundamentals. Before I saw this comment I was going to say teach them typing - is that still taught in school? I think quite honestly learning to type at an early age made the difference between someone interested in computing and someone completely passionate about computing. After that I’d say teach them how to network their computers together, learn how to research/ read RFC’s. I think there’s some really compelling writing in RFC’s... maybe teach them how to survive on a vt100 terminal... I also think learning about optics is a great way to teach basic electronics and physics.
O_H_E 7y ago
> Also a discussion on the Unix way vs the Lisp way (NJ School vs MIT School) Wow. This sounds very interesting. Do you have any recommended readings on this? I have some hard time pulling useful results from Google.
- smabie 7y ago
  https://www.dreamsongs.com/WorseIsBetter.html https://www.dreamsongs.com/WorseIsBetter.html
arethuza 7y ago
We had an computer system architecture class on the CS degree I did that started with the Manchester Mark 1 and looked at the development of particular features over time - was a really interesting class.
nvarsj 7y ago
It's sort of shocking how many of my colleagues in the past did not know who Alan Turing was. Context and history is so important to understanding why things are the way they are - and it also makes you mostly bullet-proof to tech dogma.

by smabie 7y ago

mattrp 7y ago

Second this! With heavy emphasis on Unix and IP networking fundamentals. Before I saw this comment I was going to say teach them typing - is that still taught in school? I think quite honestly learning to type at an early age made the difference between someone interested in computing and someone completely passionate about computing. After that I’d say teach them how to network their computers together, learn how to research/ read RFC’s. I think there’s some really compelling writing in RFC’s... maybe teach them how to survive on a vt100 terminal... I also think learning about optics is a great way to teach basic electronics and physics.

O_H_E 7y ago

> Also a discussion on the Unix way vs the Lisp way (NJ School vs MIT School) Wow. This sounds very interesting. Do you have any recommended readings on this? I have some hard time pulling useful results from Google.

smabie 7y ago
https://www.dreamsongs.com/WorseIsBetter.html https://www.dreamsongs.com/WorseIsBetter.html

arethuza 7y ago

We had an computer system architecture class on the CS degree I did that started with the Manchester Mark 1 and looked at the development of particular features over time - was a really interesting class.

nvarsj 7y ago

It's sort of shocking how many of my colleagues in the past did not know who Alan Turing was. Context and history is so important to understanding why things are the way they are - and it also makes you mostly bullet-proof to tech dogma.