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My first exposure to programming was a book my dad gave me called The Little Schemer, and I absolutely loved it. It's like discovery fiction without the fiction
by mikenew 5y ago
My first exposure to programming was a book my dad gave me called The Little Schemer, and I absolutely loved it. It's like discovery fiction without the fiction. It just asks a question and then immediately answers it; mostly composed of code with minimal explanation. It feels like a very natural progression of being exposed to something new, getting familiar with it, and starting to explore all the nuances.
I can imagine TFA re-written without the dumb story being really good. It makes use of spaced repetition, and it does a good job of introducing one piece of information at a time. But I agree; the story part of it is stupid.
- jrapdx3 5y agoI wholeheartedly concur about The Little Schemer, though well into adulthood when first exposed to it. It works so well due to combining a Q&A format with a respectful "tone" that never talks down to the student-reader. The authors' subtle sense of humor contributes too. To be sure this article isn't in the same league at all. Great teachers are scarce no doubt because few are gifted with the requisite raw talent. It implies you're right, it's hard to produce top-quality written teaching material, after all excellent examples are uncommon, even vanishingly rare.