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I was really into BASIC in school but I wonder if teaching specific technologies such as iPad development or HTML5 really has the same value than sport or music

• tikhonj 15y ago
  The point isn't to master a specific technology but to get a general understanding of how things work and develop an insatiable curiosity coupled with a creative drive. Learning how to make an interactive website with JavaScript will teach you how to think in computer terms, teach yourself new technology (reading the documentation is itself a valuable experience) and take a project from imagination to reality. The very best programmers--and somebody starting out so young is probably more likely to become a great programmer--are not the ones that have mastered the technology de jour but rather the ones who have solid fundamental skills, a logical and inquisitive mind and can teach themselves new technologies easily. Ultimately, all the short-term changes in the software field are ultimately fairly superficial. Going from Flash to JavaScript or C++ to Java is not an earth-shattering change--it's just a natural progression. There are changes, to be sure, but you're ultimately just doing similar things in similar ways. If anything, it just gets easier. So, in short, the quick pace of the software industry isn't really as quick as it seems and writing programs is at least as healthy for developing intelligence and curiosity as anything else. I really don't think it a worse choice than sports or music for an extracurricular activity.