In college, SICP was the singular course that changed my mind about computing. Before, a math teacher tried to teach me C/C++ and I just didn't get why anyone w

In college, SICP was the singular course that changed my mind about computing. Before, a math teacher tried to teach me C/C++ and I just didn't get why anyone would be interested in computer programs. SICP is more like how a mathematician would teach computer science. Thus for people with a AP math and/or physics background entering university (such as at many EECS or ECE departments that put CS together with Electrical Engineering majors), the LISP style formalism of functional programming and recursion / mathematical induction make a lot more sense. It's a gateway to the more theoretical parts of computer science as well. Whereas if someone is less motivated by mathematics and more motivated by wanting to write the next app or webpage, then a SICP style course would be a lot less meaningful. On the other hand, if I had started college with a course on C/C++ or even Java at the time, I would've disliked it and likely gotten turned off from studying computer science forever.