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>The exploration of modern programming is a big factor keeping people out. Is that a problem? From a professional perspective, it seems ideal to not pollute th

by tetrep 12y ago

>The exploration of modern programming is a big factor keeping people out. Is that a problem? From a professional perspective, it seems ideal to not pollute the field with people who are uninterested in such things, as they would very quickly run into issues keeping their knowledge up to date. The field has been and always will be in flux. From an amateur perspective, I think it's fine if people are dissuaded, amateurs should do things they find enjoyable. If learning about your hobby isn't enjoyable, programming will offer little utility beyond minor entertainment. While having a multitude of choices can make choosing difficult, it can also make it very easy, just pick anything. With not preconceived notions about how you want to program, all of the popular languages and frameworks are essentially equal to you. As you actually start to program, you'll be exposed to new concepts that you may or may not like. If you don't like them, you be able to trivially search for alternatives with your newfound knowledge of knowing what you like/dislike. >...or magazines that teach you programming from start to finish with code samples included. There's a stupid amount of free and non-free literature for getting into programming. Searching for just about any popular language and/or framework will get you at least one book on Amazon and an amazing amount of tutorials/walkthroughs/guides/etc from Google.

freehunter 12y ago
This mentality jives with the common hacker refrain that everyone should learn at least some programming, that people should know more about their computers, and with the general idea the knowledge is power. We shouldn't be looking to lock people out just because we don't want amateurs or hobbyists encroaching on our turf. Hackers by definition are not professional programmers. Would you seek to ensure that only college educated programmers are allowed to use a compiler? The idea isn't that it's difficult to get into in order to keep the riff raff out, it's that people who may genuinely enjoy the craft never even start because we've made it so damn difficult to get anything done. As for the free education, I wrote a whole section on the terrible state of teaching programming, from free blogs to Codecademy. There are many better-worded arguments saying that programming education falls short of what it should be as well. We should be encouraging more people to program, especially if it means they can do it without a college degree. The amount of people in the world without access to a college education is appalling, but we still want them contributing. What we don't need is elitism.

by tetrep 12y ago

freehunter 12y ago

This mentality jives with the common hacker refrain that everyone should learn at least some programming, that people should know more about their computers, and with the general idea the knowledge is power. We shouldn't be looking to lock people out just because we don't want amateurs or hobbyists encroaching on our turf. Hackers by definition are not professional programmers. Would you seek to ensure that only college educated programmers are allowed to use a compiler? The idea isn't that it's difficult to get into in order to keep the riff raff out, it's that people who may genuinely enjoy the craft never even start because we've made it so damn difficult to get anything done. As for the free education, I wrote a whole section on the terrible state of teaching programming, from free blogs to Codecademy. There are many better-worded arguments saying that programming education falls short of what it should be as well. We should be encouraging more people to program, especially if it means they can do it without a college degree. The amount of people in the world without access to a college education is appalling, but we still want them contributing. What we don't need is elitism.