2 ms·

Does everybody need to learn to code? One's health is pretty important to one's staying alive - not everyone learns to be a doctor. Finance and accounting is

by dpweb 11y ago

Does everybody need to learn to code? One's health is pretty important to one's staying alive - not everyone learns to be a doctor. Finance and accounting is the lifeblood of a business, not everyone learns to be an accountant. Everyone can do it, you should - no you must - do it too. I think it devalues the profession.

noblethrasher 11y ago
"Everyone should learn to write, but not everyone should be a professional writer." But, it's not that we want "everyone to learn to code"; what we really want is for everyone to learn how to use computers to build powerful simulations so that they can test and explore interesting and complicated ideas. Certain issues, like climate change, become much more tractable to discuss once you start using Excel rather than Word.
morsch 11y ago
Basic skills in medicine and accounting are useful to have and sort of prevalent. I'm sure you put on a band-aid before. Basic skills in automating certain computer tasks seem to be valuable to many people -- almost all office workers, I'd wager. I don't see how that devalues the profession. There's a huge difference between what people can achieve using stuff like this and what I do every day. Maybe basic skills in stuff like this will even translate to a better appreciation of what professional developers do. A guy can dream...
- vacri 11y ago
  When it comes to programming, 'putting on a band-aid' is analagous to 'entering user/pass credentials'. Yes, everyone can put on a band-aid, just like everyone can log on to something. Neither take skill or understanding, and both are 'just things you do'. On a tangent, a great many people have positively woeful understanding of biology. I think biology should be a mandatory subject in high school. After all, the one thing that absolutely every human has and uses throughout their entire life is their body; that can't be said of pretty much any other high school subject.

by dpweb 11y ago

noblethrasher 11y ago

"Everyone should learn to write, but not everyone should be a professional writer." But, it's not that we want "everyone to learn to code"; what we really want is for everyone to learn how to use computers to build powerful simulations so that they can test and explore interesting and complicated ideas. Certain issues, like climate change, become much more tractable to discuss once you start using Excel rather than Word.

morsch 11y ago

Basic skills in medicine and accounting are useful to have and sort of prevalent. I'm sure you put on a band-aid before. Basic skills in automating certain computer tasks seem to be valuable to many people -- almost all office workers, I'd wager. I don't see how that devalues the profession. There's a huge difference between what people can achieve using stuff like this and what I do every day. Maybe basic skills in stuff like this will even translate to a better appreciation of what professional developers do. A guy can dream...

vacri 11y ago
When it comes to programming, 'putting on a band-aid' is analagous to 'entering user/pass credentials'. Yes, everyone can put on a band-aid, just like everyone can log on to something. Neither take skill or understanding, and both are 'just things you do'. On a tangent, a great many people have positively woeful understanding of biology. I think biology should be a mandatory subject in high school. After all, the one thing that absolutely every human has and uses throughout their entire life is their body; that can't be said of pretty much any other high school subject.