Andrew Coppin <andrewcop...@btinternet.com> writes: > Peter Verswyvelen wrote:
>> I really doubt people tend to think in either way. It's not even >> sure our thinking can be modeled with computing no? > Well, try this: Go ask a random person how you add up a list of > numbers. Although the question of how we "naturally" think often comes up, I'm not sure it's a very important one. In my experience, the natural thing for humans appear rather to be the absence of thinking, and instead slouching in front of the TV eating unhealthy food. After all, we give people who program computers several years of education to learn about unnatural things like counters and temporary variables, or recursion and folds. The question shouldn't be what comes more natural for average Joe, but rather what skills can we teach a reasonably bright student in three to five years that will make her the most effective programmer. (That's what the question should be, of course what the question really *is* is what curriculum can we present that looks entertaining, fashionable, and trivial enough that enough high-school kids will apply for the department not to be starved of funds... ) -k -- If I haven't seen further, it is by standing in the footprints of giants _______________________________________________ Haskell-Cafe mailing list Haskell-Cafe@haskell.org http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/haskell-cafe
