Joe Strout wrote: > On Nov 7, 2008, at 12:13 PM, Terry Reedy wrote: [...] >>> I wonder if that could be tested systematically. Perhaps we could >>> round up 20 newbies, divide them into two groups of 10, give each one >>> a 1-page explanation either based on passing object references >>> by-value, or passing values sort-of-kind-of-by-reference, and then >>> check their comprehension by predicting the output of some code >>> snippets. That'd be very interesting. >> >> Except for your garbling of the alternative to your version, I agree. >> I suspect that different people might do better with different >> explanations, depending on background. > > Could be. > > Maybe we could run such an experiment at PyCon, pulling in non-attendees > from the hallway and getting them to take the test in exchange for a > free donut or coffee. > +1: great idea! It would make a good video too ...
regards Steve -- Steve Holden +1 571 484 6266 +1 800 494 3119 Holden Web LLC http://www.holdenweb.com/ -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
