|
Post by retronut on Sept 14, 2006 17:23:05 GMT -5
|
|
tomz
New Member
Posts: 3
|
Post by tomz on Sept 27, 2006 2:13:47 GMT -5
retronut that link in your posting I found to be spmething I could associate with in my own life. I have 3 children who are now young adults except for the youngest who is 16.Over the years they have used the C64 because that was the only computer I had in the place,I would encourage them to do basic and they took to it like ducks to water.Sadly today there is only one of them(the youngest)who still shows some interest for it,he also programs in C+++ and QBASIC and some other language whose name escapes me(excuse my old brain). I find todays BASIC equivalents are nowhere as easy to come to terms with,especially if you're trying them for the 1st time and maybe this is the reason why things are the way they are today as stated in the link.the opportunity is being(or hasbeen)removed You can look at todays world another way,100 years ago you broke a plow in the field the blacksmith came and fixed it and after that you were back in the field(plowing away merrily) You understood the technoligy and were even able to fix it yourself.But if you happen to be broken down by the side of the road today chances are you can't even fiddle with the carburator because theres a computer chip in it..........of course LIFE is one continuous change
|
|
|
Post by thurstan on Sept 27, 2006 4:27:11 GMT -5
Carburettor in a modern car?! I know what you mean, up to a certain point I can pretty much have a go at fixing any car engine.Then you open up a brand new car and everything is contained in one place and computerised, no chance of fixing it!
|
|
|
Post by doffo on Sept 27, 2006 13:35:33 GMT -5
I was thinking the same exact thing about the article.
It's difficult to program anymore because nobody can get a hold of the basics of programming or how stuff is working.
BASIC in my opinion is the best way to start learning to program. It got me from that to garry kitchen's game maker lol, but I did take a stab at Assembly.... but I wonder why I didnt keep on going with assembly. Stuff was pretty fun.
|
|
cube
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
Post by cube on Dec 30, 2006 17:19:13 GMT -5
I had an interesting discussion with some friends a while back on a very similar matter. The point was made that -[ Just because you don't know how a car works, doesn't mean you can't drive it... ]- It will still get you from A to B, and as long as you know how to fill it with gas and can check / top up the washer fluid, oil, coolant, brake and tranny fluids - the car will, for all intents and purposes, do what you want it to... until something breaks! But with so many types of cars out there today, it would be highly impractical for Joe car owner to know - at a fundamental level - how to repair his car. It is much more efficient to pay someone else, whose made a profession of vehicle repair, to perform the repair work. Diversification. Technically, there isn't much any one of us couldn't learn / master if we put our minds to it. But to invest the amount of time, effort, and resourses into such a broad venture could and would be ultimately futile. You can never learn how to do everything. But if everyone devoted their lives to learning and mastering one particular field, we could all then trade services with each other to accomplish whatever tasks we all required. The right tool for the task.
Now having said that, to narrow the nub of my gist down a little, if someone IS a programmer, I don't believe they cannot learn how to program in C, Python, PHP, Perl, Java or [insert the programming language of your choice here] if they have never used a goto statement. Can having a background in BASIC help a modern programmer? Absolutely. Is it a necessity? Not at all. What BASIC did for a lot of us was it taught us how to think like a computer. It's simple English commands made sense to us, and bridged the gap between the actual one's and zero's that fly around inside the system with our text-oriented minds. It's like a child learning two languages from the time he is a baby. If mom speaks A and dad speaks B, he will learn to speak both languages and not get the two confused. He will also be able to translate between them. Can someone who only knows one language learn another? Certainly. Is it harder as an adult than as a child? Absolutely! But it can be done.
Your thoughts? John
|
|
|
Post by expertsetup on Jan 12, 2007 22:36:31 GMT -5
I think that in the early days of motor vehicles you had to know some mechanic skills just to keep it running and usable. Early computers also required a higher level of understanding of programming and logic to get things done.
Like cars of today computers are far more complex than when they first hit the market. I think that now more users are able to enjoy the benefit of computing than ever before; as more people are able to own and operate cars. Having said that, the percentage of active computer users who understand basic computer logic is sure to be much lower now compared to the first years of home computing.
Just as the first vehicle owners of society were cutting edge and ahead of most people so goes the story of computer users who were active at the start of the home computing market. We were the few who could handle the challenge and now the level of challenge has been lowered to a more common standard. Computers are still just as great but the shine of being special as a computer user has all but dulled in the years.
I believe Retro computer users share the bond of having accepted the challenge of computing in the 80's and 90's. As we worked hard to understand the new technologies comfort could be found knowing that we had friends that shared in the same struggle. For me that is what drove me to the BBS sites that were so great in the early years. Users waiting for a ring on the same BBS just to share our experiences.
In retrospect I would do it all over again and be happy to have the chance! I don't see an equivalent frontier in modern times and am unsure that there will be in my lifetime. Computers are truly an earth changing technology. How long before a new generation can share in a similar frontier? Is biology the next frontier of human expansion? Was the last century the electronics age and now we enter into the biological answer to the silicone solutions of the past 50 years?
I think so, what are your thoughts
|
|