(((o))) Acoustic MirrorSpeaking of @jao, a topic that came up last night at @fossandcrafts's Scheme Workshop was Gerald Sussman's comments on why MIT stopped teaching #SICP as an introductory course in 2009. Here's a longer blog post by @jao from #ILC09, where Sussman made these comments, with input from no other than Dan Weinreb (rest in power), and links to other articles on the subject (like Andy Wingo's report from the event).
bs2@acousticmirror @fossandcrafts @cwebber
> .. one of the key aspects of programming languages is to what extent they allow us to extend our problem-solving abilities by providing new ways of.. talking about problems..
The #GeraldSussman quotes keep sending me back to #TheSchemersGuide: Preface,
".. a course for our students that emphasized analytical thinking skills over technical wizardry.. programming is about sovling real-world problems, and is only peripherally concerned with.. machines"
@bsmall2 @fossandcrafts @cwebber I'm definitely going to check out the #SchemersGuide. I'm already a fan of Dan Friedman' "Little" books, but your quotes are very enticing.
@acousticmirror @fossandcrafts @cwebber I hope you find a copy and let me know what you think of it. During the #FossAndCrafts episode I saw your comment about elephants and wanted say how all the snack mentions distract me in the "little" books. But I had to put my full attention on the presentation in order try and keep up. This guide might be a fun alternative or supplement for #HTDP. Both books are great, but after working with English Through Pictures for a decade they all seem too wordy.