Comment Re:Looks like the prophet's gunmen (Score 1) 1097
Really?
Come on. You know, as well as I do, that it's the intention, not the action, that's relevant here.
Really?
Come on. You know, as well as I do, that it's the intention, not the action, that's relevant here.
Okay, then no one is a programmer because what they do doesn't cross my imaginary demarcation line! You've convinced me. There are no programmers!
I've taught plenty of intro programming classes. You're likely just a terrible instructor. I've not found a single student that was incapable.
. About a third of the population is simply incapable of abstract reasoning.
Citation needed. What backwater pay-to-publish journal did you find someone that denies that 1/3 of the population fails to reach the the formal operational stage of development?
If you think otherwise, I invite you to come to my house, and I will give you a free dinner while you explain "vectors" to my 15 year old daughter. Good luck with that.
I have a few teaching tricks I've picked-up for that. I have little doubt I could teach your otherwise normal child the basics of vectors in an evening. Well, at least well enough to get her through calc.
Teaching, like programming, is a skill. If you want to better help her, do some reading on formative assessment.
Why would someone spread the obvious myth that programming requires a 'special mind' or 'in-born talent'? It's clearly delusional, so there must be some other motivation.
The article is another transparent attempt to make people believe coding is like manual labor and hence should be in the cheapest salary class possible.
That explains it! It's just good old fashioned fear and insecurity.
How do you we know whether programming is the kind of job where one can be mediocre and succeed?
Probably because of the countless "mediocre" programmers who are successful.
When one's freedom is on the line, nobody wants a mediocre lawyer; when one's life is on the line, nobody wants a mediocre doctor.
But most of them are mediocre. The world keeps on turning.
There are also some careers where you simply can't succeed at being mediocre, for example any kind of research scientist
Okay, now you're just trolling. Sorry about that. Carry on.
I always consider my first effort at anything a first draft
The best advice I ever received: "There are no good writers, only good re-writers."
Why is it that when you see delusional distinctions like these the dividing line always seems to be at the level of skill of the person offering it?
Creating an artificial distinction might make you feel more important, but it's still just self-delusion.
The truth is that anyone can learn to program. Even better, like all skills, they can improve with practice. It doesn't require a 'special mind' or some mythical in-born talent, just patience and practice.
If there was only a 'preview' button...
which in no way refutes the oft-cited observation that among people learning to program there's a very distinct double-tassel distribution.
Which is also nonsense, as I've argued countless times. From what I can tell, the only people who believe it have no other skills and are terrified that if the truth were known (that anyone can learn to program) then they'd no longer be special.
I've said this before. Having taught many programming classes myself, I've never once encountered one of these mysterious "can't" students.
It's possible that you're just not a very good instructor.
I tuned the radio to the local top-40 station. It would appear that the worst musicians do indeed make money.
A variation of it is quite prominent on Slashdot, with many users inexplicably believing that programming requires a "special mind", dividing people in to two groups: "can program" and "can never program".
Picture this: You're in a bar, and some guy walks up to you looking for trouble. He insults you, belittles you, calls your mother a whore, etc. He just won't let up. You ask him to stop, but he keeps digging at you. You, understandably, punch him in the face.
His claim: You're the bad guy. He was just wants to exercise his right to free speech.
Would you buy that argument?
It is easier to write an incorrect program than understand a correct one.
