Why MIT uses Python instead of Scheme for its undergraduate CS program (2009)

Re:Why MIT uses Python instead of Scheme for its undergradua... by habitue on Saturday December 29, 2018 @01:58AM (#18782379)

We also live in an era where it's basically impossible that kids getting into MIT's CS program haven't been exposed to programming before. I think it's a romantic idea, but the fact is college isn't where you learn to program, it's where you learn the time complexity of btrees.

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Re:Why MIT uses Python instead of Scheme for its undergradua... by Zanni on Saturday December 29, 2018 @05:42AM (#18783021)

This is a really significant point. I mean, I love SICP. I think Scheme is elegant as hell. But I learned to program with Basic in high school, and SICP in Scheme would have seemed like a huge step backward. I know Fortran did, which was my first college-level experience. I can appreciate Scheme now, but I don't think I would have then. And I can only imagine how "kids today," who have grown up on real languages would feel ("real" in contrast to Basic, not Scheme).

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Re:Why MIT uses Python instead of Scheme for its undergradua... by mroche on Saturday December 29, 2018 @03:03AM (#18782572)

> it's where you learn the time complexity of btrees.

I’m having flashbacks... Thanks for that ;)

Time complexity was my worst CS topic. At least, for implementing the most efficient system. I’m not an algorithms guy.

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