Re:Show HN: New visual language for teaching kids to code
by hnlmorg on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @01:26PM
(#38367819)
I would be very very surprised (and very very disappointed) if anyone is confused and/or surprised that a computer can do basic addition.
If those sorts of people exist then they’d be totally blown away at the capabilities of a pocket calculator.
Re:Show HN: New visual language for teaching kids to code
by HumblyTossed on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @01:35PM
(#38367978)
I said:
"... they didn't think a *computer" could do math like that."
Emphasis on "like that" meaning laid out like that. Context can affect people's reasoning. Maybe they've never seen code.
Re:Show HN: New visual language for teaching kids to code
by hnlmorg on Tuesday November 21, 2023 @03:57PM
(#38369998)
I’m not really sure I get the distinction but I guess this is just one of those occasions that I’m just going to struggle to relate to.
Thanks for sharing the anecdote though. :)
Re:Show HN: New visual language for teaching kids to code
by creer on Wednesday November 22, 2023 @12:21AM
(#38375026)
That still leaves questions that ideally the class should explain:
- How does the computer understand that it needs to add
- How can the computer go from these 3 lines of text to "sure, let's add"
- Why does text even mean anything to the computer
- For that matter, sure it can add, but HOW? It's not like it has a pencil and paper.
Because indeed the infrastructure between these 3 lines of text and the addition is not trivial. These are legitimate questions.
Maybe, but...
>>The student then told me that some of the other students eventually understood that z takes the value of 11 but their question was "how a machine can do that"
... it's possible their block wasn't math, but they were hung up on the fact that they didn't think a *computer" could do math like that.
> They have trouble learning anything, q.e.d.
I doubt that. There are probably a dozen other more plausible reasons.