Show HN: New visual language for teaching kids to code

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.

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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.

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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. :)

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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.

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