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Re:Scientists should learn to program by amichail on Sunday November 25, 2007 @03:54PM (#83383)
It only takes a minute to learn to say "Hello World" in Python also.

I'm not talking about writing bug-free code for million-line projects. Rather, I'm taking about writing simple small programs. That's easy.

Re:Scientists should learn to program by akkartik on Sunday November 25, 2007 @04:38PM (#83394)
You compared writing small programs in python with taking years to learn a natural language. I pointed out that the two are not equivalent undertakings. It's not a fair comparison.

Natural languages are not 'easier' or 'harder' than programming languages, they're just different kinds of skills. There's lots of evidence for this: some people have aptitude for one, some for the other.

Re:Scientists should learn to program by amichail on Sunday November 25, 2007 @04:43PM (#83397)
There are at least two very difficult things about natural languages: messy illogical syntax and enormous vocabulary.

For a simple language such as python, you can learn most of the syntax very quickly. Vocabulary (e.g., libraries) takes a bit longer but still requires much less memorization. And you can always create things from scratch.

Re:Scientists should learn to program by geebee on Sunday November 25, 2007 @11:14PM (#83480)
But you still haven't addressed the main objection here: that you're comparing two different undertakings. You've compared writing a small app in a high level language with learning a natural language. You could have just as easily said it isn't as hard as proving fermat's last theorem, or writing a novel, or composing a symphony. Thsse things also have a few elements in common with writing a short script in a high level language. But these comparisons don't mean a thing.

Re:Scientists should learn to program by amichail on Monday November 26, 2007 @12:08AM (#83487)
If a student already knows English, then it's better to learn to write small programs in a high-level language than it is to learn another natural language.