[Edu-sig] should we have learning languages?

2012-02-12 Thread kirby urner
One still hear's tones of regret that the good old days are over, when one's choice of a first year computer language was obvious: Algol or Pascal. Today there's no such consensus (if there ever was), but another question is should we have learning languages? There was a time when it was

[Edu-sig] will cows code?

2012-02-12 Thread kirby urner
My whimsical title relates to the conflation of two notions: cows in a morphogenetic field, and the spread of computer languages. As more and more people learn Python, does it get easier to learn? That would seem an obvious no unless you believe in magic, but then think about it: more people