[Edu-sig] A fact on the ground

[Dirk-Ulrich Heise]

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: "Richard J Panek Jr" <rpanek@mitre.org>
An: <edu-sig@python.org>
Gesendet: Freitag, 5. Januar 2001 21:43
Betreff: Re: [Edu-sig] A fact on the ground
> I mostly agree with the idea of computing as a meta-activity-
> computers are a tool we use to do neat things.  However math and
> programming are a natural fit because they primarily center on
> problem solving.  Music, government, and humanities do not have this
> focus, and I think it would be difficult to conceptualize a problem
> 'solved' by music (and I certainly can't think of one solved by
> government!).  Kidding aside, the ability to take a problem stated in
> a natural language, decompose it into more abstract concepts, apply
> some basic logic to those concepts, and then present the results in a
> manner consistent with the language the problem was stated in is a
> skill that has traditionally been taught through math, and is a
> necessary skill for programming.

So, can programming also be called "the art of making plans"?
I think so. It's a little bit of a pity that in school, this is usually
tied to math, and doesn't occur so much in other areas.

Or does it?  Writing an essay in English is something you
gotta make a plan for, as well. Composing some music
has it, as well. There were some few lessons in my
school days were we had to create, in groups, music of
or own. These were the most entertaining lessons
for me.

Oh, and of course there's art in school.  You have to
have a plan to draw the picture you have in your head.

In all these disciplines the "art of
making a plan" is hidden, but maybe not talked
so much about explicitly. It's obvious in math, that's
where you're right.

Don't get me wrong:
I don't wanna *fight* the ambitions of math teachers
to bring more programming into math; i'm just philosophing...
Math is all crisp and clear und we're used to what
you're describing, decomposing problems, applying
logic and so on in the realm of math.

In the "artistic" or "creative" disciplins like writing,
painting, or composing, things get much more fuzzy.
But maybe it just feels this way because it has been
taught this way.

Dipl.Inform. Dirk-Ulrich Heise
business: hei@adtranzsig.de
private: dheise@debitel.net