REPOST: Re: Is learning Python "extraordinary"?

[Peter Hansen]

Sheila King wrote:
> 
> On Sat, 29 Dec 2001 18:51:34 -0500, Peter Hansen <peter at engcorp.com> wrote
> in comp.lang.python in article <3C2E5706.5880983E at engcorp.com>:
> 
> > I'm afraid not.  All the developers I've hired in the last
> > two years took about a week to become productive with Python
> > after being exposed to it for the first time.  Of course,
> > maybe they're *all* extraordinary!
> 
> And these developers you hired were high school students applying for
> admission to college?

Uh, no actually. :-)

I think my perspective is somewhat tainted from being one of the
freaks (back then) who was rather self-taught.  By the end of
high school I knew BASIC, C, APL, 6502 assembly, and others.
By *no* means exceptional compared to many of the real wizards 
of the industry, but I think it means it didn't occur to me
that high school students of today might not already know 
several programming languages.  At least those applying for
MIT. :)

It is still my opinion that a bright person who has learned 
several computer languages can learn Python enough to start 
working on non-trivial tasks with not much more than a week
of learning, but that opinion is based solely on observation
of a dozen perhaps quite bright people doing just that.

-- 
----------------------
Peter Hansen, P.Eng.
peter at engcorp.com

========= WAS CANCELLED BY =======:
Path: news.sol.net!spool0-nwblwi.newsops.execpc.com!newsfeeds.sol.net!newspump.sol.net!nntp1.roc.gblx.net!nntp.gblx.net!nntp1.phx1.gblx.net!nntp.gblx.net!nntp.gblx.net!enews.sgi.com!news-xfer.nuri.net!news-hub.kaist.ac.kr!feeder.kornet.net!news1.kornet.net!ua4canc3ll3r
From: Peter Hansen <peter at engcorp.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.python
Subject: cmsg cancel <3C2EAD4D.77564075 at engcorp.com>
Control: cancel <3C2EAD4D.77564075 at engcorp.com>
Date: Mon, 31 Dec 2001 03:43:09 GMT
Organization: A poorly-installed InterNetNews site
Lines: 2
Message-ID: <cancel.3C2EAD4D.77564075 at engcorp.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: 211.57.49.2
X-Trace: news2.kornet.net 1009774368 27193 211.57.49.2 (31 Dec 2001 04:52:48 GMT)
X-Complaints-To: usenet at news2.kornet.net
NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 31 Dec 2001 04:52:48 +0000 (UTC)
X-No-Archive: yes
X-Unac4ncel: yes
X-Commentary: I love NewsAgent 1.10 and the Sandblaster Cancel Engine Build 74 (19 March 1999)

This message was cancelled from within Mozilla.