Abelson and Python

[mensanator at aol.com]

Paddy wrote:
> bearophileHUGS at lycos.com wrote:
>
> > While studying the SICP video lectures I have to twist my mind some to
> > completely understand the lessons. I implement the programs shown there
> > in both Python and Scheme, and I find the Python implementations
> > simpler to write (but it's not a fair comparison because I know very
> > little Scheme still).
> >
> > Now some things are changing:
> > http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/node/1840
> >
> > >The MIT is going to change its curriculum structure that was famous for teaching Scheme in introductory courses. One force behind the reform is no one else than Harold Abelson, famous for his marvelous Scheme opus SICP.<
> > >The first four weeks of C1 will be a lot like the first four weeks of 6.001, Abelson said. The difference is that programming will be done in Python and not Scheme.<
> >
> >
> > Someone is translating the SIPC programs in Python too:
> > http://www.codepoetics.com/wiki/index.php?title=Topics:SICP_in_other_languages#Python
> >
> > With slides and code from lectures:
> > http://courses.csail.mit.edu/6.01/
> > http://courses.csail.mit.edu/6.01/fall06/calendar.html
> >
> > I like Scheme a bit too, but I consider this is a small victory for
> > Python :-)
> >
> > Bye,
> > bearophile
>
> Hi Bearophile.
> (Is your name pronounced Beer-owe-file, or Bear-oh-fi-lee, just
> wondered :-) ?
>
> I too have heard about the MIT course changing to Python elsewhere and
> wanted to know why it was talked about so much?

Scheme was invented at MIT. If Scheme is as fabulous as its adherents
claim, why would the institution that invented it drop it?

To me, the answer is obvious, but probably not to the press.

> I'm from England, I
> know that MIT is a very prestigious university, but if Cambridge
> changed a course, or better still, The Open University changed a
> similar course to Python, I think I'd be hard pressed to hear about it.
> Is the MIT course syndicated to Universities around America or
> something?
> 
> Cheers,  Paddy.