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Ask Slashdot: Do Kids Still Take Interest In Programming For Its Own Sake?

Posted by Soulskill on from the too-hip-to-be-cool dept.

nirgle writes "I have been wondering lately if there are any kids interested in programming for its own sake anymore. When I was my nephew's age, computers were still fascinating: There wasn't a laptop on every table, facebook wasn't splattered on every screen, and you couldn't get any question answered in just a couple seconds with Google. When I was 10, I would have done anything for a close programming mentor instead of the 5-foot high stack of books that I had to read cover-to-cover on my own. So I was happy when my nephew started asking about learning to do what "Uncle Jay does." Does the responsibility now shift to us to kindle early fires in computer science, or is programming now just another profession for the educational system to manage?" Another reader pointed out a related post on the Invent with Python blog titled "Nobody wants to learn how to program."

6 of 276 comments (clear)

  1. Doing what Uncle Jay does... by DontScotty · · Score: 4, Funny

    Doing what Uncle Jay does... Yeah - tried that. My parole officer is still upset.... However the Catholic Church has contacted me back on that job offer....

  2. Be Careful What You Ask For by walkerp1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    My cousin and I both started programming when we were ten, back in the golden days of the Apple II and the TI-99/4a (for us). We got into it for different reasons. He delighted in creating varied and colorful system crashes. This behavior turned out to be indicative of a larger mental health issue. I did it because I appreciated the beauty and purity of logic. Eventually I ended up concentrating heavily on computers to the partial exclusion of natural human companionship. This too indicated issues of a different nature. Nevertheless, my hobby matured into a lucrative career. My cousin never matured. You have been warned.

    1. Re:Be Careful What You Ask For by evanism · · Score: 4, Funny

      So your cousin is a senior manager at Microsoft?

      --
      Just bought a new quantum computer, but I'm uncertain how it works.
  3. OK, still mod grandparent. by kale77in · · Score: 3, Funny

    I can't use my mod points when I've posted in the thread.

    Mod +1 Informative...

  4. Re:Pure programming for programming sake? by RadioElectric · · Score: 5, Funny

    We don't fuck for fuck sake, we fuck for the climax. Without the climax, fucking would be fucking boring.

    This is amusing because the Slashdot sterotype totally applies (a virgin who is very opinionated regarding things he knows nothing about).

  5. Re:People who are naturally interested in programm by icebraining · · Score: 4, Funny

    They're ORs, not XORs!

    --
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