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Barbie Will Be Used To Teach Kids To Code (engadget.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the whatever-works dept.

Mattel and Tynker are teaming up to launch seven new Barbie-themed coding lessons this coming summer. "The curriculum, aimed at teaching girls about computer programming, will also expose them to potential careers like becoming a veterinarian, astronaut, or robotics engineer," reports Engadget. "The larger goal is to introduce coding to 10 million kids by 2020." From the report: The Barbie programming curriculum has been designed for beginners grades K and up. It puts learners in career roles alongside Barbie as it introduces concepts gradually. It's not all just Barbie, of course, with a few different initiatives coming in 2018, including a Mattel code-a-thon and teacher outreach program as well as involvement in the Hour of Code in December.

"For close to 75 years, Mattel has taken a visionary approach to advancing play for kids around the world, most recently promoting computer programming and other STEM skills alongside iconic brands like Barbie, Hot Wheels and Monster High," said Tynker's Krishna Vedati in a statement. "We are very excited by this expanded partnership and the ambitious -- but achievable -- goal of teaching 10 million kids to learn to code by 2020 using Mattel brands."

200 comments

  1. but coding is hard! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think this is to turn out about as well as all the other initiatives to "teach kids to code".

    For just about the same reasons. I don't really see any USP except for the branding.

    1. Re:but coding is hard! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The bigger issue is that people choose the path of least resistance. You aren't going to teach women to code as well as men simply because they can get a Hell of a lot further in life by learning how to put on a pushup bra and bat their eyes properly while giggling. Why spend years learning to do something to slave away 40+ hours a week for moderate income while absolutely dedicating your mind during that time and therefore making zero personal progression (even someone stacking boxes gets to keep their thoughts as their own during that time,) only to have your health suffer from sitting or otherwise not moving all day if you have literally any better choice? Can coding be fun? Sure. Do women have that degree of inherent autism brought about by an environment which offers them no options, no friends, etc other than to sit alone in a room for years learning how to do some extremely specialized thing? No, at least not any which might be competent enough to learn it were that the only option.

    2. Re: but coding is hard! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Barbie gave up last time she tried to code: https://m.slashdot.org/story/210093

    3. Re: but coding is hard! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "Do women have that degree of inherent autism brought about by an environment which offers them no options, no friends, etc other than to sit alone in a room for years learning how to do some extremely specialized thing?"

      This is spot on. The only fucking way to get any good at this weird job is seclusion, for years. Sounds funny, like a joke except it is not.

    4. Re:but coding is hard! by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

      Do women have that degree of inherent autism brought about by an environment which offers them no options, no friends, etc other than to sit alone in a room for years learning how to do some extremely specialized thing? No, at least not any which might be competent enough to learn it were that the only option

      Interestingly there might be deep reasons why men are more prone to autism and aspergers

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    5. Re: but coding is hard! by c6gunner · · Score: 1

      Prostitution in women's cases. You never get respect for it though in other cultures, it is treated like a real career.

      It's like a real career here, too; an entry level job in which workers with very little upward mobility constantly get screwed, and the overwhelmingly male senior managers reaps most of the rewards.

    6. Re: but coding is hard! by Cutterman · · Score: 2

      Yep, spot on.

      And not many people have the chance to get to write interesting code. A lot of coding is wearisome, repetitive drudge work that will be discarded in a few weeks or months.

      Getting to write interesting code means that you will have put in years of learning the ins and outs and tricks and traps of modern coding - mastering this is a mostly solitary experience that demands a special mind-set.

      I learned and enjoyed coding (a lot of DBase4, Pascal and assembler) 30 years ago when life was much simpler and it was only a part of my work.

      Couldn't do it now (though I fool around with Python for fun) and earn my living in other ways.

      Mac

    7. Re:but coding is hard! by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      ...but...but..that's dangerous to talk about, so tread lightly!

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    8. Re:but coding is hard! by Hal_Porter · · Score: 2

      Thank heavens I don't work for Google.

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    9. Re: but coding is hard! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And DOL said they were ok firing someone expressing those views. Hold your views close to yourself. If women are going to be propped up by this PC crap, rest assured i wont help them succeed above me. Team play goes out the window...

    10. Re: but coding is hard! by arth1 · · Score: 2

      Getting to write interesting code means that you will have put in years of learning the ins and outs and tricks and traps of modern coding - mastering this is a mostly solitary experience that demands a special mind-set.

      I would say that to be good, you also need to understand the tricks and traps of old fashioned coding which the new coding abstractions are built on top of. It's like the difference between a "new music" musician that pieces samples together and someone who also understands harmony and can create those samples.

    11. Re:but coding is hard! by Minupla · · Score: 3, Informative

      Interestingly there might be deep reasons why men are more prone to autism and aspergers

      Actually - it turns out that diagnosis presents differently in girls/women and that many (high functioning, although that term has been dropped from the DSM-V, I still use it to differentiate the set of people who have enough social communication skills to 'pass') ASD women get misdiagnosed, or go undiagnosed.

      There is some legitimate debate in the medical community if there is a biological basis for the difference in expression of the symptoms in autism in women, or if it comes form the fact that society, when faced with a non-socially-conforming female puts into place a social training regime that would make most intensive behavioral invention programs jealous, which works to lower the observable impact of the symptoms. As in most things, it's probably a bit of column A and a bit of column B.

      Since we don't know what causes Autism, it's difficult to say how prevalent it is in women. It's worth noting that the prevalence of diagnosed cases in women has increased over the years though, which absent a causal factor to increase its expression in women suggests that we are still coming to grips with the different symptoms in women.

      Some background reading for those interested:
      http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com...
      http://www.autism.org.uk/about...

      Source: I'm the father of a newly diagnosed ASD daughter, and research is how I deal with life. Please, if you have a child, male or female, and you suspect ASD, get them tested. If it's significant enough that you suspect it, it's also impacting their lives.

      My daughter was diagnosed years late because her pediatrician mistook the symptoms for shyness, and it wasn't until she was seen and tested by a specialist that we got the correct diagnosis.

      Min

      --
      On the whole, I find that I prefer Slashdot posts to twitter ones because I don't get limited to 140 chars before
    12. Re:but coding is hard! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why don't you work for Google? Did you speak up? ;-)

    13. Re: but coding is hard! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let's fork this thread, it no longer feels like a safe space.

    14. Re:but coding is hard! by nospam007 · · Score: 1

      "I think this is to turn out about as well as all the other initiatives to "teach kids to code"."

      They'll just sell the kids some crappy clothes to put on Barbie, so that she 'looks' like a programmer, together with a girly 'workstation' and other crap.

    15. Re: but coding is hard! by michelcolman · · Score: 1

      Or maybe it's this Barbie?
      (Barbie-obsessed mother is saving so her daughter, 13, can have surgery to look like the doll just like she did)

    16. Re: but coding is hard! by NicknameUnavailable · · Score: 1

      Coders are just mental prostitutes.

    17. Re:but coding is hard! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think you're looking at it wrong. Autism is defined by obsession at the expense of other things. Female autists tend to focus on what females focus on (socialization) and end up scary good at it, just like males tend to focus on tech and get scary good at that. There are inherent wiring differences between the two groups, both selected for by and further enforced by society, but it's gone on for so long it's in our genes now and isn't changing.

    18. Re:but coding is hard! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My daughter was diagnosed years late because her pediatrician mistook the symptoms for shyness, and it wasn't until she was seen and tested by a specialist that we got the correct diagnosis.

      Min

      Question: After "proper" diagnosis, did treatment improve her functioning? (I'm a little concerned about physiological classifications changing outcomes. Case in point, my son was an "active" youngster ("He squirms in class" - "Does he get his work done?" "Yes." "Does he disturb others?" "No") His teacher suggested medicating him for ADD, we said Hell no. He went to college on a scholarship and has started up and grown a new corporate engineering department since graduation. I'm not sure he would have done so as an a drug zombie(?)

    19. Re:but coding is hard! by Cederic · · Score: 1

      Autism is defined by obsession at the expense of other things.

      Is it fuck.

      A symptom of autism can be obsession on a specific thing, but it's not a defining trait, let alone mandatory or the key thing.

      Female autists tend to focus on what females focus on (socialization) and end up scary good at it

      Strange, my reading on the subject suggests that women get diagnosed less because they're better at faking the social engagement side.

      That's not 'scary good at it', that's 'hiding how fucking hard it is for them'.

      males tend to focus on tech and get scary good at that

      Stereotype much?

    20. Re:but coding is hard! by Cederic · · Score: 1

      Given that treatment for high functioning austism doesn't include any drugs, no zombification is likely to have happened.

      Diagnosis means easier understanding of what the fuck is going on, and thus ways to mitigate or prevent negative behaviours or outcomes. E.g. sensory overload can trigger very negative behaviours so identifying and minimising the overload can keep everybody happier.

      No drugs needed, just some awareness and common sense.

    21. Re:but coding is hard! by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 1

      The bigger issue is that people choose the path of least resistance. You aren't going to teach women to code as well as men simply because they can get a Hell of a lot further in life by learning how to put on a pushup bra and bat their eyes properly while giggling.

      A girl rejected you once, did she?

      I mean, seriously, you must be quite the charmer with the ladies.

    22. Re:but coding is hard! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Assburgers is a bullshit condition and was removed from the DSM-V for being nonexistent.

      numbnuts

    23. Re: but coding is hard! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      6 figures is scrapping by when you need to make up for a missing 40 hours a week of personal growth and development. Your thoughts not being your own while working is a serious issue, very few other professions outside of CEOs of major companies have that issue (e.g. people can think about other things, life problems, spiritualism, what to do on the weekend, whatever in just about every other job.) Even a 6 figure salary is "scraping by" in such a scenario because you have to be able to apply that salary toward making up for personal growth, which often you don't even get to do efficiently because a normal person has 8 hours a day of zombie-like inattentiveness in contrast to a programmer - during which time they are able to toss around what to do with it to utilize it most efficiently.

    24. Re: but coding is hard! by KingBenny · · Score: 1

      It does reek a bit of an image overhaul on the math is hard fiasco although i doubt anyone but tekkies still use that for teh lulz by now. What strikes me here is how "women" are considered one entity ... one size fits all, like "all women never have a secluded life", "there are no female shut-ins" ... etcetera ... that's a bit Trump-ish if you dont mind me taking the liberty of adding a few words to the Oxford dictionary. I'm not a fan of feminists since they are -ists and extremists and in most cases live in places where they can afford to be (lets exclude pussy riot and Malala from that for now ...) which hippocrists more like. but aside that ... Barbie as the face of coding ? does that come with Mattel-C ? I havent been paying much attention to a world that kept pushing me down for the last years since i dont see the point but last time i was talking to my 16 yo cousin he told me they are taught something called "scratch" at school under the pretense that it's IT and programming but from what he described its more like playing sokoban with a puzzle where you just need to put the right blocks in the right place ... i wasn't too keen on "environments" before since i feel they break connection with the machine (Von Neumann weeps) but that doesnt seem like coding at all really so im curious as to how Barbie will bring the nooze lol (and to the guy below : prostitution isnt illegal here in hellgium but it isnt legal either, it leaves the girls in a grey zone so all but the independent real expensive pros tend to be shaken for money or worse ... i personally think it should be legal since it is an inevitability everywhere. At least you can regulate some conditions , i mean why not, they regulate everything but co tax fro breathing and farthing -) ting good now before i get labelled off-topic .. moreover since coding on huge projects works in chunks i suppose these days its become more like a highly specialized craft where one lead-director oversees the main flowchart and a lot of little cogs write a lot of little chunks related to their personal area of expertise so, GOOD LUCK, BARBIE ! why dont you stick with pageants , darling, after all (i k now i know but i gotta ....) math is hard !

      --
      Free speech was meant to be free for all... how can anyone grow up in a nanny state ?
  2. Masters of the Universe by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Funny

    The SJWs are out to spoil absolutely everything. I've never heard anything more ridiculous than using Barbie to teach kids to code. Everyone knows that He-Man is the only doll that should ever be used for teaching kids to code. Barbie is only to be used as a companion for He-Man so he can relax a little after a hard day of coding, as God intended.

    [Note: I only use "doll" above in the generic sense, since technically, He-Man is an action figure. Barbie is a doll. And several studies have shown that women lack the upper body strength to code. It's a biological fact. ]

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
    1. Re:Masters of the Universe by RightwingNutjob · · Score: 0

      Try harder.

      Also, do you actually believe people think that way?

    2. Re:Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      obviously he's being sarcastic.

    3. Re: Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wooosh...

    4. Re: Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I preferred G.I. Joe. It's bad enough to play with dolls. Even worse to play with He-Man since he looks like a Chippendales dancer.

    5. Re:Masters of the Universe by Kokuyo · · Score: 2

      Don't worry, what you heard wasn't machine gun fire... only the jokes flying over your head. There were quite a few of them.

    6. Re:Masters of the Universe by invalid_user · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Interesting. You seem to think that geeks play with He-Man.

      LEGO, my dear SJW, LEGO is the geek's only friend. Notice that it has no gender. Nerd geek, babe geek, all geeks are welcome.

      He-Man, Barbie, are just tools to get SJWs all excited.

    7. Re:Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Huh? PopeRatzo was making fun of the anti-SJWs, of which RightwingNutjob is a notable voice for.

      They have been fighting that way since like, forever.

      Pardon me for not seeing what RightwingNutjob missed.

    8. Re: Masters of the Universe by c6gunner · · Score: 1

      You can't really expect Pope Nutso to understand anything about geeks. Only reason he ever wound up on this site is because he made some typos while googling "stash pot".

    9. Re:Masters of the Universe by dwywit · · Score: 1

      On the gripping hand, if you really want SJWs to salivate:

      http://www.feralcheryl.com.au/

      "nature girl Feral Cheryl remains the only doll with a map of Tassie." That's pubic hair for you in the northern hemisphere.

      --
      They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
    10. Re:Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You prove it every day.

    11. Re:Masters of the Universe by Krishnoid · · Score: 1

      Barbie is only to be used as a companion for He-Man so he can relax a little after a hard day of coding, as God intended.

      So they get together and hack together a couple Excel macros to take it easy? I'm good with that.

    12. Re:Masters of the Universe by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

      "nature girl Feral Cheryl remains the only doll with a map of Tassie." That's pubic hair for you in the northern hemisphere.

      Australians are so awesome. They say stuff you can't understand with great enthusiasm, like Louis Tully in Ghostbusters

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    13. Re:Masters of the Universe by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

      You're having as much fun with that straw man as you claim the geeks are having with He Men dolls.

      Also if geeks like He Men dolls they're probably more interested in having sex with Ken than they are with Barbie.

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    14. Re:Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He-Man is an action figure. Barbie is a doll.

      See, Barbie and He-Man clearly belong to different categories. Put the kids to list some examples belonging to these categories, and the all ways the dolls and action figures relate to each other, respectively. Then make them solve and patent the solution of diversity problems by mapping the problem to the doll and action figure categories. Then they can start learning Haskell.

    15. Re:Masters of the Universe by CustomSolvers2 · · Score: 1

      obviously he's being sarcastic.

      You would be surprised about how many people aren't able to properly understand almost any slightly complex idea. Most of them have an internet connection, are quite unaware about their poor understanding skills and, in some cases, "defend" their ridiculous misinterpretations in very aggressive, coward and even obsessive ways.

      --
      Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
    16. Re:Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And maybe, just maybe, they'll grow up one day too.

    17. Re:Masters of the Universe by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Ahem. Have you forgotten She-Ra, the classic Ms. Male Character counterpart of He-Man? I think she was his sister from another universe or something.

      And to be fair He-Man was the most powerful man in the universe. Technically he exists in the DC comic universe and has been shown to be stronger than even Superman, so no one can code as hard as that guy.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    18. Re:Masters of the Universe by CustomSolvers2 · · Score: 1

      And maybe, just maybe, they'll grow up one day too.

      This sounds nice and logical and sensible and how could it be otherwise?, etc. But then why there are so many problems and have always been so many problems in the world? Why fanaticism, unreasonably hate and prejudices exist? Why sensible, knowledgeable, calmed, long-term-focused people aren't ruling the world? Because the reality is that only a few people will learn from/take responsibility for their errors and will eventually grow up, but most of them will continue being stupid.

      The more we evolve and the better are the available resources (internet is potentially a huge deal on the knowledge sharing front), the less stupid we are likely to be. But it will still take a very long time before fanaticism, unmotivated fears, not-properly-understanding others or similar nonsense will be completely removed. So, I will better continue assuming that most of people aren't able to properly understand almost anything.

      --
      Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
    19. Re:Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      actually stupid people will reproduce and smart people will be like: 'oh there is downturn in economy i am gonna be waiting a few years' and then, suddenly, their egg is no longer viable for a baby and they have erectile dysfunction.

      TIme for smart people to understand that man and woman are not same. Because they are not, whole patriarchy and SJW thing falls flat on its face. No other culture exists where there is matriarchy. That means people are not equal.

      If they are, bigotry would work both ways. As feminists claim its always females who are oppressed, that means they are 'weaker'. Because you can only take advantage of weaker person, whenever in physical state or mental state or both. Otherwise man would also be oppressed in some cultures. Such cultures don't exist, or they are so retarded that they have 0 effect on this world.

      Think about it.

    20. Re:Masters of the Universe by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 1

      "a map of Tassie". That made my day

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    21. Re:Masters of the Universe by CustomSolvers2 · · Score: 1

      Think about it.

      I will better not do it. You are putting together some unreasonable prejudices, coming up with quite "curious" conclusions and apparently implying that anything of what you are saying has anything to do with my posts or the one to which I firstly replied, when this is clearly not the case. I simply highlighted that a big proportion of people, regardless of anything else, are pretty stupid in the sense of not being able to adequately understand relatively simple ideas like (theoretically) evident jokes. That's why I think that the original post "obviously he's being sarcastic." is likely to not be true for a big proportion of potential readers, unable to get the sarcasm without some additional help. BTW, are you getting the irony of me having to explain you what is going on here?

      --
      Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
    22. Re:Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Brogrammers don't let brogrammers use Barbie when teaching how to code to the max. These secret meetings involve much more than that, like goats, ex, maybe the occational Barbie, all into the secret bonfire!

      I could say more, but can't, as installed by brogrammer hypnotherapy.

    23. Re:Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Poe's law is a bitch!

    24. Re:Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You probably meant Exceletor macros.

    25. Re:Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't need upper body strength to code. You need the fortitude to swash bugs day in and day out. I for one will not tolerate a workplace where there is constant screaming from all the girls each time they come across a bug.

      Though once I'm promoted to manager, perhaps that'll be an effective way to keep the other engineers from creating bugs. Hmmm, more research is needed!

      Tea parties sitting around talking about code? I can't picture it. They should include water coolers in their kits if they want more women to go into business.

    26. Re:Masters of the Universe by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Feral, as in unable to speak? I'm not sure that would be appreciated by certain parties.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    27. Re:Masters of the Universe by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

      I think they may feral as in 'free roaming and sexually promiscuous'.

      Though as mean spirited conservative types have pointed out telling women they'll be happy if they behave like men and that sex before marriage is fine and telling men that chivalry is sexist may well have something to do with the fact that women are now complaining that drunken one night stands leave them feeling like they've been taken advantage of.

      I.e. the traditional ideal of no sex before marriage was there to protect women from cads. Once you deconstruct it those cads have free rein, which means they'll notch up a lot more victims than they would be able to in a more traditional society. And it's noticeable who all the actresses crying "MeToo" now were quite happy to cover for people like Weinstein until someone else outed him and took the career hit instead of them.

      So Rose McGowan spoke up and saw her career and party invites end. Meryl Streep called Weinstein 'God' until he was outed, confined her criticism to Trump is rooms full of Democrats and is still one of the in crowd.

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    28. Re:Masters of the Universe by JaxTheAxe · · Score: 0

      Try harder. Also, do you actually believe people think that way?

      Many users on here live in a nation where they are just coming around to the idea that converting your rifle into a machine gun with a bump stock isn't necessarily that good for public safety, So you may have a point.

    29. Re:Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you think there are alternative facts?

    30. Re:Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The SJWs are out to spoil absolutely everything. I've never heard anything more ridiculous than using Barbie to teach kids to code. Everyone knows that He-Man is the only doll that should ever be used for teaching kids to code. Barbie is only to be used as a companion for He-Man so he can relax a little after a hard day of coding, as God intended.

      [Note: I only use "doll" above in the generic sense, since technically, He-Man is an action figure. Barbie is a doll. And several studies have shown that women lack the upper body strength to code. It's a biological fact. ]

      I can't wait! I'm going to get fat, greasy nerd Barbie and all the accessories like Diet Coke and Potato Chip supply. And then after I save up my allowance, I'm going to get SJW Tranny Barbie. It comes with Purple hair, an attitude and the delusion it's female. Then I'll buy the post-op conversion kit to make it more life like! Fun for all the Millennials!

    31. Re:Masters of the Universe by RazorSharp · · Score: 1

      which means they'll notch up a lot more victims than they would be able to in a more traditional society

      Is that the one where women are subservient to their husbands? Did you know that Amish communities have huge problems with incestuous rape? Kind of like the whole Josh Duggar thing. When you try to sublimate sexual energy it gets misdirected. The traditional ideal of no sex before marriage didn't protect women from cads—it made them afraid to speak up when they were raped because part of that "traditional ideal" is that a non-virgin women is tainted. Guys like Weinstein aren't notching up more victims, their crimes are simply being exposed. Furthermore, one only has to point to Mississippi to see that a culture of abstinence before marriage leads to tons of teen pregnancies and premature marriages.

      Your defense of chivalry is equally appalling. Harvey Weinstein didn't rape a bunch of women because no one taught him some chivalric code growing up. A chivalrous society wouldn't have meant that some knight in shining armor would have stopped him from committing his crimes.

      While I agree that the pendulum has swung too far in the opposite direction—as illustrated by things like the Aziz Ansari case and tenuous Title IX cases brought about on college campuses—I think you misdiagnose the cause and your proposed solution would just be more problematic. It's a complicated issue, and antithetical to your point, part of the problem probably is that young people take sex too seriously and don't have enough of it.

      --
      "From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
    32. Re: Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, you're sewing all sorts of stupid. No one said "let's have a society where women can't vote, Drive, or have their own bank account".

      His obvious point which you intentionally missed is that hookup culture is bad for women. How is that not super obvious?

    33. Re:Masters of the Universe by M0j0_j0j0 · · Score: 1

      Don't be like that, Barbie has a place in the Testing Team!

    34. Re: Masters of the Universe by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

      Exactly.

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    35. Re:Masters of the Universe by magzteel · · Score: 1

      Many users on here live in a nation where they are just coming around to the idea that converting your rifle into a machine gun with a bump stock isn't necessarily that good for public safety

      We live in a nation that allows one to do lots of things that aren't good for public safety. So what?

    36. Re:Masters of the Universe by kenh · · Score: 1

      You would be surprised about how many people aren't able to properly understand almost any slightly complex idea. Most of them have an internet connection, are quite unaware about their poor understanding skills and, in some cases, "defend" their ridiculous misinterpretations in very aggressive, coward and even obsessive ways.

      And yet, only YOU brought it up as even possibly being serious...

      --
      Ken
    37. Re:Masters of the Universe by kenh · · Score: 1

      That's why I think that the original post "obviously he's being sarcastic." is likely to not be true for a big proportion of potential readers, unable to get the sarcasm without some additional help.

      And still, only you, out of the tens of thousands of readers of Slashdot, is holding out the possibility that someone may believe the post wasn't sarcastic, but serious.

      BTW, are you getting the irony of me having to explain you what is going on here?

      We all noticed you are working very hard to convince us that someone - not you, but someone - might take the comment serious? Imagining someone is more gullible than you, more sexist, more biased than you doesn't make you less gullible, sexist, or less biased.

      The "big proportion" you seem to imagine only, apparently, lives in your mind - or are incapable of clicking submit as Anonymous Coward.

      --
      Ken
    38. Re:Masters of the Universe by CustomSolvers2 · · Score: 1

      And yet, only YOU brought it up as even possibly being serious...

      ???!!!! Where have you got from that I have even slightly implied that a so evident joke should be taken seriously by anyone? I said that there are many stupid (a group to which you seem to belong) unable to understand ideas as simple as that. My comment was mainly targeting the obviously part, obvious for me and for that poster, but not for many other individuals. Like the intention of my clarification, extremely evident but apparently too difficult for you.

      --
      Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
    39. Re:Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > He-Man is an action figure. Barbie is a doll.

      But she has a figure made for action? Just ask Ken!

    40. Re:Masters of the Universe by CustomSolvers2 · · Score: 1

      is holding out the possibility that someone may believe the post wasn't sarcastic, but serious.

      I have met lots of people having problems to understand way simpler statements. You are actually not understanding my position and reacting unreasonably aggressively to an in-principle-not-going-with-you generic statement, so you are kind of proving my point of lots of people with lots of understanding problems everywhere.

      We all noticed

      Aren't you just one person or do you have a multiple personality disorder or are you simply in completely denial and think that everyone else around you have the same understanding/behaviours problems that you have? I have been visiting Slashdot for a while now and I am quite sure that your unreasonably aggressiveness and lack of understanding isn't the standard here. You seem more like an exception, at least among the logged-in users.

      to convince us

      Convincing you (all)?! LOL. You are definitively in denial, the sub-version misinterpreting explanations as excuses to their self-elevated authorities whose agreement have to be obtained. LOL. Just FYI, I mostly explain to those who I consider that aren't able to understand by their own, not for convincing (you try to convince authorities which you recognise as such and whose decisions are relevant to you; in my case, this happens with people who, at least, are able to understand what I consider basic without help) but helping them.

      someone - not you, but someone - might take the comment serious?

      So, you are saying that my first comment was my alibi, right? Like these people not understanding something and just repeating what others say to look smart (an expression which I have always found very funny, almost sitcom material) or attacking those using many words or something like that, right? LOL. Nothing of that applies to me. I don't care about others' absolute opinions/validation, but about dealing with people able to get involved in sensible conversations, to objectively understand, etc. I don't lie. I don't do anything to show whatever. All what I say is meant to be understood exactly as per my evident intention. If you have any doubt, you can ask me and I would tell you exactly what I meant. Nothing to interpret. No hidden meanings.

      Imagining someone is more gullible than you, more sexist, more biased than you doesn't make you less gullible, sexist, or less biased.

      Where have I said anything against that evident (at least for me) statement? I am not sexist or biased, at least not in a relevant conscious way. I think that I am pretty much the opposite than gullible in general, but I guess that, under the right conditions, everyone is a bit gullible. But no idea what has this to do with what I said. Again you want to see non-existing meaning from my quite straightforwards words.

      The "big proportion" you seem to imagine only, apparently, lives in your mind

      Most of people are intelligent, sensible, logical, practical, etc.? The world is a marvelous place where everyone understands everything properly? Most of people make excellent decisions, don't have unreasonable feelings like hate or fear unless under well justified conditions, take responsibility of all what they provoke by themselves without blaming anyone else? I see it now! I was so blind! LOL. You are a workbook sample of the kind of personality which will ever have anything to do with me! This is the softest version I can come up with to describe your "peculiarities".

      or are incapable of clicking submit as Anonymous Coward.

      LOL. First of all, I have never ever posted anonymously here or anywhere else, not for something that I care. No idea what is the matter with some people (very intelligent and secure all of them. LOL) and doing-crazy-things-because-nobody-knows-it-is-you. I have never had that need in any contex

      --
      Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
    41. Re:Masters of the Universe by CustomSolvers2 · · Score: 1

      I meant "You are a workbook sample of the kind of personality which will never have anything to do with me!" rather than "You are a workbook sample of the kind of personality which will ever have anything to do with me".

      There are other (irrelevant) mistakes, but I only clarify this one to make sure that Ken or similar don't think that I want to have anything to do with them.

      --
      Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
    42. Re: Masters of the Universe by RazorSharp · · Score: 1

      And my obvious point was that the demonization of hookup culture is what has led to the younger generations being a bunch of sexual prudes who have biological urges that are unhealthily being restricted.

      --
      "From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
    43. Re:Masters of the Universe by CustomSolvers2 · · Score: 1

      Thanks to Ken in this sub-thread, I realised that that the parent comment might still be a bit confusing for some people. So, I clarify that all my plural references (e.g., "The more we evolve") were meant to refer to the whole human kind. Logically, I am included in that group and that's why I am part of that "we"; but also logically I am not including myself within the stupids subset.

      --
      Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
    44. Re:Masters of the Universe by soc_cost_priv_gains · · Score: 1

      What you really want is Asian Barbie. She can code and has the looks. In fact, there is a real-life one where I work.

    45. Re: Masters of the Universe by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      I preferred G.I. Joe. It's bad enough to play with dolls. Even worse to play with He-Man since he looks like a Chippendales dancer.

      G.I. Joe looked like a member of the Village People, which I will admit is a step up from a Chippendales dancer.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    46. Re:Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have been visiting Slashdot for a while now and I am quite sure that your unreasonably aggressiveness and lack of understanding isn't the standard here. You seem more like an exception, at least among the logged-in users.

      No, kenh is rather common and unexceptional, to the point of banality.

      And not just on Slashdot, or the Internet, but across the world at large.

    47. Re: Masters of the Universe by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

      Delayed gratification is a good thing.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    48. Re:Masters of the Universe by CustomSolvers2 · · Score: 1

      No, kenh is rather common and unexceptional, to the point of banality. And not just on Slashdot, or the Internet, but across the world at large.

      Perhaps you are right and this is pretty much the reason why I will better stop posting in Slashdot (and even in internet in general). Just for a while, forever, who knows for sure? I am fine with having lots of problems to find people able and willing to properly understand, but getting systematically involved in ridiculous conversations between what I say and the craziest misinterpretations of my words is starting to be too tiring. And the best part is that I don't need to tolerate anything of that!

      I have always been after the same: finding people seeing the world as I do. I have tried to help and to contribute to what I think that is better for the highest number of people, but always by accepting that some people might not want to change. Don't you like how I think? No problem. Just avoid dealing with me. I have over-explained way much more than required; but aggressive, self-invited, in-denial individuals keep coming to me with their unreasonable concerns. Why continuing, then? To get involved in 2-3 kind-of-sensible-but-not-precisely-marvellous discussions and then a completely crazy one? This doesn't seem worthy to me.

      --
      Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
    49. Re: Masters of the Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bob Saget used to have a line in his act about his daughter getting a doll where they mistakenly put a male head on a female body.

      "They should have called it 'G.I. Don't Know.'"

    50. Re:Masters of the Universe by ebvwfbw · · Score: 1

      You would be surprised about how many people aren't able to properly understand almost any slightly complex idea. Most of them have an internet connection, are quite unaware about their poor understanding skills and, in some cases, "defend" their ridiculous misinterpretations in very aggressive, coward and even obsessive ways.

      Yes, so much yes. I know people that can't do an analogy worth crap. Even simple stuff blows right over them.

      However maybe this fits into what they've done to Boys. After all, when I was growing up we were going to be Astronaughts! Go to far away places... kick their asses (Just kidding). Now kids born when we were going to the Moon are now middle aged and will never get into an orbit. Want to be an astronaught - forgetaboutit kid. You'll never make it. There are probably a million other people, including foreigners in front of you.

    51. Re:Masters of the Universe by CustomSolvers2 · · Score: 1

      Reaching a point where you actually can and are willing to properly understand others in almost any scenario (= becoming sensible, knowledgeable, understanding, etc.) is and has always been reserved to the few. It isn't just about jokes, sharp remarks or intuitively recognising when someone is trying to trick you, but about pretty much everything. Also about becoming properly-speaking adults accepting themselves, what they have/can, taking responsibility for their own mistakes, etc. Under exactly the same conditions, some people will deliver better outputs than others. The problem now, mainly in internet, is the huge visibility that everything and everyone has; even worse: the appearance of new waves of fanaticism in the form of trends, manipulation, people repeating over and over pure nonsense. Having immediate access to so much knowledge can be overwhelming for a big number of people or avoid them to properly accept themselves/the world.

      The higher the availability of resources of all kinds, the lower the restrictions/borders, the more likely that more people will be able to learn more and better, to understand what they want and get it. Unfortunately, internet isn't a non-profit only looking for improving everyone's lives, but pretty much the opposite: the most heartless, aggressively capitalist system (or, at least, enabler) ever created. Apparently, one of the most efficient proceedings to get benefits no matter what is telling people what they want to hear. And a big number of people seems to be mostly interested in hearing how intelligent they are, how well they do everything, how special they are, how easily they could reach anything with no effort and, mainly, that every problem is some else's fault. Internet does allow to accomplish many things which were impossible years ago, but the required effort to convert that opportunity into reality will always be there. A big number of people seem to have forgotten about that. Also internet gives voice to lots of individuals about whom almost nobody would have heard otherwise.

      Note that I personally find much more serious understanding problems among younger people (I am almost 40 myself). Some older people might have a bit outdated ideas and problems to adapt to the modern world, but properly speaking/self-aware adults are rarely the problem (and reaching that stage, although not directly/necessarily related to age, is usually associated with time, having made lots of errors, etc.). Easily-manipulable young (again not meaning just age) people are good targets for lost (and/or egoist, greedy, with lacks on many fronts) individuals and expectations making them enter into the stupid sub-level that, hopefully, some of them will eventually leave.

      TL;DR: the resources (to be happy, to be knowledgeable, to be self aware, to virtually everything) are better than ever before, but also the visibility and the easy/stupid-making/fanatic alternatives. As they say: with great power comes great responsibility.

      --
      Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
    52. Re:Masters of the Universe by CustomSolvers2 · · Score: 1

      Perhaps my previous post wasn't too clear on this front, so I will better highlight that I consider your sexist remark (boys/men different than girls/women) pointless. I personally treat everyone identically regardless of their generic features. But if you want me to rely on some generic prejudices, I would say that a big proportion of women (at least, during the last years and within western countries) might easily deliver my aforementioned "ridiculous misinterpretations in very aggressive, coward and even obsessive ways". As far as you seem to like generic-prejudices-based communication, I guess that you shouldn't mind me saying that women tend to blindly apply/defend the status quo rather than critically understanding specific scenarios. Men do certainly tend to be more aggressive, but also straightforward and confident what might be quite helpful when trying to understand others. These generic features seem even more accentuated in older generations: men being more aggressive and (in many cases, unmotivatedly) confident about their positions; and women more focused on blindly (and not always directly/openly) defending whatever they think that is right rather than on properly understanding. Or, by relying on an example like yours, what do all those girls who grew dreaming about becoming Jackie Kennedy or Princess Diana and gradually realised that their lives will never be like that? Accept their responsibility, try to enjoy what they have/improve it or get unreasonably frustrated and try to blame someone else?

      As said, the aforementioned ideas don't represent what I think, just what I consider a reasonably good generic-prejudice-based counterpoint to your post. I consider equally invalid any opinion based on whatever generic features which I (don't) have. I am a man, but there are many men with whom I share pretty much nothing. There are also many people in their 30s-40s having nothing to do with me. Similar ideas apply to my country-(wo)men (Spain) and to those sharing my race (white), level of education (university), career (programming/engineering), etc. Since my first post in this thread, I referred to stupid people, not to men/women, old/young, sexists/tolerant, etc. I only said that there are lots of people with serious understanding problems and all the replies seemed to have confirmed that initial point.

      --
      Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
  3. pay attention slashdot admins! by c6gunner · · Score: 2

    Your demographics are changing ... better bring back the OMG Ponies! theme.

    1. Re:pay attention slashdot admins! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      better bring back the OMG Ponies! theme.

      That one hope is the only reason I keep coming back to this shit show every day.

    2. Re:pay attention slashdot admins! by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

      Has anyone else noticed that slashdot doesn't work so good these days?

      The site is frequently down - either completely or everything but the nginx reverse proxy. You click on your user page and you don't see the latest comments. It tells you you have messages, you click on them and it says it can't find them. The database is clearly inconsistent.

      It's like the people who knew how to get the abomination of Apache, Perl scripts, MySQL and nginx working again when it fell over have all left.

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    3. Re:pay attention slashdot admins! by jawtheshark · · Score: 1

      Yes. Yesterday was bad. Today, I haven't seen any errors.

      --
      Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
    4. Re:pay attention slashdot admins! by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

      If I look at my user page

      https://slashdot.org/~Hal_Port...

      The most recent comment I can see is from yesterday

      https://imgur.com/a/68y2T

      And yet obviously the comment you responded to from today exists.

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    5. Re:pay attention slashdot admins! by jawtheshark · · Score: 1

      I have one like those too. I doubt they will fix those. At least I don't get nginx errors any more.

      --
      Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
    6. Re:pay attention slashdot admins! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe Barbie was doing updates to the code.

  4. "From the report" by RightwingNutjob · · Score: 1, Insightful

    It's not a report. It's an article. A "reporter" may write the article, but unless it's a specially commissioned document and not one of many articles in a periodical publication, it isn't a "report."

    BeauHD and msmash have been hitting the copy-paste just about every story and calling TFA a "report" for the past week or so.

    1. Re:"From the report" by RazorSharp · · Score: 1

      It's not a report. It's an article. A "reporter" may write the article, but unless it's a specially commissioned document and not one of many articles in a periodical publication, it isn't a "report."

      Pedantry at its finest. In the colloquial sense, their use of the word "report" is fine.

      OED:

      a spoken or written description of an event or situation, especially one intended for publication or broadcasting in the media:

      QED

      --
      "From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
  5. What about the boys? by Kohlrabi82 · · Score: 1

    Next up, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles teach boys how to knit.

    1. Re:What about the boys? by Krishnoid · · Score: 1

      Or something more in their bailiwick?

    2. Re:What about the boys? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why would you teach something only to boys and leave girls out? It is not fair to do that.

    3. Re:What about the boys? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I didn't see those during our obligatory crafts and machine sewing course during the time when the girls were doing their obligatory woodwork. Showing the cartoon heroes fixing their equipment and clothes after combat might be good motivational images for little boys and girls.

    4. Re:What about the boys? by GonzoPhysicist · · Score: 1

      It's funny you say that but part of how I learned to sew as a kid was by making ninja outfits for my action figures.

      --
      horror vacui
  6. H1B Barbie by Templer421 · · Score: 5, Funny

    California Barbie has to train H1B Barbie so she can take California Barbies job back to India.

    1. Re: H1B Barbie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Will H1B Barbie still have blonde hair and pale skin?

    2. Re: H1B Barbie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Often the "trainee" sent onsite to learn what the outsource company needs to provide is Very anglo. it keeps conflict with the poor rubes being shitcanned next month to a minimum.

    3. Re:H1B Barbie by houghi · · Score: 1

      California Barbie has to train H1B Barbie so she can take California Barbies job back to India.

      Is "H1B" the HEX code for brown?

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    4. Re: H1B Barbie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course! This is the 21st century! We're in the woke era! Everybody can be an Aryan now!

    5. Re:H1B Barbie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      While California Ken mentors the H1B Ken watching the California Barbie watching the performance of the H1B Barbie, who is afraid that her job will be outsourced from India to Vietnam Ken.

    6. Re:H1B Barbie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      H1B could not possibly be hex, you apocalyptic moron.

    7. Re:H1B Barbie by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Well, it could be hex for 27, which would be something like #4488ff in a reduced 64-color palette. Seems blueish, though.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    8. Re:H1B Barbie by mario6915 · · Score: 0

      HAHAHAHA, comedy gold.

    9. Re: H1B Barbie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      H1B Barbie will be quickly fired if she has blond hair and pale skin. That can't be tolerated.

    10. Re:H1B Barbie by magzteel · · Score: 2

      H1B is a dog whistle for the rabidly unqualified white male cheetos eating group that is bitter about having their jobs taken by an Indian guy who vastly more qualified than the cheetos eaters.

      Cheetos are available in India too, moron.
      Here there are on Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/Fritolay...
      Vegetarian product, guaranteed one-day delivery to Mumbai

  7. Barbie: I want to be a software engineer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hopefully it'll work out better than that book.

  8. Nobody will need to learn to code by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

    Computers will code themselves before your kids have a chance to finish college.
    Hopefully it works out OK for you all, because coders like me will be retired and too burned out to fix the AI once we unleash it onto the world.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    1. Re: Nobody will need to learn to code by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Lighten up Francis.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    2. Re:Nobody will need to learn to code by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      Computers will code themselves before your kids have a chance to finish college.

      They already do. Back in the 1950s someone invented the idea of an autocoder whch does the coding for you automatically. They became known as compilers.

      There's been an absolute hail of tools for computers to get computers to do more and more of programming over the last 70 years, and with a huge degree of success. It's certainly not retuced the number of programmers.

      AI has so far shown no mechanisms to replace the fundamentally human part which is to figure out what the human comissioning the code actually wants and turning it into something formal.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    3. Re: Nobody will need to learn to code by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This sounds like something the CEO of Uber expects to happen in 5-10 years...

    4. Re:Nobody will need to learn to code by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Compilers do not design new programs, they merely translate code from human readable form into machine executable form. So no, compilers don't create meaningful pieces of software on their own initiative, they only do the repetitive work of translating logic of one form into the exact same logic in a different form.

    5. Re:Nobody will need to learn to code by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, right. There is no evidence of that happening, ever. You read too many press releases. We can barely create functional software to traditional way.

    6. Re:Nobody will need to learn to code by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      And yet, it was called "automatic programming". Of course once that was done, the bar for human programming simply shifted higher and "automatic programming" would now involve parsing more declarative specifications. One man's "how" is another man's "what", that's all the difference. And one could argue that there are (currently) isolated islands of activities where computers have potential for creativity, such as superoptimization.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    7. Re:Nobody will need to learn to code by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

      AI has so far shown no mechanisms to replace the fundamentally human part which is to figure out what the human comissioning the code actually wants and turning it into something formal.

      Yep.

      Sure, AI will code for us, sure. But ... we'll need some kind of symbolic language to issue precise instructions to the AI, to encode the logic we actually want to happen.

      Oh, wait ...

    8. Re: Nobody will need to learn to code by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People said the same about airplanes. We went from experiments with paperweight to regularly chartered commercial flights in a span of 30 years.

      Well see more and more AI researcher jobs. Where one person managing a dataset can produce as much work as 10 or more traditional programmers.

      If your company is still making buggy whips, now is the time to make some serious contingency plans.

    9. Re:Nobody will need to learn to code by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      In theory these higher level languages are a work multiplier. It takes fewer programmers to finish larger projects. Theoretically to have the same productivity we will need fewer programmers in the future. What isn't clear is if more software will need to be produced, or if the current levels of production will be sufficient in the future. If we remain the same, then we can expect the number of jobs for programmers to decrease.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    10. Re: Nobody will need to learn to code by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      So what? CEOs have collectively made every combination of predictions.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  9. Re:Barbie Programming? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let me write it for her already. No need the legs, I can imagine things.

  10. how about by Tsolias · · Score: 4, Insightful

    a barbie coal miner? plumber? garbage collector? mechanic? truck driver?
    not good argument?
    how about this: stop raising your children based on your inferiority complexes
    someone might say "Hey stupid, they are teaching kids something useful!" Well, they don't. Programming is a métier. It's the same as plumbing, wood crafting, smithing, e.t.c.. It's like teaching your kid to be an employee. Why don't they make barbie teach kids physics? math? astronomy? chemistry? literature? music? Because there's an inferiority complex and they feel that little girls' whole purpose from now on is to mimic/copy/compete nerd boys who suffer their whole life with their anti-social occupation and habits.

    1. Re: how about by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Challenge accepted! Here's my vision of Plumber Barbie.

      She wears a cute outfit consisting of a blue collar button-up shirt tied in a bow above her belly, Daisy Duke style, with her name on her chest. But you can't read the name tag too well on account of the bulging cleavage. Rounded off with short shorts and a thong across her plumber's crack.

      Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail and her cheeks have dainty smudges of grease to prove she's a hard working girl who gets things done.

      Her hobbies are: shopping (for tools), texting (her co-workers about upcoming jobs), and hanging out with fellow plumber Ken between jobs.

      She doesn't know what all these pipes and valves are for *giggle*. But her dad was a plumber, so she'll try her best to make him proud.

    2. Re: how about by c6gunner · · Score: 2

      Pretty sure I've seen that story on PornHub.

    3. Re: how about by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You might be confusing this with Pipe Cleaner Barbie or perhaps Strapon Barbie (who really lays pipe). Plumber Barbie is totally different.

    4. Re: how about by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

      I'll clean her pipes for her.

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
  11. Re:Barbie Programming? by Tsolias · · Score: 4, Funny

    -Daddy?
    -Yes, dear.
    -Daddy, why does the compiler throw those warnings?
    -Drink your milk and go to bed. Daddy will fix the code later.

  12. Barbie will be used ... by houghi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    to make more money for Mattell.

    --
    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    1. Re: Barbie will be used ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In other words, Barbie's one true profession is prostitution; on account of how often Mattel keeps pimping her out.

    2. Re: Barbie will be used ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In other words, Barbie's one true profession is prostitution; on account of how often Mattel keeps pimping her out.

      Mattel the Pimp. Has a nice ring to it.

    3. Re:Barbie will be used ... by tommeke100 · · Score: 1

      That's what I was thinking. This is not about coding. It's about Barbie everywhere. This is just subsidized free advertisement.

  13. It's a great idea! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just like a box of Lego can turn a kid into a future engineer, many pre-schools will stock up on those Barbies to give an edge to the kids and thus increase enrollment prices for the extra feel-good value. A win-win for everyone!

  14. Patience by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    I told you not to use go-to's.

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  15. Maths is HARD! Unlike KEN! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Barbie!!

  16. Teach them how to code Postscript. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    About as valuable of a skill as any other coding skill...

    1. Re:Teach them how to code Postscript. by gweihir · · Score: 1

      Actually, PostScript is pretty interesting and teaches you some things you usually do not learn when coding. It is decidedly not for beginners though.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  17. Hope this attempt is better than the 2010 book... by stair69 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    https://www.dailydot.com/parse... The "Barbie: I can be a computer engineer" book showed her having to ask the boys in her class to code a game for her because she wasn't able to! Not a great message for her fans.

  18. Re: Hope this attempt is better than the 2010 book by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A realistic one, though.

  19. Woman are awarded more than 60% of diplomas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Woman are awarded more than 60% of diplomas. It is a complete injustice that they are not awarded more diplomas in every sub-domains. Woman needs help for sure.

    1. Re:Woman are awarded more than 60% of diplomas by Cederic · · Score: 1

      You appear to have just assumed that Barbie is for girls.

    2. Re:Woman are awarded more than 60% of diplomas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds more like the problem is that men need help with moving out of their mother's basement, putting down the video games and completing their degree in something more useful than professional jerking off.

      But nah, its all the fault of women and H1Bs, brother!

    3. Re:Woman are awarded more than 60% of diplomas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      See, what he won't tell you is, he has a Barbie doll he likes to grease up and put up his ass. A normal /. user would normally do this with a Yoda doll. He's been a little triggered over the thoughts of a girl playing with a Barbie doll, he's had to go on some sad rant about how someone else is trying harder than he is(and probably whines about how much of a "NICE GUY" he is and how he can't get dates).

    4. Re:Woman are awarded more than 60% of diplomas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Girls need help to stay in their father basement to learn to code. But why does it sound so bad #metoo?

    5. Re:Woman are awarded more than 60% of diplomas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How many of them are liberal arts social studies degrees? "A degree is a degree!" Um, no, sweetie.

  20. Hooe she writes a barbie browser by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So we can have a browser with powerful extentions again.

  21. The same Barbie that got two men to code for her? by gweihir · · Score: 1

    For example documented here: https://gizmodo.com/barbie-f-c...

    --
    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  22. Smurfs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Of course, it must be Smurfs to teach javascript.

  23. "kids" = "girls" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why didn't the summary use the word "girls"? Because they think we're idiots, that's why. More anti-male bullshit from the powers that be.
    Men are the programmers, men design and manufacture CPUs and all other computer chips. Men. Not women.

  24. I'd rather learn from a pro wrestler by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This guy sounds like he knows how to code.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLHL75H_VEM

  25. Compulsory reference by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    on Barbie's code qualities...

    1. Re:Compulsory reference by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Barbie will make a great computer engineer's boss. As seen by the CEO.

  26. Just treat coding as a core curriculum subject by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Like Math, English, History, and Science.

    Coding directly impacts nearly every part of their adult lives. For the same reason why we learn basic biology, a fundamental background in coding will help kids have an appreciation and understanding for computer sciences. At the very least, we help develop kids further away from the Derek Zoolander "the files are in the computer?" kind of people.

    I deal with those people regularly. Trust me, its not fun. even worse, sometimes they have titles, and reserved parking spaces.

    I'm a little annoyed this is shrink wrapped with a corporate sponsor, but whatever, that's missing the forest for the trees.

  27. Hi I'm an SJW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Both He-man and Barbie are not gender non-binary enough for me. I'm out!

    LGBQXDF234DF$SGX

  28. Re:Hope this attempt is better than the 2010 book. by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    I've always found it funny how nothing in the book has actually anything to do with computer engineering.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  29. Haven't we seen this before? by hubang · · Score: 1

    I sure hope they do better than last time...

  30. As the hacked Talking Barbies said about... by Gojira+Shipi-Taro · · Score: 1

    a decade ago...

    "Math is HARD! Let's go shopping!"

    --
    "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
    1. Re:As the hacked Talking Barbies said about... by Megane · · Score: 1

      Recursion is hard! (see Recursion)

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
  31. Math class is tough! by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    Math class is tough!

  32. don't forget welfare ken that works the system by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    don't forget welfare ken that works the system after being layed off.

  33. Oblig by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    While Ken investigates exciting careers in nursing and homemaking!

  34. Nah, Coding Barbie is complete. She now says by sabbede · · Score: 1

    "Coding is NP hard."

  35. Barbie Considered Harmful by thegreatbob · · Score: 1

    I kid, and am bad at making jokes, but perhaps someone can run with that subject line...

    --
    There is no XUL, only WebExtensions...
  36. Barbie will be used to teach GIRLS to code by mario6915 · · Score: 0

    No-self respecting little boy likes barbie... they aren't going to want to learn shit about programming if it has anything to do with Barbie. This is either a retarded idea, or a completely genius and underhanded way to try to bolster females only under the guise of inclusivity.

    1. Re:Barbie Will Be Used To Teach Girls To Code by ebvwfbw · · Score: 1

      Don't worry about that. CS is tough. The few women in CS are like rock stars, especially if they actually know what they're doing. It'll always be a male dom area because it's tough. It takes work and people don't do it unless they have to. Women don't have to.

  37. Re:The same Barbie that got two men to code for he by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is it inconceivable that Barbie could have been just starting in the computer industry and the men happened to be more experienced? They don't tell us the back story so one can only guess. But if you want to get your panties in a knot over it, go for it.

  38. more than one way to learn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I read a few comments here. I want to focus on the one discuss 'our' learning experience. "no options, no friends, etc other than to sit alone in a room for years learning."

    I personally done some of that. But during my time at school, I learnt thru competition in the computer lab. These are friendly competitions, and I had friends. But I lost them all, some of them become very specialized, and move outside of my comfort zone, and some of them lost interest and do something else entirely. To recapture these friendship thru competition, some peoples created hackathon.

    So, learning how to code can be a group activity, or even a sort of team sport. We just need to somehow bump into it. I think we should listen and see if they can come up with a better way to 'learn', unless you are afraid to "learn like a girl".

  39. What about boys? by JustNiz · · Score: 1

    Apparently Mattel still thinks its OK to discriminate and only provide help and support based on gender.

    1. Re:What about boys? by ebvwfbw · · Score: 1

      Absolutely. You see, boys, especially white boys don't need any support. We're superior by design, intelligence, build, you name it. Before you (not necessarily the guy I'm responding to) come back with some snarky remark, the data is very much out there and there's no defending your side. Why else do we have to have help for women, people of other races and so on? They're admitting they're inferior.

      Otherwise as Morgan Freeman said - the best way to stop discrimination is to - stop it. No more set asides for black people, women, etc. No more special help for them either. Suck it up, you are not a victim. It's life. Deal with it like white men have to.

      Imagine if all the professors and crazy people that keep this stuff alive have to actually get a real job rather than making social problems all over the place.

  40. By making boneheaded CEO moves by RogueWarrior65 · · Score: 1

    i.e. acquiring The Learning Company

  41. Barbie can be used to teach all sorts of things by mark_reh · · Score: 1

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  42. Good idea, wrong language by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm a primary school IT teacher and I like that the world of coding is in some way made more "attractive" to young kids.

    However I don't like this continuous push in favor of Swift (a chiefly Apple development platform)

    1. Re:Good idea, wrong language by itsdapead · · Score: 1

      However I don't like this continuous push in favor of Swift (a chiefly Apple development platform)

      I think the one thing that is most likely to thwart efforts to get coding on the school curriculum is the cursed language wars. Get them coding. Apple have some nice tools for learning Swift interactively. Anybody who turns out to have an otherwise undiscovered aptitude for it will have no difficulty learning other languages before they start looking for coding jobs. Everybody else will just learn a bit about computers and maybe relate it to how you can use mathematics to do useful things and planning/organisation skills.

      --
      In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
    2. Re:Good idea, wrong language by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What was wrong with LOGO anyways as a starting language. Or hell, BASIC for that matter.

      Or if you prefer car analogies:

      Learning Swift, Python or other more advanced languages is like trying to learn how to drive a Formula 1 car when you have your learners permit and have never driven a car before. When what really you need to be driving the Honda Civic or something. Something a bit less...overwhelming for the newbie.

  43. I'll say it again, you can't teach artisan by holophrastic · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If you're trying to raise your child to be the next blue-collar peon, then by all means this is how to do it. You can teach "coding", and they'll get paid minimum-wage to "code".

    This is precisely the same as painting. You can teach your child to paint, and they'll be able to paint walls.

    But you can't teach creativity, creative innovation, nor artistic creative innovation -- that means problem solving.

    I don't think that you'll find an experienced programmer, successful and senior and making real money, who isn't mostly self-taught.

    Humans learn problem solving in the only manner than any living thing has ever learned problem solving skills -- by having problems and fighting with them until someone wins.

    If girls don't have the patience, or the dedication, or the motivation, or the self esteem to work a problem alone, until it's gone. . .if a person insists on direct hand-holding (as opposed to documentation or occasional guidance) to work out a solution to a problem affecting them. . .then this ain't a'gonna be their day-job, so to speak. This ain't their forte.

    In the past two weeks, I've watched girls take the "shallow side" of the mountain in slope-style, get lifted in skating, and basically do push-ups from their knees -- a.k.a. "girlie push-ups". I'm no athlete, I sit at a desk 80 hours a week, but when I go to the gym next to the jocks, I play the same game they do. There's a mutual respect in that. When I golf (I don't golf) I play from the same tees as the regular golfers (the ladies tees are in-front of the amateurs, by the way).

    Women don't deserve equal respect for playing a dumbed-down version, just like they wouldn't deserve equal pay for dumbed-down work.

    I've recently been convinced that all of this is engrained into girls at a young age -- that they aren't as good as men, aren't as strong as men, aren't as fast as men. I have no idea if that's true of gladiator men, or hockey playing men, but I promise you that most women are faster and stronger than I am.

    But I wasn't raised by Barbie. I was raised by Mr. Wizard. Maybe the hockey playing men were raised by G.I. Joe?

    I am impressed by Barbie today though. She's come a long way. You wouldn't expect coding from someone who used to think that "math is hard".

    1. Re:I'll say it again, you can't teach artisan by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 1

      But you can't teach creativity, creative innovation, nor artistic creative innovation

      What?

    2. Re:I'll say it again, you can't teach artisan by GonzoPhysicist · · Score: 1

      But you can't teach creativity, creative innovation, nor artistic creative innovation -- that means problem solving.

      Sure you can. It's not learned the same way as math or history but exposure and practice definitely can improve those skills.They are not inherent, immutable, or absolute.

      --
      horror vacui
  44. Will it cost more than the McDonald's Barbie? by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    I experienced this first hand when my kid was young. The "Doctor" Barbie sets cost more than the McDonald's sets. I didn't really noticed it until it was pointed out to me by one of those SJW type sites, but it's one of those things you can't unsee when you see it. I haven't had to buy Barbie in years though and I wonder if the bad press made them stop doing it. Still annoyed the hell out of me (as did paying $200 for a cheap plastic doll house because I suck at wood work).

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  45. Re:Barbie Programming? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Dad, can you help me with my project that's due tomorrow?"

    "Sure, honey, what is it?"

    "We're supposed to write a RESTful Web app using node and MongoDB that is webscale and conformant."

    "I see. How about an Alka-Seltzer volcano instead..?"

  46. Re:Hope this attempt is better than the 2010 book. by Dragonslicer · · Score: 2

    If you replace "computer engineer" with "software engineer", the premise isn't quite as stupid as it seems at first. The software engineer's role is to make high-level technical decisions and tell the programmers what to write. In many companies, though, programmers are given the title "software engineer" and the people doing the high-level engineering are given titles like "software architect".

    In that book, Barbie is the manager or lead engineer and the boys are the programmers. Whether or not Barbie is portrayed as a competent manager is a separate matter.

  47. Dumbed down? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How much?

  48. here's her first code example by Jaegs · · Score: 1

    public class Math {
            public boolean isTough = true;
    }

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Talk_Barbie#Controversy

  49. Re:Hope this attempt is better than the 2010 book. by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 0

    Actually that is a very efficient way for an attractive woman to get an unwanted task done. Pawn it off on some beta male who secretly longs for her, but who she knows has no chance. She can string him along for a long time while extracting resources from him. As soon as he loses faith and stops contributing, she loses him and finds another. I sure wish people would do things for me just because they find me attractive.

    --
    Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
  50. Re:Barbie Programming? by Cederic · · Score: 2

    Not sure which idiot modded you as 'troll' but they should probably read up on previous Mattel explorations in this space.
    https://techcrunch.com/2014/11... (link nicked from a page linked by another post)

  51. The more gender equality, the fewer women in STEM by Yahma · · Score: 1

    Numerous recent studies show that in the most gender equal countries, far fewer women pursue careers in science or mathematics. https://www.theatlantic.com/sc... Given the choice, women prefer different things than men. Wow, what a revelation.... Now just waiting for the SJW's to counter this with more pseudoscience.

  52. corrections - because mobile devices suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    s/paperweight/powered flight/ - what a weird autocorrect that was.
    s/Well see/We'll see/

  53. Re:The more gender equality, the fewer women in ST by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're just mansplaining for the patriarchy! Misogyny!

  54. Not everyone needs to know how to code by iamhassi · · Score: 2

    Why this obsession with teaching EVERYONE how to code?

    --
    my karma will be here long after I'm gone
    1. Re:Not everyone needs to know how to code by soc_cost_priv_gains · · Score: 2

      Tech companies want lower salaries, that is the reason.

  55. I'll believe it when Barbie has an official RasPi by Miamicanes · · Score: 1

    I'll believe Mattel is serious when half the 'Barbie' aisle looks like the 'Maker' department at a store like Fry's. Say, Barbie-themed RasPi & Arduino boards, cases, and tools, plus the usual components & accessories.

  56. A good idea but curious how it will work by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    It's easy to laugh at this but I welcome anything from any direction that helps kids get exposed to programming, as I feel like there are probably a lot of people who would enjoy programming but never get a chance to know that.

    However the actual approach they are taking sounds maybe a bit muddled or over-ambitious. It sounds like they are trying to tech kids what a programming career is like, while at the same time introducing "programming concepts"... I'm not sure that sounds fun enough to draw people into programming, as the career stuff could cast the white thing in a pretty boring light.

    But we'll see how it actually turns out.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  57. Human Resource Machine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Playing Human Resource Machine is a much better way to learn coding and problem solving.

  58. Barbie Will Be Used To Teach Girls To Code by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am all for encouraging women in STEM and especially in CS, but when do we start considering that we may be discouraging men? If a young impressionable boy sees all of these female only programs they may think that CS is a women's job and thus not pursue a job in CS.

  59. Re:Hope this attempt is better than the 2010 book. by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 1

    If you replace "computer engineer" with "software engineer", the premise isn't quite as stupid as it seems at first. The software engineer's role is to make high-level technical decisions and tell the programmers what to write. In many companies, though, programmers are given the title "software engineer" and the people doing the high-level engineering are given titles like "software architect".

    That's a description of a very dysfunctional place to work. Rarely do we see such a dichotomy between a "software engineer" and a "programmer". That might have been the case when programming was more of a cowboy activity. A software engineer is expected to do programming, and we expect the act of programming to follow some basic principles of software engineering, starting at the most junior positions (entry level software engineer or software engineer associate, or intern.)

    More senior positions provide high level guidance, but the software engineering process is carried out from the grounds up. When this is not the case, shit ensues.

    In that book, Barbie is the manager or lead engineer and the boys are the programmers. Whether or not Barbie is portrayed as a competent manager is a separate matter.

    And therein lies the problem I had with that book (I'm a father of two girls.) Sure Barbie is the lead, but where did she start? How did she start? The book still harks to certain stereotypes where a woman still has to dictate how to do things without showing that she can actually roll her sleeves and get shit done.

    This a reason why I keep showing my kids pictures of factory women during WWII or lady mathematicians working ballistic trajectories or programming vacuum tubes back in the day.

  60. Re:Hope this attempt is better than the 2010 book. by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 1

    Damn you slashdot and your markup. https://static01.nyt.com/image...

  61. Re:Hope this attempt is better than the 2010 book. by Dragonslicer · · Score: 1

    That's a description of a very dysfunctional place to work. Rarely do we see such a dichotomy between a "software engineer" and a "programmer". That might have been the case when programming was more of a cowboy activity. A software engineer is expected to do programming, and we expect the act of programming to follow some basic principles of software engineering, starting at the most junior positions (entry level software engineer or software engineer associate, or intern.)

    More senior positions provide high level guidance, but the software engineering process is carried out from the grounds up. When this is not the case, shit ensues.

    I thought I had written something about how many companies have the "software engineer" and the "programmer" be the same person, but I guess I removed it while editing. I strongly disagree that having them be separate people makes the team "very dysfunctional". In some companies, every person on the team is both a good software engineer and a good programmer. If that's what your team is like and it works for you, that's great. But having different people that are better at different parts of software development can also work perfectly fine. They're different ways of organizing the team, and either one can work if you have people that do well in that type of organization.

    And therein lies the problem I had with that book (I'm a father of two girls.) Sure Barbie is the lead, but where did she start? How did she start? The book still harks to certain stereotypes where a woman still has to dictate how to do things without showing that she can actually roll her sleeves and get shit done.

    This a reason why I keep showing my kids pictures of factory women during WWII or lady mathematicians working ballistic trajectories or programming vacuum tubes back in the day.

    I haven't looked at the book myself, but I'm not at all surprised that it's as bad as you say. Even if someone involved in creating the book was thinking of what I described (which they probably weren't), I'm sure the group would find plenty of ways to screw it up.

  62. Mattel also owns "Thomas and Friends" by vk2sky · · Score: 1

    They could introduce the Fat Model and Fat View to keep the Fat Controller company.

  63. Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is great. Just to share some of my experiences with attempts at teaching coding (I'm a professional software developer), I think the closest to this was Microsoft's Minecraft themed coding tutorials. Hopefully the Barbie ones are not that way, MS's felt kludgy, too slow, and generally not interactive enough. I think the UI limited the potential due to extremely restrictive goals. Maybe restricting the goals is necessary for showing the way, but somehow I expected more.

  64. Meh. by Millennium · · Score: 1

    Forum 2000 was doing this 20 years ago.