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This idea that everyone should know how to code.
- Thread starter julia crawford
- Start date
I said "future" for a reason. It's emerging and a completely logical future where web and mobile apps are so prevalent.
Raw coding will still have a place for high-performance applications, like gaming, obviously.
Honestly yeah.
The thing is- I've done it to an extent. I...don't really care for it. I TOLERATE it at best if only to make visual novels and other small games for my own amusement. Not everyone is good at one thing, but society and the 'tech' industries have waxed so much poetic about the value of coders to a point where they honest-to-God think we should be thankful for them even existing.
The fact that some of them in this very thread are against the idea because it would 'drive down wages' only shows that their superiority was nothing more than posturing because it feels pretty good apparently to snipe at """Basket Weaving Majors"""", Teachers, and any other 'dumb scrub' that went to college for anything less than being a Doctor.
I'd be happier if people were more tech savvy than learn how to code outright. The average person doesn't even try to look for solutions or better ways to use technology.
I follow a few podcasts of the "tech power user" genre. The people host them know how to use software way better than I do to be productive but none of them are programmers.
I follow a few podcasts of the "tech power user" genre. The people host them know how to use software way better than I do to be productive but none of them are programmers.
I really wish I had learned at least some basic coding when I was younger.
I was actually very eager to learn coding in HS. but the Florida public education system just completely shat the bed.
Always had an interest in tech, and when I lived in Pensacola (9th grade) I had a pretty cool electronics class which seriously piqued my interest even more.
It was fairly basic stuff, but we got to learn soldering and how to build basic circuit boards and such.
Then I moved to Destin, FL from 10th grade, and at first was happy to find out there was a similar track at my new school!
Until I actually attended the first day and was told that we would be doing no physical work (soldering too dangerous! blah!) and that it was mostly
bullshit quizzes on computers about boring ass logic patterns and trivia. It was the most useless class ever. The teacher literally just sat on his laptop
chatting up ladies on AOL chat every fucking day. We would actually just finish the coursework months ahead of schedule and goof off ourselves too.
I still wanted to learn more about tech, engineering, and coding so in 11th grade I took a new online class they were offering.
It was supposedly about QBASIC but it was such an amazing waste of time it is still kind of unbelievable that it was approved as a curriculum, online class or not.
Instead of actually teaching you coding, it was mostly writing fucking essays comparing the new frontier of coding to-I shit you not--LEWIS AND FUCKING CLARK EXPEDITION. I put up with it for a few assignments, and maybe it actually taught something at the end but I ended up just taking a W for the first and last time ever.
I would love to give the person who came up with that course a swift kick to the arse. I am still happy with my career, but that one
goddamn class pissed me off so much I honestly just gave up on learning coding.
I really should have used my ample free time as an english teacher all those years ago to teach myself some on the side.
Now, I am so busy with work and family I can't really find the time to dedicate to something like that.
I was actually very eager to learn coding in HS. but the Florida public education system just completely shat the bed.
Always had an interest in tech, and when I lived in Pensacola (9th grade) I had a pretty cool electronics class which seriously piqued my interest even more.
It was fairly basic stuff, but we got to learn soldering and how to build basic circuit boards and such.
Then I moved to Destin, FL from 10th grade, and at first was happy to find out there was a similar track at my new school!
Until I actually attended the first day and was told that we would be doing no physical work (soldering too dangerous! blah!) and that it was mostly
bullshit quizzes on computers about boring ass logic patterns and trivia. It was the most useless class ever. The teacher literally just sat on his laptop
chatting up ladies on AOL chat every fucking day. We would actually just finish the coursework months ahead of schedule and goof off ourselves too.
I still wanted to learn more about tech, engineering, and coding so in 11th grade I took a new online class they were offering.
It was supposedly about QBASIC but it was such an amazing waste of time it is still kind of unbelievable that it was approved as a curriculum, online class or not.
Instead of actually teaching you coding, it was mostly writing fucking essays comparing the new frontier of coding to-I shit you not--LEWIS AND FUCKING CLARK EXPEDITION. I put up with it for a few assignments, and maybe it actually taught something at the end but I ended up just taking a W for the first and last time ever.
I would love to give the person who came up with that course a swift kick to the arse. I am still happy with my career, but that one
goddamn class pissed me off so much I honestly just gave up on learning coding.
I really should have used my ample free time as an english teacher all those years ago to teach myself some on the side.
Now, I am so busy with work and family I can't really find the time to dedicate to something like that.
I HATED coding and I honestly have no idea how I passed my last comp sci class. Not once did I manage to compile a code in class. Ever. My brain and coding just don't go together, unfortunately :/
Some people here in this thread are saying coding is easy... I don't know about that. Yeah maybe some basic coding exercises on codecademy can be fun to do, but software development in a professional environment is vast and very complex. There's a reason why developers are paid so much.
Even car mechanics these days probably need to learn some coding to fix guidance features. But if coding is not for you, well; the world will still need toilet scrubbers and ditch diggers.
Mechanics are not going to be tweaking code on individual cars.
You don't need to go professional, but those who could actually be good at it and are afraid of starting, should have a taste of it. Deploying, testing, code versioning etc. is not needed for kids. We have music classes, art classes, and all sorts of things (even technical drawings) in middle school here that a small part of the program teaching the basics of something like JavaScript or Go or Python just to make small webpages and interactions would go a long way. That's something anyone can teach themselves in couple weeks.
Even non-technical jobs at my company now require some form of coding experience - usually at least basic SQL. Kind of annoying because I don't have interest in coding.
So this is somehow now an alt-right meme. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-n...post-buzzfeed-reporters-death-threats-n963001
OP
OP
As someone from an arts/humanities background, the obsessive worship of The Code around some parts is nothing short of hilarious/embarrassing.
As someone with an anthropology degree, I find the knee-jerk defensiveness of arts/humanities folks equally hilarious/embarrassing.
coding is a wonderful skill, but more than that, coding is a fun exercise.
It's basically puzzle solving and relies and reinforces logical thought patterns.
honestly, everyone who uses a computer should learn to code.
It keeps your mind sharp. it's just as vital as mathematics imo.
and infact, it's a very fun, and practical application of mathematics.
granted, my passion of coding came out from my own desire to make games. It being something I wasn't forced into is the reason i'm good at it.
worked for me. got a degree, now have great, rewarding job.
It's basically puzzle solving and relies and reinforces logical thought patterns.
honestly, everyone who uses a computer should learn to code.
It keeps your mind sharp. it's just as vital as mathematics imo.
and infact, it's a very fun, and practical application of mathematics.
granted, my passion of coding came out from my own desire to make games. It being something I wasn't forced into is the reason i'm good at it.
worked for me. got a degree, now have great, rewarding job.
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The problem is that computer science is much broader than programming, and "learning to code" require understanding at least a significant portion of the standard computer science undergraduate curriculum. For example, many popular gamified coding sites quickly ramp into problems that someone without a decent understanding of algorithms and data structures will be unable to complete; and programming in the large requires a pretty significant knowledge base: build systems, computer infrastructure, network systems, software development patterns, and so forth. I would wholeheartedly endorse more computer science training in K-12 education, but personally think simply learning to program is the least important part - anyone with the fundamentals can pick up new programming languages quickly.
All children should be introduced to the basics of coding in computer science classes up until a certain age, sure. Beyond that, does everyone actually need to be able to code? absolutely not. As societal requirement I think we need more practical skills. Many of the current problems the world is facing, i.e., biodiversity loss, mental health problems, shortage of carers for the elderly, wasteful forms of agriculture, require more practical skills. I the fact that this question arises, is mainly a product of the current pre-eminence of software companies in particular, whose success re-engineers what are considered the most valuable skills in the workforce. On the other hand, society faces large overarching challenges which are hardly just going to be met by coding skills. Well you may think that if you live in the tech bubble, or never leave your front door.
Some experience in school is a good idea to make them aware of what coding is.
I don't think most (as in more than 50%) of people are intelligent enough to code though, so it is an obvious falsehood to suggest that everyone should code.
About 30% of students don't pass maths gcse in the uk. You only need get around 20-30‰ to pass, so failing shows a severe lack of cognitive ability.
I don't think most (as in more than 50%) of people are intelligent enough to code though, so it is an obvious falsehood to suggest that everyone should code.
About 30% of students don't pass maths gcse in the uk. You only need get around 20-30‰ to pass, so failing shows a severe lack of cognitive ability.
Anyone who wants to should get the support to learn how if they want to. This industry is also weird because you can teach yourself everything needed to get in and start working towards a six figure salary.
That said, I disagree with the statement that everyone should learn. IMO that's just a ploy by the industry to bloat the workforce and drive down salaries. Everyone that wants to learn should be able to learn. But not everyone should be forced to learn.
That said, I disagree with the statement that everyone should learn. IMO that's just a ploy by the industry to bloat the workforce and drive down salaries. Everyone that wants to learn should be able to learn. But not everyone should be forced to learn.