Re: [tlug] [OT] Raising a geek (was: Interesting Hans Reiser article in Wired)

[Pietro Zuco <drzuco@example.com>]

Josh Glover wrote, On 07/14/2007 09:36 AM:

> The classroom had an Apple, and they were teaching us Logo, which
> would have been awesome had I not taught myself Applesoft Basic at
> home (by that time, I was dabbling in 68000 assember; I would enter
> the programs from those magazines, and very occasionally could I find
> and fix a simple bug).

I remember that when I was 10 at school we had the first contact with 
computers. They teach logo. It was an Epson QX10.
http://www.xs4all.nl/~fjkraan/comp/qx10/

Before that, when I was 9 my cousin gift me an Olivetti M10
http://www.xs4all.nl/~fjkraan/comp/m10/index.html
http://www.1000bit.net/events/vcfi2004/09040017.jpg
It was great, I learn Basic with it.
Then a Commodore 64.
I think that kind of computers, where more educative than today. As a 
child I could investigate how to use it, investigate commands, machine 
code and start to learn many things by my self. It was funny just 
because I had few documentation, and it was a challenge to discover how 
to do things.
Nowadays there are so many layers that make hard for a child understand 
what's going on. I learn what was a register and that was good. Today 
they learn what is an icon or a button...
I don't mean that it's not necessary. What I want to say is that the 
intellectual stimulation that I had at that age using computers that 
practically only had a command line and some rudimentary graphics, was 
really important to understand other things later as math, physics and 
so forth. When I talk with some young relative, I feel really bad about 
to see how they receive an education that even, if huge or not, they 
don't know how to think by them selfs.
I remember that in medium-school I had to learn Latin. It was great to 
introduce logical thinking because Latin grammar is like maths. But bow 
they take it of from the educational Italian system...

When I talk to some old person they talk me about what they had to learn 
at 40's or 50's. Memorize entire texts, translate huge Latin and Greek 
texts. Draw by hand many things, as maps, or body parts... That's only 
elementary and medium school. But today if I try to draw by hand a map 
the result is pathetic.. So I feel that educational systems are getting 
bad every day. Less content, many automatic tools, and so forth..

More ignorant and stupid the people is, easier to control mass...

So it's important to make child think. If not they will be just one more 
droid to the society.

(maybe I get out of context.... 二日酔いので...)


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- Pietro Zuco (ピエトロ・ズコ)
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