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<b>Why Johnny Can't...</b><br>
<b>Geometry or Programming?</b>
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1997 October 01<br>
Wednesday<br>
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The reason you learned geometry was not because anyone expected that you would ever use it. A few things, such as Pythagoras's theorem, have real-world applications. The rest of geometry is merely an exercise in logic. It's a very fine exercise in logic. Unlike most of my classmates, I found it a stimulating and interesting exercise in logic. But it's rarely useful. The kids who find it interesting should be allowed to learn it anyway. Everybody else can heave a sigh of relief.
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We should teach kids how to program instead. Programming is a superlative exercise in logic. Just like in geometry, there are often a variety of means to accomplish a given end.
<a href="http://el.www.media.mit.edu/groups/logo-foundation/Logo/Logo.html" target="_top">Logo</a> is even fun!
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Programming is an extremely useful skill in a world that will depend ever more on the ability to make computers do useful things. Once the basic concepts of programming have been absorbed, learning a new programming language is not a great deal of work. This means that the basic skills of programming do not become obsolete even when the language becomes obsolete. (Which doesn't happen very often in any case - remember FORTRAN? Still here after all these years.)
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