09-26-2018, 01:10 AM
I feel that programming is a lot more accessible than the average person gives it credit for. I wonder if a lot of people are put off by programming for the same reason that a lot of people are put off by math (also known as mathematical anxiety).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_anxiety
In short, it posits that certain people who are quite able at math end up not being able to perform simply because of their fears. For the longest time, I was somebody who had similar feelings towards programming. I believed that even though I thought algorithmically and analytically (one of my majors was mathematics), that perhaps I somehow wasn't fit to learn to program.
Eventually, after trying and trying, it clicked for me, and I use programming a lot more in my current job than I did before.
It also probably didn't help that my mom dissuaded me from pursuing my interests in programming when I was in middle school. She told me "Don't worry about that, focus on getting good grades so you can be a doctor."
Not only am I not a doctor (chose a different career), I also feel that it would have better prepared me for what I do now to have started earlier.
Luckily, I think more kids and schools are getting with the program earlier. It's probably going to continue as part of a generational shift, thankfully. There seems to be a lot of stubborn adults out there who think "Oh I can never figure out how to program, I'm just too old or dumb for that stuff." Not only is that logic poisonous (since it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy), but I also think many times it's untrue, and it's just a case of trying until one succeeds. I bet many people out there have what it takes to program.
-Teddy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_anxiety
In short, it posits that certain people who are quite able at math end up not being able to perform simply because of their fears. For the longest time, I was somebody who had similar feelings towards programming. I believed that even though I thought algorithmically and analytically (one of my majors was mathematics), that perhaps I somehow wasn't fit to learn to program.
Eventually, after trying and trying, it clicked for me, and I use programming a lot more in my current job than I did before.
It also probably didn't help that my mom dissuaded me from pursuing my interests in programming when I was in middle school. She told me "Don't worry about that, focus on getting good grades so you can be a doctor."
Not only am I not a doctor (chose a different career), I also feel that it would have better prepared me for what I do now to have started earlier.
Luckily, I think more kids and schools are getting with the program earlier. It's probably going to continue as part of a generational shift, thankfully. There seems to be a lot of stubborn adults out there who think "Oh I can never figure out how to program, I'm just too old or dumb for that stuff." Not only is that logic poisonous (since it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy), but I also think many times it's untrue, and it's just a case of trying until one succeeds. I bet many people out there have what it takes to program.
-Teddy