Screen vs Page vs Card

[j]

> Those who don't know something about programming cling to metaphors 
> they understand.

Maybe.  So they should be excluded from exploring programming?  That 
smacks of elitism.  I sincerely hope I am just reading it wrong.  One 
is bound to run into plenty of HyperCard fanatics (myself included) who 
will oppose such elitism with great enthusiasm.


> How does card apply?  Who today knows what a 5X3 card is?

Anyone who *doesn't* know what a 3x5 index card is either needs to (1) 
go back to elementary school or (2) report to me immediately for 
tutoring and a spanking.  :)


> Is it really less ordered than a book?

Yes, cards are much less ordered than a book.  The pages in books are 
bound in a single linear fashion and can't be reordered.  The whole 
reason you are supposed to take notes (for a research project, report, 
speech, etc.) on index cards is that they can be reordered, grouped in 
different ways.  It is part of the thought process in doing research, 
writing a speech, etc.  People who just sit down and start with a draft 
miss the most important step: challenging their way of thinking to see 
new connections, form new lines of thought, create new mental paradigms 
regarding the topic at hand.  But I digress...


> "Do you mean card as in a module that is plugged in, that is, like a 
> board that is plugged into a computer?"

A medical secretary at her desk in 1989 using HyperCard stacks to 
administer patient data never asked this question.  A retiree using 
HyperCard to document his stamp collection that same year never asked 
it, either.  Or a teen creating files on her LP collection.  Amateur 
chef and his recipes.  These are the people who used HyperCard, not 
hardcore programmers.

J.