[OT] Alan Kay is angry

[Bob Sneidar]

Allow me to be the devil's advocate here. Most people want step by step instructions. From the perspective of teaching though, this is perhaps the worst injustice you can inflict upon their education. UNDERSTANDING is what they need, and step by step memorization of a process really does nothing towards getting them what they need. 

I struggle all the time with people who need to UNDERSTAND Microsoft Word for example, why they shouldn't use spaces, tabs and returns to format a document, why they should use style sheets, Headers, margins etc. What I often get is, "Just give me a step by step list and I'll figure it out." No, they won't. 

Now someone who wants to be a developer, but cannot get past the already simple learning curve of Livecode, especially with all the help available in this list, should probably look for another hobby or line of work. I am reminded again, that not all people can do all things. Not all people are wired for it. 

Now if I can teach someone to UNDERSTAND how a thing works, and why it's designed the way it is, not only will I likely not have to do much in the way of teaching them to apply their knowledge to a problem, but I will probably not have to do much for the next person who comes along, because I'll have conscripted an associate. 

Bob S


> On Sep 18, 2017, at 17:04 , Alejandro Tejada via use-livecode <use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
> 
> I learned this again, a few weeks ago, in the forum:
> 
> After many developers explained to a newbie the same concept
> in many different ways, this person said: Yes, I understand...
> but when this person tried to apply these concepts in a stack,
> we learned that these explanations were not clear enough.
> 
> This platform needs more, much more, step by step
> instructions for every important concept and technique
> employed in LiveCode programming.
> 
> Al