“The use of tools is a big part of what make us human, and the computer is humanity’s most powerful tool. When David beat Goliath or when today’s researcher makes a breakthrough, it’s the tools that help us win. In offices and homes the world over, each and every one of us at some point undertakes tasks of a repetitive, tedious or complicated nature, tasks that could, are or eventually will be automated or eased by computer. The computer makes us more efficient, and enables and empowers us to achieve far more than we ever could otherwise. Yet the majority of us are entirely dependent on a select few, to enable us to achieve what we want. Programming is the act of giving computers instructions to perform. This is true whether the output is your word processor, central heating or aircraft control system. If you can’t code, you are forced to rely on those that can to ensure that you can benefit from the greatest tool at your disposal. Whether it’s an app for your phone or a nuclear power station, it seems as if there’s some freaky class divide developing between those who can code versus those that can barely figure out their Facebook privacy settings. Who can shy away from the attractiveness of giving instructions and having things done on your behalf? The ability to code is what brings the power of computing to the masses. We need to break away from a culture where we consider people to be ‘technical’ or ‘non-technical’ – not everyone takes to literature or eloquent composition of prose, but we need to attack the phenomenon of the ‘non-technical’ in the same way that we tackle illiteracy.”
— “Coding for Success” and why we need to teach our kids to code [via kernelmag]
