Communications of the ACM
Disputing Dijkstra, and Birthdays in Base 2
http://bit.ly/35dg21S November 30, 2020
Edsger Dijkstra's 1988 paper "On the Cruelty of Really Teaching Computer Science" (in plain text form at https://bit.ly/3b6bFto) is one of the most well-cited papers on computer science (CS) education. It is also wrong. A growing body of recent research explores the very topic that Dijkstra tried to warn us away from—how we learn and teach computer science with metaphor.
Comments
Gunnar Wolf
I am happy to see I'm not the only one obsessed with silly and fun numeralia! Twelve years ago, I mentioned this same fact to my father -- He graduated to his seventh bit on the same year I got my sixth bit. Of course, it was of significance (and it became salient) because I had reached half of his age...
I like your mapping to the different life stages... Although I do feel it a bit stretched. I feel marking adolescence before 10-11 years old is pulling it too early. But, yes, the text talks about a rough comparison, it's not making rigorous claims nor presenting specialized bibliography backing each of its claims... So I will just smile and thank you for writing!
Caj Svensson
My previous manager became 64 last March and I sent a special birthday surprise message celebrating his 100 birthday, in octal. I know he doesn't like birthday celebrations and gave him also a bit better age, i.e. 40 in hexadecimal if he would like that more.
We also celebrated the special 64th birthday for my mother in-law already in 1999 and she liked it a lot. She was pretty sure she would never have another bit in her age but she is still around now, in 2021, but not that healthy anymore.
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