From: S.J.Vickers@open.ac.uk
To: categories@mta.ca
Subject: Re: language and thinking
Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2001 10:05:48 -0000 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <ACAB691EBFADD41196340008C7F35585C2C0D0@tesla.open.ac.uk> (raw)
> This brings up the question: Can concepts be differentiated from language?
Two quite different examples: first, a very practical one.
This is of vital importance in teaching computing. Programming languages
come and go,
and to be reasonably future-proof a programming course must go beyond merely
"teaching a programming language" and bring out concepts.
Some evidence that concepts can be differentiated from language is seen in
the graphical Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) for developing
object oriented programs. For instance, if you compare those for Java with
those for C++ you find that broadly similar diagrammatic metaphors (grab an
object, place it somewhere, link it to other objects to handle certain
events, etc.) get implemented in rather different ways in different
languages.
This sounds very like Charles's replacement of talking in his head by
pictorial concepts. Its effectiveness in IDEs is indisputable, and it seems
to be because the language by itself in some way hobbles your thought
processes (cf. Basic programming improved by knowing Pascal).
A quite different example is that of foundations, how choice of logic
affects what you can recognize as mathematics.
But don't get me going on that.
Merry Christmas,
Steve Vickers.
next reply other threads:[~2001-12-21 10:05 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 2+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2001-12-21 10:05 S.J.Vickers [this message]
[not found] <E16H6lx-0000yl-00@mailserv.mta.ca>
2001-12-20 20:17 ` Charles Wells
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