the other day, he kept insisting about how can one memorize Processing language functions like "line(x1,y1,x2,y2)", how does one meorize the code to draw a cube, and so on. to be honest, he caught me by surprise since i had never been asked a question like that before - how does one memorize programming codes!
i tried to explain to the class about how when they practice enough, they won't *need* to memorize functions and so on but quite frankly, i didn't convince myself, if at all the students.
so here's the answer i wish i had given:
Student: "How can i memorize this code you wrote to draw a cube"
I: "Can you tell me what is 73 + 18?"
Student (Hopefully): 91
I: "Did you memorize that?"
Intuitive understanding would say that programming is rather similar to Math, where understanding of fundamentals is critical towards solving more complex problems that are built on top of simpler problems.
Thus, the brain (IMO) goes through a process of analyzing each separable component of a problem (and by problem, I mean mathematical or computing) to determine
- if it's solvable as-it-is, or
- whether it can be broken down, or
- whether the next separable component should be looked at first.
the brain gradually trains itself to come up with the problem solving process just described above and eventually when faced with a problem, applies the process, and adds any new information in its knowledge base.
I know this is all very intuitive and random hypothesis, but hey, that's why it's going on a blog and not in a research journal :D
Over and out :-)
2 comments:
I would remind him that he is not in school anymore and memorizing code is not going to help him with programming. He may get by with memorizing code and passing his exams but at some point he will need to analyze and solve problems if he wants to do programming!
It's more like memorizing words and the grammar of English - the more you write code the more familiar you become with the vocabulary. In the end, I don't actually remember the names and argument lists of functions I don't use very regularly, that's what online help is for. The skill is in knowing where to look to find the answer - how do I draw a line in Processing?
Post a Comment