Lex Spoon wrote:
> 
> Steve Wart <thecows at home.com> wrote:
> > Had an interesting session with my son today. Played around in the
> > scripting world for over an hour - I think that's the longest he's ever
> > sat still at the computer.
> >
> > He loves the car, but steering is pretty hopeless (I can't get the hang
> > of it either :). He liked it when I changed the colors. Usually he wants
> > to do things himself, but I think he realized changing colors was too
> > finicky for him. The color picker is pretty though. It would be nice to
> > see more like this.
> 
> Have you tried "gearing down" the stearing wheel: dividing the amount in
> the "turn by" command by 3 (or so) ?  It makes it much easier.  :)

Yes! I think only an 8 year old with the reactions and skill of the late
great Ayrton Senna could keep the car on the track with its original
settings.

I think one of the greatest things we can do to improve our programs
(and our programming skills) might be to have young children (and aged
relatives) act as human programming interfaces. I'm sure most adults
(and most "real" programmers) get too carried away with the beauty of
the code to adequately consider the underlying metaphors: we really need
"untainted" brains to show us the way. (Not, incidentally, that I
consider myself a "real" programmer -- an adult, maybe.)

Maybe Steve could try my Rolodex Tutorial out on his son in 2 or 3 years
time?

Cheers

John 
> 
> Overall, thanks for sharing your experiences -- I've found them an
> interesting read!
> 
> -Lex

-- 
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Marx: "Why do Anarchists only drink herbal tea?"
Proudhon: "Because all proper tea is theft."
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