[LINK] Let's pause before drinking the 'coding in schools' Kool-Aid

[Bernard Robertson-Dunn]

On 5/06/2015 1:12 PM, David Lochrin wrote:
> Did you ever learn the boot sequence which had to be keyed in to those 
> neon-light register switches on the front panel of a Univac 418 (:-)?

No but I did learn it for a ConPac 4020 process control machine with 4k 
of magnetic core and a paper-tape reader/punch

To run a program you had to first load the FORTRAN compiler tape, then 
the program, the output being object code. Then load the linker tape and 
the object code, the output being an executable. Then load the operating 
system tape and the executable. Then press run.

All to get the square root of 4, or something as trivial.

All that now being useless knowledge. But the mathematics and theory 
behind numerical analysis/programming of second order non-linear 
differential equations means that I have a fundamental understanding of 
chaos and the dangers of predictive models which I don't think most 
economists and modern climate scientists have.

-- 

Regards
brd

Bernard Robertson-Dunn
Sydney Australia
email: brd at iimetro.com.au
web:   www.drbrd.com
web:   www.problemsfirst.com
Blog:  www.problemsfirst.com/blog