Progress is possible only if we train ourselves to think about programs without thinking of them as pieces of executable code.
Edsger DijkstraRead
It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Dijkstra emphasizes the difficulty of teaching advanced programming to those who have learned BASIC, suggesting it hinders development.
Edsger Dijkstra's quote reflects his belief that early exposure to BASIC programming language negatively impacts students' ability to grasp more complex programming concepts. He argues that the simplicity and limitations of BASIC create a mental barrier that makes it challenging for students to develop into capable programmers who can think abstractly and understand advanced principles in computer science.
Themes
ProgrammingEducationLearningBasicDijkstra
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on programming paradigms, one might use Dijkstra's quote to illustrate the challenges of learning advanced concepts.
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The purpose of abstraction is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise.
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We shall do a much better programming job, provided that we approach the task with a full appreciation of its tremendous difficulty, provided that we stick to modest and elegant programming languages, provided that we respect the intrinsic limitations of the human mind and approach the task as Very Humble Programmers.
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The tools we use have a profound and devious influence on our thinking habits, and therefore on our thinking abilities.
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LISP has jokingly been described as "the most intelligent way to misuse a computer." I think that description is a great compliment because it transmits the full flavour of liberation: it has assisted a number of our most gifted fellow humans in thinking previously impossible thoughts.
Edsger DijkstraRead
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