From: MRH <mauriceroman@...>
Date: 2008-05-29T21:39:54+09:00
Subject: Re: Should I Learn Ruby as a First Language?

> I *strongly* disagree with this opinion.  If the goal is to start
> closer to the hardware, then why isn't assembly language even better?
> It's like saying to learn sociology you first need to learn
> psychology, but before that neurology, preceded by neurochemistry, but
> only after biochemistry, which of course follows chemistry, but which
> can only come after physics....
>
> Just as there are useful concepts and abstractions within sociology, a
> high level programming language provides you with abstractions (loops,
> objects, exceptions, iterators, closures, etc.) that are useful in
> their own right.  You do not have to learn what's happening behind the
> scenes first to understand or leverage these concepts.
>
> You can't learn everything at once.  You have to learn things
> incrementally, and given human psychology, it tends to work best if
> along the way you are able to do useful and interesting things.
>
> Now does learning C or assembly language at some point make you a
> better programmer?  Absolutely!  But it doesn't have to be first, or
> even second or third.  Why make learning unnecessarily painful when it
> can be coincidentally fun?
>
> Eric

Hi Eric,

I agree. Thank you for your post.

Cheers,

Maurice