[IAEP] P.S. Re: Has anyone build a set of gears in Etoys or any other freely available program?

[Steve Thomas]

Thanks Alan.


On Sat, Jul 7, 2012 at 12:29 AM, Alan Kay <alan.nemo at yahoo.com> wrote:

> P.S.
>
> I vaguely recall that someone did an Etoy model of the Antikythera ...
> (might be findable on the web somewhere)
>
Karl Ramberg pointed me to: http://www.dmst.aueb.gr/dds/sw/ameso/ which may
be what your are recalling.

>
> Going a little deeper, it would be good for children to think about: *Computing
> is inventing a kind of machine that can carry and manipulate
> representations of ideas.* The machine can be made from physical or
> symbolic materials.
>

I really like the inclusion of "inventing" in the definition.  I'll see
what the kids come up with and then weave this in.

>
> For example, the abacus -- which vastly predates the Antikythera -- is
> also a computing machine. And so is Algebra ...
>

> Cheers,
>
> Alan
>
>   ------------------------------
> *From:* Steve Thomas <sthomas1 at gosargon.com>
> *To:* squeakland <squeakland at squeakland.org>; iaep <
> iaep at lists.sugarlabs.org>
> *Sent:* Friday, July 6, 2012 2:22 PM
> *Subject:* [IAEP] Has anyone build a set of gears in Etoys or any other
> freely available program?
>
> I got I asked my class to play LightBot<http://armorgames.com/play/2205/light-bot> and
> then asked them:
>
> "How this is like and not like "programming"
>
>
> This lead into one kids responding its like "mabey small motors and
> gears"  (wish I knew what was going on in her mind, I'll ask in the next
> class)
>
> So I responded:
>
> I was on the Battleship NJ (commissioned in 1943).  They had a "computer"
> on board to calculate the angle and direction of the big guns and could hit
> a target miles away within a few yards!!!  Pretty impressive when you have
> to consider they had to take into account the ships speed and direction,
> wind speed, waves and the recoil from the guns firing.  The whole
> "computer" was built using gears which controlled BIG motors to move the
> gun.
>
>
> Here's a pop quiz (you will be graded on this and it will go on your
> PERMANENT record :)
> *What is the oldest computer we know about?*
> *
> *
>
> I then asked them to think about and email me an answer to:
>
> *What is a computer?*
>
> I then added the caveat, non-biological computer, as a bunch came back
> with the answer "the brain".
>
>
> I found a nice video on a Lego version of the oldest know computer here<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLPVCJjTNgk>
> .
>
> So I want to get them to try and build some adding machines (and I will
> see if we can find enough lego parts amonst us to do that as it would be
> best), but in case I can't, and just for fun.
>
> Has anyone build a set of gears in Etoys or any other freely available
> program?
>
> Thanks,
> Stephen
>
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