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

[Alan Kay]

"Inventing" because what we do when we write a program is precisely to invent and make a machine to accomplish the goals of the program.

It would be good to get them to think about the larger notions of "machine" and "mechanism", including ideas about how the natural world seems to operate ... not just physics and chemistry, but also biology ...

Cheers,

Alan




>________________________________
> From: Steve Thomas <sthomas1 at gosargon.com>
>To: Alan Kay <alan.nemo at yahoo.com> 
>Cc: squeakland <squeakland at squeakland.org>; iaep <iaep at lists.sugarlabs.org> 
>Sent: Friday, July 6, 2012 11:05 PM
>Subject: Re: P.S. Re: [IAEP] Has anyone build a set of gears in Etoys or any other freely available program?
> 
>
>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 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.
>>>
>>>
>>>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
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
>>>IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
>>>http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
>>>
>>>
>
>
>
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