Friday, November 15, 2013

Simpleton Geek Teaches Computer Programming Book 1 Chapter 3


3. Show and Tell

3.1 Show and Tell is for Kindergardener!

“Okay, guys, we're going to to something fun tomorrow! We're going to do Show and Tell session, so bring your sharpest mindset tomorrow so that you don't fail!” The teacher was just winding down the lesson for the day. The students were looking at the teacher, confused.
“What kind of show and tell?”
“Whadaya mean, 'what kind'? Is there more than one? It's a simple show and tell. I show you something, you tell me what it is.”
“But we already know show and tell. We learned it since the beginning!” the student protested.
“Well, you're supposed to have already learned arithmetic, but we all know the truth of THAT, don't we?” The teacher was unrelenting. “So maybe you don't know it after all.”
“But we do! We really do!”
“Do you want to put a wager on it?” the teacher smiled evilly. “How about a quick quiz right now? Describe a door to me. First person to get the right description get 10 points, but if you got it wrong, minus 5 points!”
“A door is something you walk through!” said a student.
“Nope. You'll just hit the door on the head if you do that. Minus 5 points for you, kid! Fail! Gya ha ha ha!”
“A door that is opened can be walked through.” said another.
“That's a description of a door frame, not the actual door itself. Fail!”
“A door is a rectangular piece of wood, with door handle to open and close!”
“Not all doors are rectangular or made of wood, either. Fail!”
The students stopped to think about it. “What kind of materials can a door be made of?”
“Wood, metal, plastic, glass, for example.” said the teacher.
“Glass? But, that's not a door! That's a window!”
“What's that? You've never entered a supermarket before? That's not only made of glass, but also have no handle! Fail! Gya ha ha ha!” The students notice an evil smirk on the teacher's face.
“Uh, a door is something you open in order to enter a supermarket, or a house.” somebody was groping for words.
“Now that's a description for a window! You can go into the house through a window, you know? Fail!”
The students were silent. Not only they have to describe a door correctly and completely, they also have to not describe something that is NOT a door.
Nobody said anything for a long time. Finally, the teacher said, “I'll just give everybody minus 5 points since you're all so stupid, you can't even describe a door to me. Gya ha ha ha!”
“So, what is a door?”
“A door? You know the rectangular piece that goes in your front door? That's a door. The round piece in a Hobbit's house. That's a door. The piece of glass that slides sideways in the supermarket, that's a door. The pieces of glass that rotates in place, that's a cylindrical/rotating door. The plastic plates that goes up and down, that's a garage door. The thick piece of metal that goes in front of a safe, that's a door. The swinging plates that's goes in a saloon, that's a swinging door. On, and on, and on, there are all kinds of doors wherever you look.
“Good luck on your show and tell session, tomorrow. By the looks of it, you're going to need it, badly! Gya ha ha ha!”

3.2 Describe to me: A horse!

“So, is everybody ready? No points this time, since last time everybody was such a loser that there is no point of even considering it. Now, I'm going to start with something simple. No guarantee that you're not going to make it difficult.”
Ramstrong, the teacher was standing in front of the classroom. The students are attentive and alert, ready to face whatever challenge the teacher may throw in their way.
“Good, let's start!” He wrote the word “HORSE” on the board. “Okay, let's start with the show and tell session. Remember, you're supposed to describe a horse, so no false description, OK? We'll start with you.”
“Well, a horse is an animal.” said a student.
The teacher wrote “-animal” underneath the word “HORSE”. “That doesn't seem to describe a horse to me. More like a description of a slug. A slug is an animal, right? Next student.” The teacher wrote “slug” next to “-animal”.
“A horse has legs.”
“You mean like a shrimp has legs? Next student.” the teacher wrote “-has legs: spider” on the board.
“A horse is a land animal.”
“Animal has already taken, so you're redundant. You mean land-based, right?” He wrote “-land-based: spider”. “Well, so far you've successfully described a spider. How disappointing. Next student.”
“It doesn't have 8 legs.”
“Like an ant, which only has six. Next, please.” the teacher wrote “-not have 8 legs: ant.”
“It has four legs!”
“Ah, just like cat. Next.” the teacher wrote “-has 4 legs: cat”
“It has a snout!”
“Just like an anteater!”
The students are getting frustrated. Why is describing a horse so difficult?
“It can run!”
“You mean a cheetah?” the teacher was obviously enjoying the process.
“A horse doesn't eat meat!”
“Whoa! Let me stop you right there. Remember what I'm asking. I want you to describe what a horse is. I don't want you to describe what a horse isn't. Now, what word would describe 'does not eat meat'?” The student ponders this for a while. “Too late! You fail! Next student!”
“Vegetarian?”
“Yes! A horse is a vegetarian. Just like giraffe!”
“About horse-sized!”
“Yes? How big is that?”
“This tall! Is that 7 feet?”
“So, that's a panda?”
The student moaned. How long will this process last? “Teacher, why are you making this so difficult?”
“I'm not making it difficult. In fact, I don't know why you're having so much difficulty.” He looked at the board.
HORSE
-an animal: slug
-leg: shrimp
-land-based: spider
-not have 8 legs: ant
-has 4 legs: cat
-has snout: anteater
-can run: cheetah
-vegetarian: giraffe
-7 feet tall: panda
“Well,” the teacher said finally. “You're getting closer. Keep plugging! Next student.”
“It has hair!”
“Sounds like a description for a dog, to me!” The teacher laughed.
“It's not fair!”
“Fail! That's not a description of a horse. Next student!” the student, of course, was just complaining, instead of issuing the description of a horse. But that doesn't stop the teacher a bit. He took a stamp out of his pocket and whacked the student's head with it! The word “FAIL” is clearly marked on her forehead. The rest of the students trembled in fear.
“Uh, um,” the next student can't think straight due to the sudden event happening next to her. The teacher grinned evilly. “The horse has tail!”
“And a dog does not?” the teacher was playing with the stamp.
“I mean, a horse has tail shaped like a brush!” the student stammerred. She was definitely fearful of the stamp.
“You mean just like cow. Next.” the teacher wrote down “-brush-like tail: cow”
“Umm, you can ride a horse!”
“So can you a cow. Fail! Next student!” Thankfully, the student didn't get stamped this time.
“The horse, um, um,” the next student was groping for description, “can gallop!”
“Just like a deer! Next student!”
“A horse is a farm animal.”
“You mean a donkey?”
“A horse neighs!”
“That's the sound of a horse, right? Same as Zebra, except zebras aren't farm animals. So, I think you got it. Let's see what we have so far.”
HORSE
-an animal: slug
-leg: shrimp
-land-based: spider
-not have 8 legs: ant
-has 4 legs: cat
-has snout: anteater
-can run: cheetah
-vegetarian: giraffe
-7 feet tall: panda
-has hair: dog
-brush-like tail: cow
-can gallop: deer
-farm animal: donkey
-neigh: horse
“Well, well, well. It took you guys 14 tries to get it right. That's a long time. You also have some false guesses. That's not quick at all.” The teacher just commented lightly. “Well, I guess I have to give you credit. After all, you did managed to give me the correct answer in the end. Do you know that some people cannot manage that?”
“Really?”
“Sure. In fact, you know what one of them said? 'There is no difference between a horse and a cow!' Gya ha ha ha!”
“Let's take a quick break and review. Next time I ask you to describe a horse, I want you to do it quick, okay? After all, you guys now have the experience in describing a horse. And we all know that experience is the best teacher! So, why don't you study the descriptions and let me know when you are done. We'll pick it up from where we left off.” The teacher then walk to his desk and sit on his chair, just relaxing. The student studied the list very, very carefully.
HORSE
-an animal: slug
-leg: shrimp
-land-based: spider
-not have 8 legs: ant
-has 4 legs: cat
-has snout: anteater
-can run: cheetah
-vegetarian: giraffe
-7 feet tall: panda
-has hair: dog
-brush-like tail: cow
-can gallop: deer
-farm animal: donkey
-neigh: horse
“Ready? Next student. Describe a horse to me!” The students couldn't believe it. Isn't there the list right on the board? The student thought about it for a while. There is nothing else to do, is there?
“The horse is an animal that has leg, is land-based. The number of legs is not 8, but 4. It has snout. It can run like a cheetah, and is a vegetarian like a giraffe. It is 7 feet tall, has hair and a brush like tail. It can gallop like a deer and is considered a farm animal. It makes neighing sound.”
The student finished speaking, confident that he has described a horse well.
“Fail!” said the teacher as he smacked the student on the forehead with his stamp. “What a moron! Is this how you learn from experience? Gya ha ha ha! Next student!”
The next student stared in disbelief. What was he supposed to say. The description sounds fine to him. He just stood there helplessly.
“Fail! Next student. Any other try other than that way?” asked the teacher.
The students all looked at one another. “But there's nothing wrong with the description! How can that be a failure?”
“Hey, remember what I told you: Experience is the best teacher! Is that performance the best you can do? You do know that describing a horse isn't a difficult thing to do, right? So, how come you're having so much trouble? With the cheat sheet right in front of you, no less. Are you serious about this?”
The students could only stand there helplessly. Finally, somebody asked, “What are we supposed to do?”
“Learn how to do it faster and better, of course. Want me to show you?”
“Yes, please.” The students all failed to know what to do.
“Okay, here goes: a horse is an animal that neighs.” the teacher pointed to the last item on the list. “Can you think an animal other than a horse that neighs?”
“A zebra?”
“What's the difference between a zebra and a horse?”
“Zebras have stripes.”
“There you go. Only two tries. Compare that to 14, and you can see what a big difference that makes. That is how you're supposed to learn.”
“How are we supposed to know that? You've never told us!” protested the students.
“Come now, are you still a child? Kindergarten level?”
“No, we're in high school now.”
“So how come you guys still act like an ignorant child? Finish these sentences for me. If you open it...”
“You close it.”
“Very good.” said the teacher. “If you take it out...”
“You put it back in.”
“If you drop it...”
“You pick it up.”
“If you dirty it...”
“You clean it.”
“There you see? No trouble at all.” said the teacher. “That's why I'm having trouble understanding why you're having so much trouble doing this.”
“But teacher, Grandma's House Rules has nothing to do with describing a horse!”
“Wrong! Are you saying that your intelligent level is that of a child?” then he saw that the student has “FAIL” stamped on her forehead. “What am I talking about? Of course you are so stupid!” Then he stamped her forehead a second time!
“Noooo! Teacher! I don't understand!” pleaded the student.
“Do you remember when we were discussing arithmetic that geniuses are doing the calculation from left to right while stupid people like you are doing it right to left?”
“Yes, teacher.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“I'm sorry. I really don't understand.”
“Hmmm. You really are stupid. Okay, somebody else. Finish these sentences. If you look left...”
For a while nobody said anything. Then Peter said, “You look right!”
“Correct! If you look up...”
“You look down!”
“If you start from left going to the right...”
“You start from right going to the left!”
“Correct! If you go through the list top to bottom...”
“You go through the list from bottom up!”
“There you go. If geniuses go through the list from bottom up, then stupid people...”
No student finished the sentence, but the answer is obvious: Stupid people go through the list from top to bottom! Which is exactly what everyone has been doing so far. The teacher just laugh at the students. The students are all red from embarassment.
The teacher waved the students to sit down. After taking a bit break, he continued, “That is why you are all so stupid. The answer has been with you all these time. Why is describing a horse so hard? It's not hard. There's nothing stopping you from doing it the easy way. Yet, you did it the hard way. Why?
“Because you are inexperienced. The thing is, you're supposed to be experienced by now. After all, you learn show and tell in kindergarten, right? Well, it's obvious to me that you didn't learn it then, or anytime between then and now. What a great waste of time! You've all passed through the grades based on a lie! That you knew what you're doing. Well, you don't! Sorry to be the bearer of the bad news, but it's true.”

3.3 Describe to me: A hammer!

“Wow, Nancy, those are pretty nails you have there today!” Nancy, the girl who was smacked on the forehead with the word “FAIL” twice yesterday was looking pretty.
“Thank you. I painted these this morning as to complete my look today.” said Nancy.
“Any reason?”
“Well, today is the continuation of show and tell, and the teacher did say that we're going to go a different route. That we're going to have to actually show something. So, I figured, maybe I can show the pretty bow on my head, and if that fails, the pretty finger nails.”
“Is that what the teacher meant when he said we should show something?”
“I'm not sure, but hopefully, he won't be smacking my head today because I'm so pretty!”
They both laughed nervously. The teacher isn't some dear, kind, old gentleman. He's more like Terminator on the prowl.
The bell rang, and all the students took to their seat. The class began with the teacher carrying a hammer. He was showing it to everybody. The students were all dumbfounded as to the purpose of it.
“Alright, everybody! You all know what this is, right?” He was waving the hammer around. “Do you know why I brought this thing in today?”
No response from the students.
“Come on now. You now what happened yesterday when I asked you to describe a horse, don't you? What happened then?”
“You stamped her forehead with the word 'FAIL' twice!” Nancy, the girl in question, was red with embarrassment.
“So, now, what do you think I bring this hammer for?” the teacher asked. The students thought about it, and came to the conclusion that if the teacher whacked a student's head with a stamper yesterday, then by bringing a hammer today, the teacher will whack a student's head with a hammer. The students recoiled in terror. One actually fainted.
“Gya ha ha ha! Somebody revive her! Relax, I'm not going to hit you with the hammer! I'm just bringing it for show and tell. It is obvious that you have no skill whatsoever about show and tell, so I figured, why not bring an actual object so that we can go properly observe the thing and describe it well?”
The students are not convinced that that's the actual purpose of bringing the hammer, but otherwise said nothing.
“So, get out a piece of paper and write your observation here. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when looking at this hammer?”
“It has a handle!”
“It has a head.”
“The handle is made of wood!”
“The head is made of metal.”
The teacher said, “So far what you are observing is the materials. A hammer is composed of two objects: A handle and a head. They are made of wood and metal respectively. What other observation can we make?”
“The wood is shiny!”
“The metal is dull!”
The teacher laughed. “That's true, but rather irrelevant. You're not supposed to observe inconsequential things before you notice all important elements. Remember what happened yesterday. When you described the horse, you went from the most obvious fact, when in fact, you need to go from the most RELEVANT fact. Stupid people state the obvious. Smart people state the relevant, and important facts.
“So, when you look at this hammer, you don't want to just state the obvious, that is to state the first thing that comes to mind. What you want to do is to survey all the relevant observable facts, weight them according to relevance, and go from the most important to the least important.
“So, now that you have describe the materials, what other observation can you get from this hammer?”
The student pondered for a while. Then somebody said,“What about weight? How heavy it is?”
“Yes, but a hammer can range from tiny ballpen hammer to nine pound hammer. So, even though you can observe the weight of THIS hammer, you can't make a general observation about it, can you?”
The students said nothing.
“Of course, while you cannot state anything in ABSOLUTE term, you can definitely say something in RELATIVE term. Say, what does it mean to have a proper weight ratio between the head and the handle?”
“Proper balance?”
“Exactly. You want a hammer that is easy to handle, effortless to use, and hit with enough force as to be useful! Next observation?”
The students are silent. They're not used to doing critical observation activities.
“We have materials, and we have weight. What else do we have?” prompted the teacher.
“Shape?”
“Yes, shape. What is wrong with you guys? You've never taken Geometry class before?” Of course, they have. All of them have. “I'm so disappointed with you guys. But I guess there's no helping it. After all, you guys are just a bunch of losers who went through the grades automatically, instead of by merit. Now, what about the shape?”
“The handle is shaped like a cylinder.”
“Not strictly true. This hammer's handle is shaped more like an oval. To fit the hand better. So, it's not round all-around like a cylinder, but more oval like a squished cylinder. Any other observation about that?”
“It fits the hand well. Easy to grip, and easy to swing.”
“Correct. Now what about the head?”
“It's made of metal and is flat on one side, and curved on the other.”
“Yes, go on.”
“It has more weight on the head, than it is on the handle.”
“Correct. Are you guys writing all these down?” asked the teacher.
“Yes, we are.” answered the students.
“Good. We have material, weight, and shape. What else do we need?”
The students needed a good deal of time to think since they're not used to being asked open-ended questions. Usually, they're given a list of items to be memorized, and if there's any observation or conclusion, their teacher would do it for them.
“What about usage?” prompted the teacher.
“It is used to hit nails!”
“Correct. What else?”
“It is used to hit, ummmm, other things?” The student was reluctant to mention “other people's head.”
“Okay, so we use it to pound nails and hit other things. Anything else?”
The students cannot think of anything else. What else is the purpose of a hammer but to hit nails?
“Alright. On your piece of paper, I want you to draw this hammer, as good as you can. Then below the picture, or on the side, depending on how you orient your paper, I want you to write down the complete description of it. Got it? Start now!”
The students all got busy in drawing the hammer. Some drew carefully and well. Others not so well. Then they listed the characteristics of the hammer:
-Handle is made of wood.
-Head is made of metal.
-Handle is oval/semi-cylindrical in shape.
-Handle is easy to grip, providing good balance.
-Head is flat on one side, and curved on the other.
-Head weights more than the handle.
-Hammer is used to hit nails.
After all the students are done, the teacher collected their papers. He just laughed about it. The students were confused. Didn't they do their job correctly? Why did the teacher act like the students failed in their assignment?
“Is that everybody? Alright. Next. Do this for show and tell!” The teacher pulled out an old fashioned metallic lunchbox. It's made of tin and shaped like a chest. Square on the bottom with half cylinder on top. The top is adorned with a wooden handle. The teacher showed the lunch box to everybody.
“Does everybody get it?” the teacher asked. “What do you think?”
“Well, um, it has a metal body, with a wooden handle. It opens and closes so you can store food in it.” said Nancy, the hapless unlucky student.
“Are you sure?” the teacher sudddenly looked very mean.
“Uh, um, yes, I'm sure.”
“Well, then, let's see if you actually know what you're talking about. Or maybe you belong in the 90% clueless idiot group?”
“I know what I'm talking about. I described the lunch box.” insisted Nancy.
“Oh, I wasn't talking about your lunchbox description. I was talking about your HAMMER description.”
“Huh? Hammer? What's wrong with it?”
“Let's see,” he fished out her paper. Handle made of wood.” The teacher pointed to the lunchbox handle made of wood. “Head made of metal, square on side, curved on the other.” the lunchbox body, the bottom and top respectively. “Handle is easy to grip and provides good balance.” he was swinging the lunchbox freely. “Seems to me, you're not describing a hammer, but a lunchbox!”
Nancy was flabbergasted. “It's used to hit nails!”
“Uh, yes. Say, are those your nails? They're so pretty today.” the teacher was looking at Nancy's carefully painted fingernails.
The rest of students suddenly look uncomfortable, knowing what will happen next. A few of them even thought “Say no! Say no!” hoping that the telepathic transference will work. To no avail.
“Ummm, yes?” Nancy was looking up to the teacher. She was happy that the teacher noticed her hard work on the fingers.
The teacher simply held the lunchbox in front of her, carelessly swinging it to and fro, and then, with a sudden expected fury, slammed it down on her hands.
“OOOOOOWWWWWW!!!!” screamed Nancy.

3.4 Computer Programming: Math vs. Language

“That was quite an interesting lesson, today,” Peter was at his office per usual.
“Isn't it? You know, there are many different levels of communication skills, and show-and-tell ranks right on the bottom. It's the most fundamental communication skills possible, and you blew it! That's not how you're supposed to do it at all. The thing is, you're supposed to learn how to do it many years ago, but you didn't. Your education is incomplete. Sure you check out the boxes of skills. But you do not really understand it, and was ignored for years.”
“How can that happen? If our core skills are defective, shouldn't they noticed it already? Shouldn't they do something to fix it?”
“Who's 'they'” ask the teacher.
“The teachers teaching us all these years.” said Peter.
“Hmmmm, how can I say this?” the teacher was mulling a bit, “You see, there are grades for a reason. You have a learning schedule to keep, right?”
“Yes, we learn things gradually.”
“So, now tell me. Let's say you are having trouble learning math, do you think a mere teacher can tell you whether or not you're misunderstanding the materials, or simply that you do not have talent in math?”
This time, it's Peter's turn to think things over. “Well, I guess, unless it's a specific thing or technique, a teacher may have difficulty telling the difference.”
“Exactly. The way the school system is set up, it's not conducive for individual attention!”
Peter looked at the teacher questioningly.
“What I mean is,” the teacher patiently explained, “School is the best way to educate large group of people. It's very efficient that way. However, some individuals who are too smart or too stupid will be out-of-sync with everybody. Unfortunately, the focus of group teaching means that there is precious little time to handle such cases. Understand?”
Peter nodded.
“That is why teachers have consulting hours. In case that there is a misfit of students, either because they are bored, or stupid, there is an out-of-sync error somewhere. Oh, dear. Apparently, I'm into the computer too much. I'm using computer terminology.”
“That's alright. What about consulting hours?”
“Right. The consulting hours is there to let the student sync it back into the rhythm of the class, in case of stupid student, or to have extra challenge outside the class core requirements, in case of smart student. That is to say, when the need of an individual is not the same of that of a group, the individual must be handled as special cases. That's what consulting hours is all about.”
“I guess that makes sense. I have questions that I want to ask, but I'm not sure that fits into the class lessons, so I come here to ask them.”
“That's right. And you do the right thing. These kind of sessions are really individual sessions.”
“So, who else besides me come here for these individual sessions?”
“No one. You're the only one.”
“So, I guess I'm the odd one out?”
“Either that, or the rest are stupid.”
“Huh?”
“Listen,” the teacher suddenly look tired. “It's not my, or any other teacher's responsibility to actually teach you anything.”
“Really? But isn't that what teaching is all about?”
“Nope. Sure that is what it sounds like it should be, but teaching, like any other communication process, is a two-way street. Do you know the saying: 'When a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound even if there's no one there to hear it?'”
“No, what does it mean?”
“How about, 'You can bring the horse to the water, but you can't make it drink?'”
“Yes, but I'm not quite sure what it means, either.”
“How about, 'You can't teach a pig to sing. The pig will not sing, and you will annoy the pig?'”
“Hmmm, it means learning cannot take place if the student has no talent.”
“No talent, or no desire to learn. When you wish to learn something, you will try to learn everything you can of it. However, when you're just trying to pass the class, you just want to learn the bare minimum of it. See the difference?”
“Yes, I see.”
“Therefore, it is not the responsibility of a teacher to teach you these things. You have to pro-actively learn these things! The best way to learn things is to try to take it as far as you can. That means experimentations. You have to do it in order to understand. You cannot just read a book and say that you understand.
“So, when you expand your knowledge, you'll inevitably comes into trouble. That's when you come to us, your teachers, because we've been there before. We've overcome such troubles. We can show you the way to do it. Ask us, and we'll answer.
“But you need TO COME TO US. We will not give you the knowledge freely. It's not like we're mean or stingy. It's just that there's so many things to consider that we simply do not have time. Remember, in the beginning, when I say that I will not list all the mistakes that can be made? Well, that's because it's better to let you make the mistakes and have you overcome it yourself. We'll help you if needed, but only if you need it, instead of just waiting there for us to tell you about it.
Peter thought about it. There's quite a lot of things in there that the young student cannot appreciate, but he knows enough that at least the message is consistent. Finally, he said, “There's a lot of these that I do not understand.”
“That's quite alright. Give it time. You will get it eventually. It's not a question whether or not you'll get it. It's a question of when.”
“Still,” Peter mused. “I find it hard to believe that show and tell is such a difficult thing to do.”
“Do you?” the teacher looked at him carefully. “It may interests you that some graduate level students still don't have a good handle on communication. They try to bluff their way in their research papers.”
“I find that hard to believe.” admitted Peter.
“Even some PhDs are stupid. Hard to believe, but it's true.” the teacher just shook his head in disgust. “But don't worry about it. It's going to get easier from now on.”
“Because we'll practice it?”
“That, and because we'll stop using English and start using Math. Math is a very precise language. You'll see.” 

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