i was just talking with someone about learning spoken languages, and how the things i appreciate most about it is the way it allows you to think in different ways, simply because you now have vocabulary (or language structures) you lacked before. it’s definitely true of programming languages, as well. the point isn’t to argue about whether high- or low- level languages are “better” (as it of course depends on what you’re trying to accomplish), but to add more tools—and more flexibility—to the toolkit in your head.
btw, i thought about it for a second and came up with the North/South thing, too. is there a valid answer aside from that obvious one, or did you over-complicate things? :)
kat - 2007-10-31 18:37:42
i was just talking with someone about learning spoken languages, and how the things i appreciate most about it is the way it allows you to think in different ways, simply because you now have vocabulary (or language structures) you lacked before. it’s definitely true of programming languages, as well. the point isn’t to argue about whether high- or low- level languages are “better” (as it of course depends on what you’re trying to accomplish), but to add more tools—and more flexibility—to the toolkit in your head.
btw, i thought about it for a second and came up with the North/South thing, too. is there a valid answer aside from that obvious one, or did you over-complicate things? :)