Hello World
It's not just "Hello world", it's making an electro programmable machine, who's pulse beats at a rate no specie would understand, communicate in beautiful and fluent ways that no one of its kind/make will ever comprehend or compute. I created, it responded, if it's not art I don't know how to calculate what is. Hello world.
Lately I've been doing a bit of learning and I have started to draw some parallels with how we now teach in this digital world. As a programmer doing any thing with code you start with the "hello world" for whatever language or framework you are interested in to learn some basic things. Actually the most recent 2600 had an article about this, its about PowerShell basics but you get the gist. Go read that it's way better written than I can produce. Go ahead, subscribe and download etc... I can wait.
Anyway, when you go to school the first day they show you the coat rack and your peg, or in high school you are handed a schedule of events and just expected to stick to them without reminders. First day on a new job, computer login, IT Policy, where to park (where you park at least 80% of the time for as long as you work there.) These are the "hello world" of regular peoples world and how we learn social paradigms to coexist on this rock.
I started this new job that's a little closer to the source and started seeing this metaphor coming out but my introduction has worked like most "hello world" examples. Some are dead simple in how they work ( arduino ) and some parts are a bit more like learning a command line language that uses auto-complete turned off. Then I started looking around and seeing it everywhere. I guess we'll be using "hello world" to describe initial learning from now on. Teach em the most important things first.
When I apply this idea to life long education it sticks. Look at it, 80% of what you know, you know simply because it sticks after it was first learned. I did trig, as a professional for 5 years. I remember the root formulas (xDMHR/dby=rh) but really not much more. I couldn't hit the broad side of a carrier with a mk48 ("mark fourty eight ") presenting a Diw range within 1200 yards. But while I did it, I knew it cold and could calculate it in my head. Not bragging, Diw is the easiest calculation for speed across a line of site.
I guess it's the 80, unless it's awesome. Then maybe 85.
But think of the amazing culture we'd have if we all we pushed to the 80. Teach the 80. Enforce the 80. My eldest son that had a teacher who's goal it was to have your child able to make change, like a cash register but in your head, before they finished one subject in math. That's going for the 80! Let's shoot to be very directed at the 80. Exceptional kids will push past the 80 on their own. Just hate that we test our children past the 80, and never congratulate them on achieving where we all run at that point and time
I have a child that knows all about aerospace and astronomy, he didn't learn it in 9th grade because it's about 8 years of knowledge learned on his own. He picks up the 80, very fast and then off he goes. Did a "hello world" on the mello-phone and switches from French horn to mello-phone and marches in the summer and fall. I have never once said to make sure he practiced any piece of music nor have I placed a time on being a kid and free to chase his passion. Let's get the 80, out there and let's see where the next group of pioneers go. Why did Kennedy's challenge get us to the moon so fast? We already had the 80. When you have the 80, it just takes a "hello world" and you are on your way to the moon.
We all have amazing potential, we stretch ourselves to be better and that suddenly becomes the 80% of who we are. Your 80 is changing all the time. Grab your 80 and see what primer will take you into the next version of your life. We can accomplish almost anything if we collaborate and add our knowledge and experience. Lets solve some big problems with our collective 80. I saw a TED talk recently on what hunger and starvation on a global scale means. But we have the combined knowledge to help those in need, help themselves. We all have the 80 in us, we just need to give them the ideas that help.
Hello world.
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