During the big tech boom, I used to joke that the reason there was a shortage of programmers was because they don’t have girlfriends/wives and thus never reproduce. The boom has gone bust and interestingly enough, the programming jobs have gone to the two most populous countries on Earth. But that’s not what I’m writing about today.
Yesterday I started teaching my 9 y.o. son to program. He thinks he might want to write games for Sega someday. Granted, the odds are against this happening, but that’s okay. I’ve wanted to teach him anyway and I can learn some new things too. So we’re working our way through Java Programming for Kids, Parents, and Grandparents by Yakov Fain. Why Java? Why not? All of the tools needed are free and downloadable, and what he learns writing in Java can be applied when writing in other modern object oriented (OO) languages. I don’t currently use Java for anything (using Python more and more), so this is a great opportunity for me too!
I might actually get two more programmers out of the deal as his little brother and sister have been looking over our shoulders during the lessons! Meanwhile his older sister, who’s away right now at the Concordia Japanese camp, Mori no Ike, has expressed an interest in 3D modelling. So I’ll be firing up Blender pretty soon too!