The “Art” of Programming | Aayush Mohapatra | TEDxSioux Falls Youth
Summary
TLDRThe speaker shares his journey from building a website at nine to learning Python, highlighting the creative and artistic side of coding. He argues that programming is a form of self-expression, akin to painting or writing, and challenges the stereotype of programmers as solely logical or intelligent. He criticizes traditional coding education for being too rigid and not fostering creativity, advocating for a more exploratory approach to inspire the next generation of innovators.
Takeaways
- 🌐 The speaker shares the story of building their first website at nine years old, which sparked a deep interest in programming.
- 👨💻 Contrary to stereotypes, the speaker did not have a natural inclination towards coding; they learned it out of curiosity and necessity.
- 💻 The speaker's first coding experience was motivated by their father, who encouraged them to create a website during summer break.
- ⏳ Despite the long tutorial (seven hours), the speaker was determined and spent 12 hours creating the website, which gave them a sense of accomplishment and euphoria.
- 🐍 The speaker later learned Python at the age of 12 but found the experience less fulfilling compared to their first coding project.
- 💡 The speaker realized that programming is often viewed through stereotypes as boring, logical, and difficult, which deters many from learning it.
- 🎨 The speaker argues that programming is an art form, involving creativity, problem-solving, and self-expression, similar to painting or writing.
- 🎯 The speaker emphasizes that coding can be fulfilling when approached as a creative process rather than just solving logical problems.
- 🎥 The speaker criticizes traditional coding tutorials for being too rigid, promoting a narrow, solution-focused mindset that stifles creativity.
- 🚀 The speaker encourages a more creative and exploratory approach to teaching programming, which can inspire innovation and make the process more enjoyable.
Q & A
What was the speaker's first experience with creating a website like?
-The speaker's first experience with creating a website involved watching a seven-hour tutorial video, following along with Microsoft Notepad, and spending 12 hours from 10 AM to 10 PM to complete the website.
Why did the speaker feel like a god after finishing his first website?
-The speaker felt like a god because he experienced a sense of euphoria and power, feeling like he could create his ideal world and shape it to his desires through coding.
What did the speaker do with his first website after completing it?
-The speaker left his first website in the recycling bin after summer break, never to see it again.
At what age did the speaker start learning Python, and why was it chosen?
-The speaker started learning Python at the age of 12 because it is recommended for beginners, as it reads like English and is considered the best for starting out in programming.
Why did the speaker not feel the same excitement when learning Python as he did with his first website?
-The speaker did not feel the same excitement because the process of learning Python through tutorials did not give him the same kick or sense of fulfillment as creating his first website did.
What did the speaker realize about programming that led to his epiphany?
-The speaker realized that programming is often viewed through stereotypes, such as requiring a high IQ or being boring and logical, which is not true. He discovered the artistic side of programming, which involves creativity and self-expression.
According to the speaker, what is the definition of art according to the Cambridge Dictionary?
-According to the Cambridge Dictionary, art is the making of objects, images, music, etc., that are beautiful or express feelings.
Why does the speaker argue that programming is an art?
-The speaker argues that programming is an art because it is a creative process that involves imagination, problem-solving, and understanding the world around us, similar to creating a painting or composing music.
What does the speaker suggest is the reason many people do not code?
-The speaker suggests that many people do not code because they think it is boring and that they are not smart enough for it, which are misconceptions based on stereotypes and the way programming is often taught.
What two factors does the speaker identify as contributing to the stereotype of programming?
-The two factors identified by the speaker are pop culture, which stereotypes programmers as nerds, and the way programming is taught, which often lacks creativity and exploration.
What is the speaker's suggestion for a more engaging way to teach coding?
-The speaker suggests teaching coding with a creative and explorative mindset, allowing learners to build something and get their hands dirty, rather than focusing on a single solution to a problem.
Outlines
🌐 Discovering the Artistry of Coding
The speaker shares their personal journey of creating their first website at the age of nine, dispelling the myth that they were destined to be a tech prodigy. They describe the initial experience as a tedious yet rewarding process, which led to a sense of euphoria and power. However, when they later learned Python, the experience felt less fulfilling, prompting an introspection about the nature of programming. The speaker concludes that programming is often viewed through stereotypes, missing its artistic and creative potential, which they argue is the true essence of coding.
🎨 The Creative Side of Coding
This paragraph delves into the artistic aspect of programming, challenging the common perception of it as a purely logical and boring activity. The speaker argues that coding is a creative process that involves imagination and problem-solving, similar to painting. They liken the coding process to an artist's journey, where the coder's code editor is the canvas and the keyboard the tool for expression. The speaker criticizes traditional coding education for promoting a fixed mindset and stifling creativity, suggesting that this approach could hinder future innovation. They advocate for a teaching method that encourages exploration and self-expression, concluding with the idea that coding should be seen as an art form that allows for unique personal expression.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Website
💡Programming
💡Python
💡Creativity
💡Self-expression
💡Tutorials
💡Stereotypes
💡Art
💡Innovation
💡Pop culture
Highlights
The speaker's first experience building a website at the age of nine during summer break, inspired by his father.
The speaker watched a seven-hour tutorial to learn website creation, using Microsoft Notepad as a code editor.
After 12 hours of work, the speaker felt a sense of euphoria and power, akin to being a god able to create his ideal world.
Despite the initial excitement, the speaker abandoned the website project after summer break, only to revisit coding three years later.
At 12, the speaker began learning Python, a beginner-friendly programming language that reads like English.
The speaker followed a similar process with Python tutorials as with website creation, but did not get the same satisfaction after completion.
After a month of following tutorials, the speaker felt empty and bound by the limitations of human innovation and logic.
The speaker had an epiphany about why people don't code, attributing it to the perception that it's boring and requires high intelligence.
Programming is often viewed through stereotypes, such as the need for a high IQ or mathematical ability, which is a misconception.
The speaker argues that programming is an art form, involving creativity, imagination, and problem-solving.
Coding is compared to painting, where the code editor is the canvas and the programmer's fingers are the brush.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of the creative process in coding, rather than just the end product.
Programming allows for self-expression, similar to how an artist uses a canvas or an author uses words.
The speaker criticizes the way programming is often taught, focusing on a single solution and not encouraging creativity.
The speaker suggests that the way coding is taught can stifle innovation and creativity in future generations.
The speaker calls for a change in the teaching approach to coding, to encourage exploration and creativity.
The speaker concludes by encouraging people to view programming through the lens of an artist, not a robot.
Transcripts
foreign
[Music]
[Music]
I made my first website
pause
I know what you're thinking
this man was born in a certain South
Asian country starts with an i ends with
an a when he was born his Destiny was
written in the sand to become the next
Steve Jobs or Bill Gates his first
language was some form of code and his
first words were hello world rather than
Mommy or Daddy
uh no that was not true I was just your
average nine-year-old Indian Child and
speaking of nine-year-olds why would a
nine-year-old build a website that's not
what nine-year-olds do
well one day during my summer break my
dad sat me in front of a computer and
told me to make a website and having
nothing better to do I said sure why not
so I go into my computer and search up
how to make a website enter
click the first video it's seven hours
long
I sit and I watch the whole thing I take
pauses and I to follow along I open up
the world's most premier code editor
Microsoft Notepad and I keep on going
and I grind
for about 12 hours I started at 10 and I
ended at 10 and when I finished guys I
know you're gonna love this
[Applause]
Microsoft Amazon where are my junior
developer contracts
but all jokes aside I felt something
I felt a feeling I couldn't describe at
the time something I didn't know it felt
like a Euphoria I felt the power going
through my fingertips I felt like a god
who could sculpt his Ideal World and fit
whatever he desired
but this was during summer break and
when summer break was over I just left
it into the recycling bin never to see
it again
then three years later when I was 12 I
started learning python no this isn't
I'm not a snake Tamer this is the
programming language you're talking
about here
and python is recommended for beginners
as it's the best as it reads like
English so naturally that's where I
start and
as I followed the detour so the tutorial
was very eely similar I go on to YouTube
search up free Python tutorial click
enter click the first option on YouTube
it's seven hours long and
I watched the whole thing and I open up
my code editor and I follow along with
the tutorial just like I did with the
website but once I finished
it didn't feel right I didn't get the
same kick out of it but I kept on going
I followed more tutorials and more
tutorials and I did that for about a
month and when I finally finished that
last tutorial I felt nothing
I fall empty instead of feeling like a
god who could do whatever he wanted
I felt like Immortal Bound by the chains
of human Ingenuity and logic and
reasoning and that's when I had an
epiphany
this is why people don't code
when I asked my friends why they don't
program The Boiled down to two reasons
one they thought it was boring
and two they thought they weren't smart
enough for it
with this mindset you're viewing
programming by its stereotypes
and viewing that you need to be a math
person you have to have a really big IQ
you need to fit all these criteria
before you can even think about
programming which
is simply not true
we often think of programming as boring
logical and Industrial and we view it
through one path however there's another
side that we tend to forget about and
it's the one I discovered first
the artistic side of it
the definition of art occurring a
Cambridge Dictionary is the making of
objects images music Etc that are
beautiful or that express feelings now I
present the following statement to you
programming is an art
now that might sound like an oxymoron
but that is exactly where the Crux of
the matter lies
we don't think about it like this
programming is actually a creative
process one that involves a deep
imagination problem solving and a deep
and a deep understanding of the world
around us when we code we are creating
something out of nothing building
complex systems out of simple
instructions and
just like with an actual just like with
art the process is more fulfilling than
the end product
coding follows a very similar path to
making a painting for example first
comes the vision the idea such as a
really cool app you want to build or a
painting you want to make
for encoding your code editor is your
canvas with your keyboard and fingers as
the palette and the paintbrush as you
type along you fill that painting up and
when you're finally finished that end
product
you get the satisfaction of making an
end product that you created with your
ingenuity
and that's what and that was the reason
I found coding so captivating as a
nine-year-old I couldn't tell you then
but programming was a form of
self-expression for me
it was something
think about it like an artist or a
painter or an author an author expresses
their thoughts and expresses themselves
onto their books and artists does so
with their paintings and artwork and a
programmer does the same with their code
lets people create and share their own
unique ideas and projects when you solve
a problem or create something unique you
did it in your unique you did it in your
own way with your way of thinking and
your way of implementing that solution
I'd like to end off with the con with
the causes of this why do we think about
programming like this
well although there are many factors I
boil down to two reasons the first is
pop culture
pop culture tends to stereotype
programmers as nerds and right here
that's uh High School Bill Gates and you
know he gives off those nerd Vibes he's
got the look he's got the glasses he's
got the hair he's got the um I don't
know the whole room of computers
and
and people tend to correlate nerds as
being geeky quirky and overly
intelligent compared to the average
person so people correlate programming
with being geeky boring and requiring a
high amount of intelligence but the
second and most important is the way
we're taught
the first picture above is a creative
like exploring mindset Let Yourself Go
free let yourself ask questions figure
it out on your own get your hands dirty
build something the second the bottom
picture the bottom two pictures are what
99 of coding tutorials will teach you
when you they make it look like you're
making progress but when they give you a
practice problem they're expecting one
solution from it
there you don't even get asked the
simple question of make something cool
like make a game that you want to make
they say solve a problem like make a
translator that translates this into
that or out of all the numbers in this
list
you're locked into this one path where
you're only allowed one solution to a
problem and you're not allowed to
explore anything yourself
and whenever I Implement those Solutions
they'd be in this really boring Black
Box every single time for a month I
don't want to look at this I want to
look at something like that or like this
this was made in Python the same
language I described as extremely boring
the difference is that they let their
creativity go on when they made this I
wasn't allowed to do that people don't
program to look at black boxes they
program to make something they get their
hands dirty just they want to push
something out
if we teach coding like this to the Next
Generation
what's going to happen
if we can teach people the code that's
not the problem the problem is the way
we're taught
if kids are going to learn coding
through this locked fixed mindset
there's no room to grow and they're
going to be using this tool a lot more
in the future to develop a lot more
creative systems
they won't innovate they won't because
they weren't taught to they don't they
only be taught to look for solutions
that to look for problems that only have
one simple solution
so anyone here the next time you're
thinking of coding
um if you don't like it maybe look at it
through the lenses of an artist rather
than a robot who knows maybe you too
could feel like a god
foreign
[Music]
[Applause]
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