[plt-scheme] Hit People Over the Head with HtDP

On Jan 19, 2009, at 16:29, Grant Rettke wrote:
> Have you [Neil] found some successful ways to communicate, or  
> convince,
> experienced programmers that there is something for them to learn with
> HtDP?
> Most "experienced programmers" tend to be convinved that there is
> nothing left to learn but new APIs and frameworks.

I was in that category, but when I learned the HtDP methodology, I was  
surprised how many times I put some effort into coming up with a  
solution, thinking I had lots more to do, only to find that really I  
was done.  It's a wonderful feeling.

I do wish there were variants like:
- How to Design World Financial Recovery
- How to Design Mideast Peace
- How to Design a Cure for Cancer

At least I'm happy HtDP has made my engineering life easier.

It even makes teaching C++ easier, which I am doing this semester  
(hold the catcalls).  Today students were clearly thinking things  
through, checking results against expectations.  In 30 minutes they  
went from not really having a clue where to start, to understanding  
exactly how to approach the week's work.