Blog Post Week 3

Procedural literacy, which starts with exercises like making a snowball, will be essential if humanities students are to understand virtual worlds as rhetorical and ideological spaces, just as film and the novel are likewise understood as forms of representation and rhetoric

Kirschenbaum, M. G. (2010, May 26). Hello worlds (why humanities students should learn to program). Matthew G. Kirschenbaum. https://mkirschenbaum.wordpress.com/2010/05/23/hello-worlds/

I am for the push for humanities to learn some code. We live in an ever-changing world. Rejecting learning code is to accept a handicap that could affect your life later on. Coding is becoming an essential part of everything we do, and being able to navigate through that allows for the advancement of their own goals and projects they would want to pursue. Being able to code allows for easier processing of information. For example, take this code block:

<table>
    <tr>
        <th>Column 1 heading</th>
        <th>Column 2 heading</th>
        <th>Column 3 heading</th>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Row 2, cell 1</td>
        <td colspan="2">Row 2, cell 2, also spanning Row 2, cell 3</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td rowspan="2">Row 3, cell 1, also spanning Row 4, cell 1</td>
        <td>Row 3, cell 2</td>
        <td>Row 3, cell 3</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>Row 4, cell 2</td>
        <td>Row 4, cell 3</td>
    </tr>
</table>

This code block denotes the creation of a table. Tables such as these allow for easier displaying of information. Rather than creating these tables manually and inputting data manually, having the ability to code will allow a person to be able to write a script that allows for this data to be put in automatically and allows for calculations. This ability would allow for faster and less error-prone mistakes that could arise from just doing everything manually.

Additionally, having the ability to code not only means faster productivity in other fields. It also contributes to greater logical thinking. Coding involves algorithmic thinking, taking things step by step to reach a solution. When one has this ability it can help them in any field, especially the humanities where critical thinking and analysis are what drive the field. Having the ability to code can only enhance one’s capabilities in other fields. Rejecting learning how to code will only impede you as technology grows.

I have taken a lot of CS courses throughout my whole life. Starting from middle school and even now where I am pursuing a Computer Science Major at Carleton College. From my experience, being able to code and having background knowledge of code has benefitted me greatly. Not just in my CS classes, but in other fields as well. It allowed me to be able to breakdown my thoughts. For example, in an essay, I’ll break down the topic into small parts, just like recursive programs. Once the topics are broken down into those small segments I can manage them and solve them quickly.

Having the ability to code and read code is not only beneficial for those in STEM fields but those in the Humanities as well. It takes a mix of them both to be able to become a well-rounded and critical individual.