Blog Post Week 3:

I believe that coding is very important for all students, including humanities students. This is because we live in a very digital world that will only become more and more technologically advanced. Coding is not just a technical skill, it enhances critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Coding would allow humanities students to navigate our evolving digital world. I have seen many different fields slowly integrate more coding knowledge, such as mathematics, science, and economics are gradually integrating coding knowledge. We have also seen the power of different digital humanities tools, such as the website that analyzed speech and text. In addition to this, it would allow humanities students to combine coding and their traditional disciplines, helping them become more well-rounded for different problems and obstacles. Matthew G. Kirschenbaum also supports my argument by stating

“ For these students, I believe proficiency in a computer language can fulfill many of the same functions — accessibility, self-reliance, heightened critical awareness — as knowledge of a traditional foreign language.”

This quote shows that coding is significant for humanities students, as it highlights the accessibility, self-reliance, and heightened critical awareness connection to computer literacy.

Prior Experience:

My experience in coding is at an intermediate level, as I am a math major who has taken some statistics and computer science courses. I have also had to work with some code in my previous internships. I mainly have experience in R and Python. Coding has always been intimidating to me. However, as I have started to learn more about it, I have realized the importance of it. I am looking forward to combining my previous experience in coding with the new knowledge I will gain in this course. I am especially excited about the new material in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript we learned in class today.

Code:

def add_numbers(num1, num2):
    return num1 + num2
number1 = 589
number2 = 876

result = add_numbers(number1, number2)
print(f"The sum of {number1} and {number2} is: {result}")

This is a simple programming code in Python that can take two specified numbers and return their sums. This simple code shows the power of coding, as a code as simple as this can solve complex problems most people can’t do in their head.