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Programming is the activity of making the computer do something on its own. When you use a computer, it's usually as a tool to make something. You might move the mouse and type things into the keyboard to get it to do things. Programming is slightly different. It's like writing a bunch of instructions for the computer to do it, and then it runs off and does those things.
Historically the problem with programming from an arts perpective is that it's been motivated by mathematics. I've always held a theory that artists and designers are fantastic at mathematics -- underlying proportion, establishing relationships, systems of color and form, and other basic skills of the artist and designer are not unlike those of mathematics. It's just that the language of execution is different.
About ten years ago I wanted to bridge this gap and developed the Design By Numbers project as a way to teach programming to people that don't particularly care for mathematics. This system was fine for its times but it was soon not enough, and the duo of Ben Fry and Casey Reas went off to create something many times better called Processing.
Learning how to program is fairly important today because it is the underlying basis of the digital world. One long term challenge, I have believed, is for society to figure out what comes *after* programming. I have hopes that this kind of leadership will emerge from a school in art and design.
You might want to check out the new Scratch system. It's for kids, but it's also for anybody that likes to tinker.
-- John Maeda
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