A big difference emerges in how young folks develop their skills are developed when spending one's time as a creating vs. consuming novelty/distraction in mindless screen time.
We know the path of seeking/consuming novelty and distraction is a limited way of engaging both abstract and critical thinking skills when imagining how the hardware/software/network stack comes together. There's lots of studies on gaming (I was a voracious gamer until it got in the way of my creation and learning time), but I'd wonder if spending time in someone else's virtual worlds helps people get out there and solve real world problems.
In a way, learning by seeing, and mastering a C64 is a timeless experience, only we don't have many C64's today as true, starter computers.
It's where projects like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and others are so exciting, but there's little like seeing a physical floppy drive spin up and being witness to so many more steps in slow motion.
A big difference emerges in how young folks develop their skills are developed when spending one's time as a creating vs. consuming novelty/distraction in mindless screen time.
We know the path of seeking/consuming novelty and distraction is a limited way of engaging both abstract and critical thinking skills when imagining how the hardware/software/network stack comes together. There's lots of studies on gaming (I was a voracious gamer until it got in the way of my creation and learning time), but I'd wonder if spending time in someone else's virtual worlds helps people get out there and solve real world problems.
In a way, learning by seeing, and mastering a C64 is a timeless experience, only we don't have many C64's today as true, starter computers.
It's where projects like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and others are so exciting, but there's little like seeing a physical floppy drive spin up and being witness to so many more steps in slow motion.