dwp@willett.UUCP (Doug Philips) (06/28/90)
In <22747@boulder.Colorado.EDU>, kassarji@boulder.Colorado.EDU (KASSARJIAN STEVEN J) writes: > Forth seems to start me out at a lower level, but does not provide any forsee- > able limit (except my self). > The limit in Forth _is_ the programmer. > Steve. I agree with you here. Perhaps the next question should be: Is there any way, other than beating your head against a wall, to teach people to exploit Forth to the fullest? Does one need to have a formal teaching experience? Can one learn Forth on the side whilest still making a living programming in a profane language? Can previous traveller's point out the "rough spots" to learning Forth, or is finding those on your own a necessary part of the learning process? Does the analogy that some make between Forth and Zen extend validly to the enlightment process? I once asked Wavrik (via proxy when he was a guest on FIG's GEnie RoundTable) if there were any particular methods that were effective in helping programmers already proficient in other languages to unlearn their bad habits and learn Forth. The response was not very heartening. I wonder if the process of 'thinking Forth' is mysticized because it has to be, or if that is just a historical fluke? Is learning to "think Forth" really an individualized process or is it just so different from picking up another "profane" language that there aren't yet any other good alternatives to the individualized process? -Doug --- Preferred: willett!dwp@hobbes.cert.sei.cmu.edu OR ...!sei!willett!dwp Daily: ...!{uunet,nfsun}!willett!dwp [in a pinch: dwp@vega.fac.cs.cmu.edu]