[TriLUG] How young is too young for linux-ish training?

[Peter Neilson]

On Tue, 30 Aug 2011 22:33:13 -0400, Paul G. Szabady <paul at thyservice.com>  
wrote:


> programming, but I'm stumped.  How and where to begin?  Has anyone ever  
> run into this type of issue before?  And/Or does anyone have any

I have taught some concepts of differential calculus to kids as young as  
eight. Once you can add, you can subtract. Once you can subtract you can  
divide. Rate of speed and rate-at-an-instant is easy for kids to pick up,  
especially if they've paid attention to a car's speedometer. Division by  
zero (oops!) or by almost-zero immediately follows.

Programming is "just another language" in a sense similar to music. Mozart  
learned music at what age, 4? (The jokes about his composing symphonies at  
the age of 18 months are fabrications, but not by much.) Tom Brier  
(contemporary sight-reading ragtime pianist) learned to read music at the  
same time he learned to read English, about age 5.)  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPa4i-ASpqs

Maturity of making decisions and adult physical strength arrive later than  
certain aspects of intellectual ability.

Old joke: - secret of success -
The secret? Good decisions.
But how does one make good decisions? Experience.
Where does one get the experience? Bad decisions.

Strenuous physical exertion at too early an age can damage the joints that  
are still forming.

The only danger I see in letting the lad learn all that Linux stuff is  
that you may suddenly be left behind.