Beyond Bits and Atoms – Week 1 – Reading Notes

Papert, S. & Solomon, C. (1971). 20 Things to do with a computer.

“Some think of using the computer to program the kid; others think of using the kid to program the computer. But most of them have at least this in common: the transaction between the computer and the kid will be some kind of ‘conversation’ or ‘questions and answers’ in words or numbers.” (Papert, Solomon, 1971, p.1)

  1. Make a Turtle (LOGO)
  2. Program the Turtle to draw a man
  3. Turtle biology
  4. Make a display turtle
  5. Play spacebar
  6. Differential geometry
  7. Draw spirals
  8. Have a heart (and learn to debug)
  9. Grow flowers
  10. Make a movie
  11. Make a music box and program a tune
  12. Play with semi-random musical effects and then try serious composing
  13. Computerize an erector set crane and build a tower of blocks
  14. Make a super light show
  15. Write concrete poetry
  16. Try C.A.I. and psychology
  17. Physics in the finger-tips
  18. Explain yourself
  19. Puppets
  20. Recursion line (think of 20 more)