/dev/null/kevin

There was a recent story about Google's CAPTCHA being broken.  CAPTCHAs are the little tests that websites use to prove the user is a human and not an automated system (spammer).  This very blog uses the simple, and easily broken, "add these numbers" test to leave a comment.

Here are my (not serious) suggestions for improved CAPTCHAs:

Use Pop Culture References:

Which character ruined Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace?

A. B. C. D. All of the Above

Answer: D

What internet meme died on April 1, 2008?

1. Dramatic Hampster
   
2. Rick Rolling
3. LOL Cats
4. Scientology
   

 

Answer: B

 Use Song Lyrics: 

How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?
The answer is: --> blowin' in the wind

Who ya gonna call?
--> Ghostbusters!

Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks?
--> Shaft!
You're damn right

Who is the man that would risk his neck for his brother man?
--> Shaft!
Can ya dig it?

Who's the cat that won't cop out when there's danger all about?
--> Shaft!
Right on!

You see this cat Shaft is a bad mother--
--> Shut your mouth
But I'm talkin' about Shaft
--> Then we can dig it

 Use Trivia: 

How Many Licks Does It Take To Get To The Tootsie Roll Center Of A Tootsie Pop?

--> 3

What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

--> African or European?

 Use Jeopardy Questions: 

 Catagory: POTPOURRI

The most undeserving popular blog at blogs.sun.com.

--> /dev/null/kevin

Please phrase your response in the form of a question

--> What the hell is /dev/null/kevin?

Comment approved.

"Newbies" have long incurred the wrath of more advanced computer users due to their lack of experience and naive views.  But what if computers and the internet really were as n00bs think it is?  What would the world be like? 

• Unplugging your computer would be the safest way to shutdown your computer
• Little elves would scan all email lists for subscription and removal requests - 24 hours a day.
• Likewise, if you just reply (to all) with "me too" you'll automatically be included.
• AOL/MySpace/Facebook is the internet.
• Making a real friend is as easy as clicking on a button.
• Don't like something?  An internet petition will change it!
  
• Cancer would be cured with chain letters.
• We'd all be rich, thanks to that nice Nigerian fellow.
• Except Bill Gates, since he gave all of his money away to people who tested his email tracking program.
• We'd be even richer because we'd won dozens of European lotteries that we didn't even enter.
  
• Oxford and Merriam-Webster change the proper spelling of "the" to "teh."
• LOLCAT would become the official language of the United States and Great Britain.  kthxbai.
• THE SHIFT KEY WOULD BE MANDATORY.
• or outlawed and removed from the keyboard.
• The "ANY KEY" key replaces the BACKSPACE key.
• All keyboards would be Dorito-proof.
• OK, that's just for me.  I really just dropped a handful of Doritos on my keyboard.  Now it crunches when I type.
  
• It's completely safe to give your PayPal password to the helpful employees who ask for it.
• Same for your credit card info.
  
• We would all know if we were "hot" or "not."
• "abc" is the most secure password to use.
• Windows Vista?  The best OS in the world.
• Everyone's penis would be longer and constantly erect.

There's lots of buzz about a computer programming language for kids called Scratch.  It's from MIT so decided it was worth a look.  I'm pretty impressed with it and wish my daughter was a little older (she turned 4 today!).  I'm still going to show it to her and make the kitty dance and play music, but I don't think she'll be programming herself just yet.  Give her a few more days. 

These teaching languages have some a long way since Logo and Basic.  It's good to link the concept of programming to something tangible, or visible, like Scratch and Lego Mindstorms do.  For me, learning Basic in the 6th grade on a TRS-80, the "hook" for me was trying to draw a picture on the screen.  I could "set" and "reset" individual pixels on the screen using the command line, but they would eventually scroll off the screen.  When someone showed me how to write a program to do it I could suddenly draw anything I wanted.  At first I still drew each pixel one at a time, but that lead me to learn about control structure (loops) and variables.

To me, this is what makes for a successful learning process: first create the need or desire, and then learning the theory is easy.  When you try and teach the theory first, without a need, or even a frame of reference, then kids (and adults) have a harder time learning.  That's why I like the Scratch program because it lets the student start off with something simple.  Hopefully, this will trigger a need and then the student will be driven to find a way of making it happen.

Tags: programming | computers | scratch | computer programming