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Why MIT switched from Scheme to Python (2009)

(www.wisdomandwonder.com)
284 points borski | 2 comments | 25 Jul 25 16:38 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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varenc ◴[25 Jul 25 17:19 UTC] No.44685658[source]▶
I was one of the last batches of students on the old Scheme curriculum. I absolutely loved it! Understanding that all loops could be done via recursion, and what a side effect is, is what fundamentally made me fall in love with CS. I've heard good things about the new, and now newer, curriculum but I know I wouldn't have had the awakening I did if it weren't for scheme.

RIP SICP

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ps another fun story: we had some test where we were allowed to bring in 1 page of reference notes. And turns out the entire scheme specification is short enough to fit on a double sided page if condensed. So my friend, mostly in jest, brought the whole Scheme specification to the test with him and figured every possible question could be answered that way!

replies(2): >>44686034 #>>44689813 #
1. chuckadams ◴[25 Jul 25 17:49 UTC] No.44686034[source]▶
> turns out the entire scheme specification is short enough to fit on a double sided page if condensed

I think this only held for R4RS and earlier. You can fit War and Peace on one page if you condense it enough.

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2. TMWNN ◴[25 Jul 25 21:27 UTC] No.44688692[source]▶
>You can fit War and Peace on one page if you condense it enough.

"I took a course in speed reading, learning to read straight down the middle of the page, and I was able to go through War and Peace in 20 minutes. It's about Russia." —Woody Allen