BOLTON: Computer literacy a must in evolving digital world

Hallo. Hello. Hola.

If you knew all three of those languages you're doing well. What about this one?

int main() {

printf("hello, world");

return 0;

}

That was a computer programming language called C++. Strange, isn't it?

Well, at least I thought it was strange the first time I saw it.

In this "digital age," will there be a time when knowing a computer programming language will reach equal, if not higher, importance to learning a foreign language?

As someone who has spent more than a decade acquiring two foreign languages, I am finding that, in order to compete after graduation, I need to understand a couple computer languages. If so, what kind of environment would support such a demand?

I, unlike futurist Raymond Kurzweil, am not a transhumanist who asserts that with the technological advancements and artificial intelligence human beings will become "post-human" – augmented with such mechanical upgrades as brain nanochips and turbocharged suspension systems.

Nor am I suggesting we all become "World of Warcraft" addicts, locked away in our WoW Pods where we cook dried food and sip water from a fancy camel pack while simultaneously taking a crap and running an eight hour "instance."

Frankly, I will leave the gaming and science fiction to those more qualified than I.

What I do envision, on the other hand, is a more interactive, human-centered design – where digital artists and designers fold technology into the human experience rather than providing an escape hatch.

Perhaps the most mainstream example of this concept is the Nintendo Wii, where players are encouraged to exercise and move their bodies. Other examples of this type of digital design include the work of 2009 MacArthur Fellow, Camille Utterback, and Rhode Island School of Design President, John Maeda.

Utterback creates digital artwork that reacts to human movement, generating responsive colors and shapes. Maeda, taught at MIT's Media Lab where graduate students, Ben Fry and Casey Reas, developed a program called Processing that easily enables noncomputing types to code their own generative art. Also a bonus, Processing is not only a free program, but all of the resources are open sourced – meaning, again, they are free for all.

There are places outside of design and technology where computing skills are gaining importance.

In urban planning we value what is called "social capital." Loosely, social capital refers to the collective norms and values of a community that are the result of positive social interactions and engagement. A social capital benchmark might be voting records or involvement in community programs. What urban planners are discovering, however, is that people are creating online communities to foster their civil and political engagement rather than using the local neighborhood gathering place. Conventional social capital is in decline. As a response, an advocacy planner could use computing skills to create digital tools bolstering causes in undeserved communities.

Of course, there are obviously differences between computing languages and human languages. For instance, computer languages are constructed using explicit language – or logic – in the mathematical sense as opposed to more ambiguous, natural or human language. Still, even computing languages are becoming more human-friendly and intuitive.