Page 107 of a book of speeches and articles by EWD (Edsgar W. Dijkstra) on the 10% of the teaching programming versus the hidden 90% of what programming and problem solving involve. The VET who SAT down to watch AUC (All U Children) on TVV, SO what if this was at the YMDC (i.e., the YMCA in Washington, DC) where the Gulf War or Vietnam Vet was staying. VET-SAT-AUC, TVV-SO-YMDC is the string of the first letters from a quote by Dijkstra. Programming, when stripped of all the circumstantial irrelevancies is nothing more and nothing less than "very effective thinking so as to avoid unmastered complexity, to very vigorous separation of your many different concerns". very effective thinking so as to avoid unmastered complexity, v e t s a t a u c = vet sat auc to very vigorous separation of your many different concerns. t v v s o y m d c = tvv so ymdc See http://www.cs.uni.edu/~jacobson/ghost.txt for context of this along with discussion of Ghostbusters movie as a metaphor with many lessons about programming and problem solving. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scene two: Dr. Peter Venkman (played by Bill Murray) at the paranormal studies laboratory with Scott and Jennifer. What is being studied? Knowing ability. At the Weaver Hall Dept. of Psychology of Columbia University. The studying of the ability to know. Polya, in a book on problem solving that captivates and thrills many computer scientists, including Dijkstra, says: "Teaching to think means that the mathematics teacher should not merely impart information (the 10% of the iceberg), but should also try to develop the ability of the students to use the information imparted: he or she should also stress the often neglected less obvious hidden part of the iceberg: know-how, useful attitudes, desirable habits of mind are 90% of problem solving, programming, mathematics and proving things."