[fydelia]

I won't expose them to computer programming until they routinely see science in the world and have mastered paper else paper may too easily bore them. For now, the computer is a word processor. I do not want them thinking that the computer is the world.

I agree, but my husband builds networks for a living and he is insistent that our children will learn at his knee, which will be difficult to avoid since he works from home a lot, and studies constantly. I want my children to be able to interact with intellectual resources from any source or medium. He shares your interest in creating "dangerous" children, hehehe, and he does make good points to the effect that for them to truly be such in the coming era they will need to understand the fundamentals of computing and not be end users only. My dad is a programmer, and one thing I have been really surprised to learn from my husband is that the kind of network/systems/hardware stuff he does is actually more fundamental than (most) programming. When his programmer friends are hanging out here, it is obvious that they know much less than he does about what makes the machines tick. What kind of engineering do you do?

I have to admit that I'm not quite comprehending your method, I think I would need to see a full example laid out. I mean I think I get the basic idea, but I'm not quite sure how it would work on a kid who didn't already know arithmetic. You should really publish this, even if only on the web. There are a lot of people out here who want to teach our kids to really understand math, not just by rote, from the start, but are at a loss for methods. I looked at a Saxon book once, it looked just like my high school math books, only more systematic. But not deeper.

[Carry_Okie]

Precisely. Understanding computers starts with basic electromagnetic theory, proceeds through transistors, gate design, flip flops, Karnaugh mapping, assembly language, and THEN higher level stuff. It's just a machine.

What kind of engineering do you do?

From blue sky to product, that was my job. I developed (past tense) manufacturing processes and equipment for the medical and electronic businesses. It involved chemistry, physics, engineering, design, project management, finance, and construction management and regulatory permitting worldwide. I do habitat restoration as a hobby.

Since then I have written a book proposing a free market regulatory system. I am now getting it reviewed and selling it on a limited basis.

I have to admit that I'm not quite comprehending your method, I think I would need to see a full example laid out. You should really publish this...

Yep. That's another book. I've got a lot of them in me, but I also have commitments and limited capital.