This question does not get asked if print is presented as a function from the get-go.
I can see where you're coming from about letting students/children experience the problem themselves before being fed a solution, but in this case the problem only arises due to your having been taught something some way. It is not inherent.
She's talking about delaying the fundamental concept of a function, and using the absence of the function syntax in order to motivate the need for it.
Do you have kids? My nephew has been learning math. He won't be told about f(x) until he reaches algebra. Until then the presence of parentheses would just be arbitrary added complexity. In fact he hasn't even been shown parentheses in the context of application order yet.
I agree with you that you could start with that syntax. I also think you could start with = instead of "is". In both of those cases though we've introduced distinct concepts - function application and operators - and her entire approach is based on introducing one concept per learning step.
Comments
This question does not get asked if print is presented as a function from the get-go.
I can see where you're coming from about letting students/children experience the problem themselves before being fed a solution, but in this case the problem only arises due to your having been taught something some way. It is not inherent.
She's talking about delaying the fundamental concept of a function, and using the absence of the function syntax in order to motivate the need for it.
Do you have kids? My nephew has been learning math. He won't be told about f(x) until he reaches algebra. Until then the presence of parentheses would just be arbitrary added complexity. In fact he hasn't even been shown parentheses in the context of application order yet.
I agree with you that you could start with that syntax. I also think you could start with = instead of "is". In both of those cases though we've introduced distinct concepts - function application and operators - and her entire approach is based on introducing one concept per learning step.
Beginners typically use "print" before they know what a function is.