The Art of Code | Zach Latta | TEDxYouth@Tallinn

"I believe, if we continue down the path we're currently on, yes, we can teach every young person to code. But I also think, that we're going to teach them that coding is something that's learned through memorization and that coding is something where there's one right answer." Zach offers a new perspective.
Zach Latta is the co-founder and executive director of Hack Club, where he works to bring coding clubs to high schools worldwide. Before Hack Club, he built the backend architecture for Yo - an app with more than 3 million users. Before that he helped launch and grow a game to over 1 million users, reaching #1 in the games category on the App Store.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@azmainkhan9998]

It's been about 8 months since I have started learning coding. And I have never known that coding is so fun. I would say that everyone should learn how to code. It's fun.

[@inventanew]

it sounds like you should make a school, become the man to change the man, nice talk, enormous inspiration, thank you

[@soapwater_tastesfine]

I remember LordofPi as a fairly quiet/reserved staff member, at least from my pov. Didn’t realize he was responsible for Deadwood, and probably Nexus. Glad he’s doing well :)

[@gauravdalvi3504]

It’s good approach to teach coding by creativity not like a math problem. Thank you for making such great video for inspiring us

[@ausintune9014]

as a C++ and C# programmer this is horrible advice computers work by math and "creative work" is the graphics designers and game designers job. Not the programmer's.

[@ausintune9014]

im not saying that there isnt multiple ways to do it and it does require creativity to make a new method of doing something. what i was trying to say is that in essence programming is a giant math problem that you have to solve to display what you want, or compute what you need

[@bluegiant13]

Giant math problem, that is a neat way of putting it!

[@autoinsy]

Yes, you are right. Many people,such as me,has long lost at the beginning of “learning “ something. It’s really hard to focus on anything this days, because of the choice our teachers and parents already chose for us. Despite all the meanings of successfully, the most simple answer of what is success should be “whatever makes us happy”.

[@aidensmith6277]

One of my music friends said that programming wasn't art (it is.) He uses music programs. "An artist had to make the canvas." He froze for a bit, opened his mouth as to say something contrary, thought again, and then agreed.

[@Wekon]

If I could give this talk like each time I see it again and again, it would have so much more likes so far.

[@jackmcguire7871]

My uncle started learning wordpress when it was new and it was all about making wordpress blogs back then i think he got drawn by the trend.. he kept talking me into it as well .. i was convinced and fastforward 6 months he was still struggling with its PHP functions while i had my up and running wordpress blog and received my first 50 dollar Ad offer from a company through to my paypal account .. he saw this and his jaw dropped.. i guess what made me progress much faster than him was exactly what this ted talk was all about .. i just wanted to do something i like a lot .. my own ranting blog that hits home with so many like-minded people.. and the crazy part is, i only knew html .. no PHP whatsoever .. and learn my way into advanced PHP techniques through that same exact blog .. coding is like art, you learn it by creating!

[@joshuah2234]

My interest in programming was almost entirely squashed by university. The books were so painful to read they would have made Christ come down from the cross, the assignments were difficult and lectures were useless, our teacher was a "teacher" who had no interest in programming and there were absolutely no tutors or alternative resources for students. I got through that class because I sat with classmates in the library for hours *grinding away*. If I didn't love the idea of creating everything I could imagine, I would never have stuck to it.

[@FATIMA-pe2fz]

I 100% agree , i’m in college and studying cs i love it but when it’s outside of college i love to build website by myself and do what i wanna do with my own creativity not having to do something just to pass a subject

[@oliverli9630]

my friend studied java in school. and school really trained him to be an employee. when i got an idea to build something to defeat market makers and make money, he kept dissuading from doing it, explaining why i would fail all the time

[@Amicoskates01]

God bless him, great speech

[@millertime6]

Can’t give creative coding quizzes because they’re tougher to grade. Lazy but true

[@sciencenerd8326]

Loved it...

[@bhopgod6787]

I USED TO PLAY GRAAL WITH THIS KID LOLLL

[@divinjordan8636]

cool. I like this approach of learn coding

[@kingharsh9713]

Damn I used to do this when I was a kid I made a club penguin webpage! And now I’m studying IT! I need to stay motivated!

[@rcarrascc]

Keep goin Zach :) Cheers from Chile!

[@packetpirate]

I got excited when he mentioned Graal, because I used to play that in the early 2000s, but then he mentioned his phone. When did Graal become a phone game? I used to be a NAT on a couple servers. Scripting in that game was a lot of fun, and I spent a lot of time building trap rooms in that game.

[@vierzenf]

That version of graal started 2009

[@soapwater_tastesfine]

They were creating a version Zone for iOS. I can’t recall why, but it was cancelled. Classic iOS is what’s referred to in the video.

[@grandosprey6450]

I definitely agree that as a passion, people should let their end goals define the means instead of learning a lot and never actually achieving the end vision. This is sort of silly though because what you learn in AP CS in high school isn’t exactly “advanced”. It’s just the most basic concepts of programming so if you want to ever code you need to know it...

[@deeproy7292]

thank you

[@ausintune9014]

Coding doesnt have "1" right answer otherwise we all be making super maro kart

[@akinoreh]

Assuming you missed the point he was trying to make, arraySum doesn't really express the person that writes it. What possible expression, desire, creativity could it represent? It is dull and technical. I remember my first attempt (when I was 18) at coding. Searching online, I found about Bloodshed Dev-C++. I downloaded it and followed some tutorials on how to do math and create a "calculator". I disliked it. There was no creativity, so no desire. I dropped it. Only a few years later, I tried it again. This time I was using JavaScript. Directly manipulating what I see. Create graphics, animations, app, etc. This was fun. It fueled my desire and creativity. I didn't have to get that technical. I didn't have to work on a console... The point is when teaching someone how to code, talking about really technical stuff and theory might just make the person lose interest in coding. Showing/doing some fun things first and getting technical later works better. You'd be giving the person some purpose to endure the not-so-interesting parts.

[@kidjr.9520]

Bruh thats the final question i have been learning to code for about 3 weeks now i can easily make that programe.

[@SGSM7]

i appreciate your work . good continuation . you showed to us how is the native learning . all good things come frome our voluntary and perseverance. you love penguin club so you want make another siteweb with your inspirations and makeing somthing news . that's what i call coding . make your point of view .

[@BeLikeNexus]

The one thing I dont agree with is the "I dint want to be forced to solve solve a problem with a set answer". Its not about the answer you get wits about how you solve the problem

[@yukigt5596]

I didn't think anyone in the world knows about graa l my favorite

[@sanketprasad2532]

The reason I hate competitive coding

[@SpyLeb1]

I’m cut in half. Array and such are base of so many languages. It’s an hammer on a belt. According to me you’re can’t be a professional coder without strong bases. I think teachers need to have video games classes and gamification. Look at Apple with Xcode and it’s iPad app who teach strong skills while playing. I think a coder will obviously have to learn all his life. Everything changes and if you want to be in the “fun” part of code you need to always move forward (every days!). As soon as you’re confident enough you can make something and you think you can be an asset to a team, you got it. Drop school and make your dream! Learn by the way you love, you will be way better!

[@sreehari563]

Jonathan Laflamme yeah I learnt arrays and sorting etc while learning the syntax of a language.but now I have published an Android app without using arrays and I don't think I will be using them in the apps that I intend to publish soon. it's very interesting to create something new using code, but learning arrays and stuff is pretty boring. anyway I had already made the decision (by watching another video which offers the same message) to just go for it and learn coding by building apps and websites

[@chrishorton7218]

You made an app without the use of any arrays? I've never messed with Android Dev, but in Swift (iOS), you can't even structure a simple table view without the use of arrays.

[@nadeemhalbhavi9274]

print('nice video') learning how to code with python wish me luck

[@error0803]

how did it go? are you working as a dev?

[@nadeemhalbhavi9274]

@@error0803 I am in the interview process now for web developer job

[@sitenpatel607]

I know the coding mentioned in book or any websites....but how to create something let's say a website is something unknown to me... seeking guidance... thanks

[@prasannaadhikari]

u are amazing

[@HalValla01]

Who else misses club penguin?

[@VillageJoker]

Awesome

[@abrahamjacob8876]

100 percent accurate.

[@panos21sonic]

Mixed feelings about this talk, problem solving is a huge part of software engineering, and there are times where there is only 1 correct solution, if one cannot solve such problems, they will have a hard time either finding a job or even creating what they wish

[@heavenhitter74]

Honestly ! Everythings is good i love to slove coding question becoz it build my that logic part of brain but when school & collage evaluate student by marks then it creates a pressure for me and that time i thought coding is not in my things

[@Ximithie]

Cool stuff they now open up the crypt every year and do yearly quests by his deadwood town

[@k4y685]

Came here for Graal 👍👍

[@Ximithie]

K4Y it’s pronounced grawl.

[@magnet_]

That is truuuuue and that is what happens to me these days 😐😔

[@JustinK0]

7:00 solve this problem at the end of the year?! even if its for younger students, its not too complicated but i guess the school will take their time teaching, zach is suggesting that learning to code should be based around projects rather than coding to solve silly problems, but thats where "oop" comes in later. public class test { public static void main(String[] args) { { int[] arr1 = { 1, 3, 2, 7, 3 }; int total = 0; for (int i = 0; i < arr1.length; i++) { total += arr1[i]; } System.out.print(" The Total is: " + total); } } } The Total is: 16

[@TridentEditing]

duh

[@lokicatau]

Twinny here, I'll ping Az and tell him to check this out :)

[@mriaz207]

Good.

[@XD-ci6jl]

kek it's like we lived the same life

[@graal8263]

i remember this admin from graal! lordofpi13

[@shikshanhindi8769]

I wish i played this game. Reminds me off pokemon crystal...

[@Psycandy]

at my school, the only games you were allowed to play were those you'd written yourself. And then there's demoscene...

[@jeschr3462]

lol unfortunately the demand for creative focused coding related to the gaming industry is not as in demand as say coding for sophisticated apps/softwares that people use daily for business and science.

[@anekdotbulgaria1428]

Where i can find this game?

[@lionverse1237]

App

[@mischiefdr]

Play store.

[@sangharramesh]

My story is also somewhat similar to yours :)

[@protector3120]

I can feel you.

[@NickSaysHenlo]

Rip CP :(

[@_Luket]

Wait u still 12?

[@chrishorton7218]

You don't just skip the fundamentals and go straight into making the next Call of Duty lmao.

[@ausintune9014]

a call of duty clone isnt even hard to make, i'd consider a basic shooter a easy task

[@chrishorton7218]

Ausintune I don't see your point... you still won't be able to make it without knowing the basics of writing code.

[@taxoon]

These aren't fundamentals. You actually don't have to use the things they teach at school at all to be a good programmer.

[@chrishorton7218]

You've never coded, nor was ever taught how to contextualize things. We're talking about the importance of what you learn in a typical class based around coding, specifically in schools, so yes, the fundamentals would be learning about simple variables and functions, as it is very necessary for doing any tasks in any language.

[@Praernym]

Gamedev is very different from coding and computer science. See toby fox making one of the best selling indie games of all time without really knowing how to code.

[@morpheus246]

link to a past ?

[@soapwater_tastesfine]

morpheus 420 ya in the late nineties it used LTTP assets and it was called Zelda Online.

[@Starbat88]

I was born a decade too early.

[@calistajay8376]

I believe coding should be creative not mathematical.

[@seupadonald5067]

can someone learn how to code without any prior knowledge in computer sciences?. I major in accounting and finances and I am fascinated about coding.

[@mademoisellevee]

Yes. There are a lot of coding modules online :)

[@seupadonald5067]

@@mademoisellevee thanks 😊

[@mademoisellevee]

@@seupadonald5067 there's a lot you can do since you majored in finance and would learn coding. There are a lot of automations/programs you can create since you know the basics, such as payroll etc. There are actually coding lessons in youtube. You just got to search the languages you want to learn. Wish you all the best bro :)

[@BAZZAROU812]

Does this come with a Rope..

[@jackzfury9717]

goood

[@watchandgrowrich]

02:19

[@Calvin_cluster]

Is this Llord?, the youngest level staff and admin in graal at the age of 13?? Am i right lol

[@Ximithie]

JakeTricky hello there sir

[@Calvin_cluster]

Yo lol

[@gbmrqzz0]

man i miss club penguin....

[@johnzuo8022]

Maybe he just want to be a game designer.

[@unknownguyuhh5877]

yo wtf graal is here?

[@Ximithie]

UnknownGuy Uhh lol

[@ginosanchez7]

Math can be extremely creative and have multiple methods of solving a problem (there are over 350 known proofs to the Pythagorean Theorem). Good talk and much respect for what you've created, but lets not throw subjects under the bus cause you don't like them

[@joelbustamante9906]

NObama

[@GraalElk]

just lol

[@tomatop6754]

Elk Darkshire i MaDE a tOWn cALLeD DEaDwoOd!

[@GranolabarBroadcasts]

There isn’t one right answer that’s where he loses me. The fun part is solving the problem in a way that reduces time complexity and or overhead using some form of logic or algorithm in a creative manner. He should really gather the fundamentals of computer science before making this statement. It’s an AP course. The intention is to allow you to bypass the base core courses at university. It’s simply just to see if you understand the fundamentals and once you understand the fundamentals you can utilize them to be creative but you can’t be creative out of the box without writing spaghetti code. Imagine not being able to do that simple problem and then writing something as Instagram where you have billions of users. Your fundamentals are a huge factor ... because you won’t be able to support such a platform if you don’t even know how to iterate over an array or understand what a linked list, hash-map, binary tree is... Also, computer science is MORE than just coding. Sadly you’d miss on write through and write back, concurrent and distributed systems, and more if you were just a code monkey. But to create something amazing you need to understand fundamentals. You don’t get to double integrals without knowing addition... The intention is to teach you how to critically think.

[@xivdeville3066]

Graalians

[@Ximithie]

XIV Graal grawlians

[@farhadhussain9142]

Console. WriteLine("Very Nice Video! "); If(this video inspire you) Return like, Else ignore.. Compiler:-Error..

[@upamasimkhada5596]

Awesome

[@shubhamsharma4113]

02:17