I used to feel pretty confident with computers / IT in general (80s child). Now I need a boost to get back up to speed, especially digging around in the OS / filesystem. Recommend me a good book / website / hands-on project? [more inside]
posted by KMH on Aug 6, 2009 - 7 answers

I have always been horrible at math, but somehow a great programmer. I have found that writing a computer program that demonstrates a certain mathematical concept enables me to better understand the concept. I'm a psych major and I brought this up once in the research lab I've been working in. My prof said he recalls that someone did research and/or created a system in which a student writes a computer program that is pertinent to a certain mathematical concept and upon completion is given the regular math problem (as it would appear in a math class). This enables the student to better understand the math problem, solve, and learn math. Has anyone heard of this or anything similar? A learning system such as this would be a blessing to my education. Thanks.
posted by fightoplankton on Apr 13, 2009 - 15 answers

I have some exposure to jQuery, modifying existing scripts, using the $() to grab DOM elements, but want to ramp up to expert status in a short period of time - what are the best resources for that? Is there a must have book or website that isn't overly specific and goes beyond simple uses? I have a firm foundation in regular JavaScript/DOM/etc...
posted by Artw on Jan 14, 2009 - 2 answers

I allowed perl access past my firewall (Am I even saying that right?). Should I be worried? And how do I learn more about the subject so I'm not so clueless in the future? [more inside]
posted by dicetumbler on Jan 11, 2009 - 8 answers

"If you wait to teach them until college, it's almost always too late; adult brains generally can't form the deep structures necessary to learn real programming, only rote copy-paste code monkeying." [article] Uhh... seriously? [more inside]
posted by Tubes on Aug 5, 2008 - 30 answers

What kind of exercise would I find most fun & rewarding? I like baking. I like computers. I like debate. I like learning in a scatterbrain, whatever-interests-me-at-the-moment way. I like, in short, interactive, iterative activities that reward exploration and self-learning, and that start giving (at least small) rewards very quickly. Don't like group learning or scheduled lessons, and don't want to have to depend on a partner to show up. Need something that can be done on a regular basis. Thanks.
posted by shivohum on Apr 18, 2007 - 19 answers

How can a 20-year old attend computer camp? [more inside]
posted by crayolarabbit on Apr 3, 2007 - 3 answers

What language/environment would be a good choice now for a 6-year old math whizz to learn the basics of programming? [more inside]
posted by unSane on Jun 16, 2006 - 35 answers

My 4 year old has outgrown the internet. [more inside]
posted by felix on Jul 27, 2005 - 12 answers

I am taking a brain-painful networking class (hint: it's all about the routers, baby!) and the studying is intense. It's hard, but I'm holding my own. I see questions here on AskMe that bring really cool answers from lots of folks, with a lot of repeat answerers, which leads me to ask, How Did You Learn What You Know About Computers/the Internet? Was it in school? Did you apprentice with someone who had m4d sk1lz? Did you teach yourself? Other?
posted by Lynsey on Oct 11, 2004 - 18 answers

Though I'm pretty computer savvy, my lack-of-knowledge about networking keeps tripping me up. Where can I learn about IP addresses, routers, http, etc.? I don't have a specific problem at the moment; I'm just looking for general information that might help someone who tinkers around with web-development and who occasionally needs to get machines to play nice with each other.
posted by grumblebee on Sep 3, 2004 - 7 answers