On Jan 13, 2008 5:24 AM, Derek Holzer derek@umatic.nl wrote:
I strongly disagree. Most beginners want to play with high-level objects that do a lot of the programming for them, rather than dive deep into data flow & etc. Do we give them what they want, or do we do what's "good for them"? I think beginners should have access to the most amount of functions they can without any bullshit. They can learn all the super-geek stuff later on, when they want to optimize the performance of PD or customize behaviors. Let them get busy making noise and pictures first, though! Otherwise they get frustrated and run off the get a crack of Max/MSP or something.
Well, I quite agree with you, but I don't agree that having to say [synth/megasaw] qualifies as super-geek bullshit... if they've discovered the object, and the object says to call it that way (this would have to be true, of course), I don't think we're pushing the brain-barriers of the beginner too far. If anything, the prefix serves to document and organize the object to reduce confusion. Especially if they say "oh, I wonder what else is in this 'synth' package", it's encouraging exploration.
Cheers Luke