Presentation: "Learn as you Play"

Track: Upcoming Languages / Time: Friday 16:50 - 17:50 / Location: Room 104/105

As programmers we are constantly bombarded by an ever-increasing array of new programming languages and concepts to learn and master. How on earth can we keep up with this onslaught?

This talk aims to show that this situation is not an overwhelming state of affairs but a wonderful opportunity for learning and more importantly - having fun.

Children don't get overwhelmed with the world ahead of them - they play and in playing they learn. How can we re-learn how to play and take advantage of this to radically improve our capacity to learn as professionals?

Together we'll have fun exploring a variety of exciting programming languages through domains such as sound synthesis, data visualisation, hardware prototyping and external interfaces. We'll re-discover the importance of playful experimentation and leave with a desire to try new things.

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Sam Aaron, Postdoc Researcher at The University of Cambridge

Sam Aaron

Biography: Sam Aaron

Sam is interested in domain specific languages, the aesthetics of programming languages and the more general concept of language oriented programming.

He is inspired by people who look further afield than the traditional literature to bring powerful new ideas and concepts back to the field of computing.

As such, he's currently performing postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge exploring the combination of low-level efficient real-time systems with high-level expressive languages and interfaces towards the creation of new systems for the improvisation of music.