After reading just a few chapters of Douglas Rushkoff’s Program Or Be Programmed, I felt a bit like a member of one of those lost tribal communities living in the rainforest.  Though I’ve never really been “ahead of the times” or even an avid user of the newest technologies, I’d always considered myself an informed member of modern civilization.  Now, I’m not so sure.

Rushkoff describes the world in which we live as run by digital technologies, which are in turn made up of programmed codes.  He says:

“For the person who understands code,  the whole world reveals itself as a series of decisions made by planners and designers for how the rest of us should live…The world and it’s many arbitrary systems can be hacked.”

And according to Rushkoff, the people who should (and could) understand this code…is everybody.  Even technologically handicapped me.  He says that understanding programming isn’t just for mathematicians and engineers, it’s for anyone who engages in technology.   He demonstrated this by explaining the importance of understanding the full process behind operating a car.  Knowing how to drive a car is not enough.  One must also consider the changes to landscape, damages to environment, and wars over oil that dependence on vehicles entail.  Though I know about these things, I don’t often think about my place in them when I decide to go on a road trip or drive to class.

Understanding programming is much the same way.  It’s not that we don’t understand how to use technology, it’s that we don’t see our place in it.  But, this is our future.  If we fail to understand the process behind it, we may just fail to notice when someone who does is taking advantage of us.

The author seems to think that learning to program will help us see our world in a broader, more accurate way.  It’s about changing our view to  understand the ways in which we interact––how we live.  It’s about being a part of our own future.  While I was reading this text, I couldn’t help but feel as though my own ignorance was being called out.  The author seems so sure that understanding programming is essential to our well-being. And as I learn more about it in the next few weeks, I’m curious to see if he’s right.

image credit: jchip