For Your Creative Itch

     If you've never written computer code, you might think it all looks like this:

Welcome to the Matrix, Neo

   
     And it's true, a lot of code looks like that...but no hacker was born knowing how to hammer out endless lines of such jargon. All coders begin by grasping a few basic concepts: variables, loops, strings, conditionals, and so on. Maybe the easiest way to get a grip on these concepts is by playing with blocks.

     This is a block of code from a programming language called Scratch. It was developed at MIT by people who thought you shouldn't have to get into MIT in order to understand coding. Instead of typing commands, you just move blocks around and stack them. Scratch is simple enough for kids to understand and powerful enough to impress adults. Check it out:

     It takes very little practice to begin making games or animations in Scratch. Those who grasp it quickly might go on to learn how to code with words; the rest of us can just enjoy making a little orange cat do goofy things on our computer screen.