Lecture "Introduction to Computational Thinking", exercise 3
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Write down two objects or situations that are referring to the same pattern if analysed from an abstract point of view, as introduced in Section "Abstraction is the key". What features do they have in common?
Oven mitt and mitten; both protect hands from extreme temperatures, both are made of thick insulating fabric, both have similar shape (split it two sections: thumb and mitt).
A library shelf and any folder on a computer: they are both used to store documents, which may be of different kinds, and those documents might be arranged in different ways (e.g. one sections is meant to store all Russian books, another one contains only French essays, etc. ).
- To show your own badge (as a plastic card) to have access to University spaces and facilities
- to login with your web account (or SPID) on the University's website (to attend online lessons, for instance)
Both of them are valid forms of identification.
A keyboard and a piano both have keys, every key has its own univocal meaning and pressing them in a determined
sequence enables us to communicate something meaningful (e.g an emotional state) in a textual or melodical form
Following a recipe to cook a dish or following instructions to build a piece of furniture: both situations require a specific sequence of actions to reach a goal. In both cases, the steps must be followed in a precise order to produce the desired object (food or furniture), which represents the goal. The physical presence and action of at least one person are required. Specific instruments (ingredients for the recipe, construction materials for the building process) are also needed.
Brushing something until it's clean; hitting a nail until it's pushed in.
Both require the repetition of an action until a condition is satisfied.
1st situation : searching the cheapest model of an object in an online marketplace to buy it.
2nd situation: watching the map and trying to find the shortest way to get to a specific part of the city.
Abstraction: in both situations we are searching and comparing options in order to choose the best one according to our need(buying the cheapest model of the object; getting to that specific part of the city)
A bottle of milk and an oil container. They are both fluids, stored in a watertight container, and both used to feed someone or something: in the first case humans or animals, in the second different kinds of vehicles.
a drum machine and a drum kit. They are both objects that when given inputs (touching buttons on a drum machine, hitting drum skins on a kit) produce rhythmic sounds.
Two situations like "writing a speech or a presentation" and "coming up with an answer to this exercise" can be seen as following the same abstract pattern:
-Initial cluelessness
-Desiring to be original, catchy
-Embryonic idea begins to take shape
-Perfectioning of the idea (usually while taking a shower)
Doing the laundry and catching a plane could be seen as two situations which share the same pattern if analysed from an abstract point of view:
- You need to pack all the clothes involved in the same place
- You need to check at least twice that you are not above the weight limit
- You need to get to the place where the machine you need to perform such actions is kept
- You need to separate from the clothes
- You have to wait at least one hour before being able to perform the following action
- You will spend your waiting time in a very noisy environment
- Your clothes will be moving throughout the whole process
I am thinking about a hair straightener and a voice microphone. They are both designed to be held in hand; they can be made by almost same material (the external part made of plastic); a long cable connects it to a source of electricity.
A mandarin and a orange are both citrus fruit though differing from each other in taste and aromas, more or less with the same color and similar forms and skins.
An eyelid and curtains. Both block the passage of light, they both act as a shield against dust, they can be open and closed by a voluntary act, their closure can induce sleep.
Both COVID-19 and flu can have varying degrees of similar signs and symptoms. Someone can have fever or feel feverish/chills in both situations. He might also have a sore throat and a runny or stuffy nose. Finally a common feature could be the muscle pain or a headache.
A street and any pc's folder structure. Both "objects" create a hierarchy, which can be followed by any users to reach the researched place.
Objects:
different kinds of doors have the same caractheristic of closing/opening a gate even if they are made of different materials, technology, shape etc.
Situations:
Drawing and writing are paired by i.e. the position of the agent, the support, the shape of the tool used, etc.
Pencils to color a drawing and brushes and paint to paint a piece of furniture: they add color in order to transform and embelish a preexisting object, without changing its shape.
We have two table, one table for serving food and one desk for studying, both of them have four desk leg and a flat surface, but the usages are different.
I'm thinking about 2 occupations: painter and make-up artist. They both paint in a sense (whether it is a painting or a face/body) and they both use brushes and colours (don't know if it's a good example, I spend to much time on YouTube).
Speaking of which: following instructions or a recipe (in a cookbook for instance) or watching a "How to" video
I'm thinking about pushing a button for calling an elevator and clicking on an icon on the computer's desktop to call a executable file for executing an algorithm. In all of those cases you push a button of a graphic interface for executing an algorithm, an abstraction of a lot of passages for moving the elevator to you and to do something with your computer.