.png)
Parents try to develop in their children the qualities that will help them succeed in life. For this purpose, there are preschool courses, clubs, sports clubs where children go in addition to general education to develop physical/intellectual general parameters, as well as private ones, such as developing logic, analysis and attention when playing chess. The brain can develop only through training, like muscles and builds up convolutions over time, just like the body of an athlete who regularly strengthens his body and health.
Intellectual activity (2013 results testing showed that episodic memory was enhanced under conditions of productive interaction compared to receptive interaction conditions in which participants either engaged in non-intellectual activities or completed cognitive tasks.
The findings suggest that constant participation in cognitively demanding, new activities improves memory function in old age) acts as a universal trainer, which accelerates and modifies one part of the brain of a child or adult from its original capabilities given by genes.
In 2014, it was held study, which revealed using MRI that programmers use as many as five brain regions when studying the source code.
During the study, the apparatus identified increased functioning of the following lobes: the middle frontal gyrus, the lower parietal lobe, which are responsible for attention, language and working memory, as well as the middle temporal gyrus, which performs semantic searches in memory.
It is worth noting that brain clusters associated with mathematics and computations are hardly used, even when analyzing blocks with loops, abstract and arithmetic calculations, and other algorithmic operations. As we can see, programming is a complex mechanism that makes our brain work not only in one hemisphere, but to fully immerse ourselves in the thought process. In the same testing in 2013 It is said that only intensive cognitive activity improves the human brain; it also involves learning something, learning something new, and working hard, for example, in the middle frontal gyrus.
Of course, the experiment did not fully reflect the impact of programming on the brain: scientists note that small fragments were used during the study, and initially this code was not too complicated for the subjects. It is also worth noting that The results of the study do not show that programming languages are like foreign languages in the brain, but only use the same parts of the brain.
The scientists did not give the test subjects the opportunity to write new code, but gave them a ready-made one for study (programmers often have to edit what they already have, rather than write their own from scratch), although other areas of the brain may be involved in writing.
.png)
The human brain is like a muscle—it needs to be trained to stay toned.
But is this really the case? And if so, can interaction with code be considered a sufficient mental exercise for brain development? Speaking of children and adolescents, the frontal cortex only fully develops after the age of 20, which means that full development is not necessary to start learning to program. The frontal cortex develops “enough” by about the age of 12; for its successful formation, you should start trying to solve serious intellectual problems even earlier.
IN research, devoted to the “impact of computer programming on cognitive results”, found that students with programming experience score 16% more when testing cognitive abilities than students without such experience.
.png)
Thereafter 1999 experiment It was confirmed that “there is a relationship between intellectual actions and changes in cognitive functioning. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that intellectually active activity serves to protect people from various diseases associated with impaired brain function.
However Alternatively, it can be assumed that people with higher mental abilities lead intellectually active lives until cognitive decline in old age restricts their activities.” But at the conclusion of the study, the authors noted that a decrease in brain activity leads to a lower desire of the subject to engage in intellectual activity, which subsequently leads to an even greater deterioration in the human condition.
Programming is a very complex process that takes a lot of time and effort to learn.
Its effect on the human brain cannot be fully studied by just a few studies; as many similar experiments as possible are needed for a more accurate understanding.
All studies have concluded that the process of solving difficult intellectual problems improves overall intellectual performance, reduces the likelihood of mental impairment and prolongs a person's cognitively active stage of life. At the same time, research does not prove that programming makes an individual more capable of learning or productive activity, but, despite this, we have the right to assume so. Thus, programming has a positive impact on the development of both children and all ages, due to its high cognitive function.
About the introduction of programming for junior high school students, they first thought about it in Estonia in 2012 (Estonia ranks first in Europe in terms of the quality of basic education) “The basics of elementary school programming have been introduced experimentally. Junior high school students, who, by the way, are already studying foreign languages, will also learn the basics of logic and mathematics in order to get a base for learning C++ or Java.
Why should you study programming?
The two main reasons are:
- By studying programming languages, people develop cognitive capabilities, that is, people begin to think more systematically, solve problems faster, using logical chains. It is easier for people who understand programming languages to get a job, as this skill shows their competence.
- At the moment, the demand for coders in the labor market is huge and will only grow in the future, and society is currently unable to meet this demand. Therefore, it is worth trying yourself in this area. On the other hand, the process programming training It will not leave without a trace, and the student will undoubtedly gain a competitive advantage and will be more likely to be able to realize themselves in another field due to the neural chains that have developed on the way to mastering this developing field of programming.
