THE RADICAL CODING COLLECTIVE.

Google created a new programming language called Go. It’s similar to Python, except it’s compiled, rather than interpreted. Meaning it runs as fast as C++ code.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, I've been thinking a lot about the intersections between gender and machine languages lately.

An article has been making the rounds on Twitter today that raises some key points about the so-called "women in tech" boom, specifically as applied to startups and small organisations in Silicon Valley. Yes, there are more women involved in machine and tech-focused industries than ever before, which some believe signals a valiant gender revolution in the near future. This past week, for example,  I was at the famous #LIFT12 digital technology conference in Geneva, and I looked around at one point to see that half of the tech geeks in the audience were female.

However, the fact remains that very few of these women are actually coders.

They are product managers, community organisers, technology evangelists, researchers, business partners. They are heavily engaged in digital spheres. But the numbers continue to show us that the actual percentage of women who understand machine languages, who can code in them and build the amazing apps and tools we all have been talking about, is very small.

Why does this matter? Is not talking about machines as young women in normatively masculinised tech industries not enough? Perhaps, but as software engineer Amber Reyngoudt points out, until we create the code we talk about, until we take it into our own hands and say "I made this", the computer science gender gap remains firmly entrenched.

As I've explained more in-depth in my MSc research about the role of gender amongst F/LOSS hackers, this gap is no one's fault - but it's definitely an essential discrepancy that I intend to pay more attention to both in research and professional life.

And as a front-end developer well-versed in the codes that conceptualise website design, I am the first to admit that I've been complacent when it comes to challenging myself and learning harder, more machine-focused languages. It's high time that I look that challenge in the face.

It's not enough to be fascinated by machines, to love code, to evangelise about digital autonomy and empowerment through technology. We now need to engage more directly in that conversation by engaging with the machines ourselves.

For myself, Python and C++ are the beginnings of this. What type of code inspires you? And will #radcoco finally stretch its haunches, slough off its layers of e-dust and launch itself once again into this conversation as an emergent learning collective?

I'm hoping the answer is yes.

Lynda.com is an online learning company offers video tutorials that allows users to learn software, creative, and business skills. Once they subscribe, members receive unlimited access to a vast library of high quality and current video tutorials. New courses and topics are added each week. 

There's everything from Ruby on rails, Python, Html, Javascript, MySQL, CSS, C#, PHP, etc. The list is endless. Subscription is $25 a month or $250 per year.

I wonder if we could all pitch in and share it?

"CodeLesson provides hands-on, practical, online instruction. Our instructors are real people with real-world experience. You can access your course 24 hours a day while your course is in session."

R is a language and environment for statistical computing and graphics. It is a GNU project which is similar to the S language and environment which was developed at Bell Laboratories (formerly AT&T, now Lucent Technologies) by John Chambers and colleagues. R can be considered as a different implementation of S. There are some important differences, but much code written for S runs unaltered under R.

R provides a wide variety of statistical (linear and nonlinear modelling, classical statistical tests, time-series analysis, classification, clustering, ...) and graphical techniques, and is highly extensible. The S language is often the vehicle of choice for research in statistical methodology, and R provides an Open Source route to participation in that activity.

Is your New Year's resolution to learn code? Sign up on Code Year and "get a new interactive programming lesson sent to you each week." 

Sounds like something we could do on our #radcoco meetings!

I've also found this to be very useful and upbeat. 

Finally check out ProPublica's The Bastards Book of Ruby.