Are Coders the Scribes of our Time?

Earlier this Spring I visited Ireland where I was privileged to see and learn about the Book of Kells which has me thinking about how history repeats itself in updated terms.

At the time the book was written, a scribe was revered among the people of having a skill that very few had. The ability to put word to paper, or in the case of the Book of Kells, word to calf skin. The book and its illustrations were amazing for the time period and the scribes that wrote it to this day are honored for their artistic abilities.

Let’s jump ahead to 2013 where the new scribe is the coder. We look at and use the work of coders with the same awe inspiring gaze as we do the Book of Kells. Think Facebook, Google Search, OSX and Microsoft Operating systems. These coders are our high scribes of today and we look up to them with this awe inspiring gaze of “I wish I could do that.”

And I wonder if we will.

As some point we all learned how to write making the scribe no longer the status symbol of the community.

Will we someday all know how to code? Will coding become the new language to learn? There is a lot of momentum right now behind the idea of teaching coding to all students. I for one know I’m upping my coding skills this summer (my personal goal) as I think it’s a skill I will need to keep current and moving forward.

At one point in history you were “cool” if you could write. Now you’ll be “cool” if you can code.

We’ll see where the future goes!