In the preface to The Art of Computer Programming (1969), Knuth wrote the following:
I would posit that the vast majority of students who complete an introduction to Computer Science (often heavily focused on introducing the practice of programming) would not say that they felt they had been exposed to “an aesthetic experience much like composing poetry or music.“
This next term, I hope to work on developing a new course at Allegheny titled (tentatively) Digital Creativity. This course could serve as a pre-intro to the major, or introduce non-majors to the beauty of programming and computing, providing a collaborative, cross-disciplinary, and creative grounding in computational thinking using tangible, physical artifacts that students can relate to directly.
I frequently wish I could be one of the students in your classes.
Although I agree that creating a program can be an aesthetic experience, I think the joy come first and foremost in the act of mere creation. It is the act of creating something from nothing that gives the primary joy. Creating something beautiful is a bonus – icing on the cake.
As an amateur DIY enthusiast, I may create a shabby shed in my back yard as my first project. It may be wonky and lopsided, but I would still be proud of my creation, and I would still be pleased with it. This is not because it is a ‘beautiful’ shed, but because I transformed nature. I created something from nothing. I created order from disorder. This is a very basic human drive, I believe.