Not all snakes will squish you
Chances are you were given this book for your birthday. Or possibly for Christmas. Aunty Mildred was going to give you mismatching socks that were two sizes too large (and you wouldn't want to wear when you grew into them anyway). Instead, she heard someone talking about this printable book, remembered you had one of those computer-thingamabobs that you tried to show her how to use last Christmas (you gave up when she started trying to talk into the mouse), and got them to print another copy. Just be thankful you didn't get the mouldy old socks.
I hope you're not too disappointed that I popped out of the recycled wrapping paper, instead. A not-quite-so-talkative (okay, not-talking-at-all) book, with an ominous looking title on the front about "Learning...". But take a moment to think about how I feel. If you were the character from that novel about wizards that is sitting on the bookshelf in your bedroom, I'd possibly have teeth... or perhaps even eyes. I might have moving pictures inside me, or be able to make moaning ghostly sounds when you opened my pages. Instead, I'm printed out on dog-eared A4 sheets of paper, stapled together or perhaps bound in a folder. How would I know—I don't have eyes.
I'd give anything for a nice, sharp set of teeth...
However it's not as bad as it sounds. Even if I can't talk... or bite your fingers when you're not looking... I can tell you a little bit about what makes computers work. Not the physical stuff, with wires and computer-chips and cables and devices that would, more than likely, electrocute you as soon as you touched them (so don't!!)—but the hidden stuff running around inside those wires and computer-chips and cables and bits, which make computers actually useful.
It's a little like thoughts running around inside your head. If you didn't have thoughts you'd be sitting on the floor of your bedroom, staring vacantly at the door and drooling down the front of your t-shirt. Without programs, computers would only be useful as a doorstop—and even then they wouldn't be very useful, because you'd keep tripping over them in the night. And there's nothing worse than a stubbed toe in the dark.
I'm just a book and even I know that.
Your family may have a Playstation, Xbox or Wii sitting in the lounge—they're not much use without programs (Games) to make them work. Your DVD player, possibly your fridge and even your car, all have computer programs to make them more helpful than they would be otherwise. Your DVD player has programs to help it figure out what to play on a DVD; your fridge might have a simple program to make sure it doesn't use too much electricity, but still keep your food cold; your car might have a computer with a program to warn the driver if they're about to bump into something.
If you know how to write computer programs, you can do all sorts of useful things. Perhaps write your own games. Create web pages that actually do stuff, instead of just sitting there looking somewhat colourful. Being able to program could possibly even help with your homework.
That said, let's get onto something a bit more interesting.
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