LOGO’s genius was its ability to turn the abstract (one can command a computer to do something) into the concrete (one can direct the turtle to draw a parallelogram). To Kay it was a revelation to watch Papert’s ten-, eleven-, and twelve-year-old subjects use a simple computer to create designs one would otherwise assume could only be achieved by mainframe systems loaded with complex algorithms. Papert showed the way toward reducing the machine from demigod to tool (in Wes Clark’s phrase) by subjecting it to the unforgiving scrutiny of children. Kay never forgot the lesson.
