  Computational thinking is a way of reasoning about the world in terms of
data. This mindset channels number crunching toward an ambition to discover
knowledge through logic, models and simulations. Here we show how computational
cognitive science can be used to reconstruct and analyse the structure of
computational thinking mindsets (forma mentis in Latin) through complex
networks. As a case study, we investigate cognitive networks tied to key
concepts of computational thinking provided by: (i) 159 high school students
enrolled in a science curriculum and (ii) 59 researchers in complex systems and
simulations. Researchers' reconstructed forma mentis highlighted a positive
mindset about scientific modelling, semantically framing data and simulations
as ways of discovering nature. Students correctly identified different aspects
of logic reasoning but perceived "computation" as a distressing,
anxiety-eliciting task, framed with math jargon and lacking links to real-world
discovery. Students' mindsets around "data", "model" and "simulations"
critically revealed no awareness of numerical modelling as a way for
understanding the world. Our findings provide evidence of a crippled
computational thinking mindset in students, who acquire mathematical skills
that are not channelled toward real-world discovery through coding. This
unlinked knowledge ends up being perceived as distressing number-crunching
expertise with no relevant outcome. The virtuous mindset of researchers
reported here indicates that computational thinking can be restored by training
students specifically in coding, modelling and simulations in relation to
discovering nature. Our approach opens innovative ways for quantifying
computational thinking and enhancing its development through mindset
reconstruction.
