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Weblog:   What would you put in a Computer Science Curriculum?
Subject:   Missing the boat...
Date:   2005-09-11 11:41:13
From:   DaveCrist
I have had this discussion often in my school and I think that most of the time when people are thinking of Computer Science they are really thinking about Information Technology or maybe even information science.


Before you continue, please note that I don't hold a degree other than CS in any low regard, rather that I wish there could be some standard brought to bear.


Computer Science is NOT a business degree. It isn't a trade school, programming track, or software engineering track. It is a SCIENCE program. In most schools, in fact, CS grew out of the Math Department. Computers USED to be for doing Hard Math Fast.


IT, or MIS (Management of Information Systems in my school) are degrees under the BUSINESS SCHOOL. They are fine degrees and they teach many great things for those that wish to learn them. But 99% of the time, the reason why those folks have the great high-level tools that they have are because some Scientist worked long and hard to develop an underlying protocol/tool/process/engine that made it possible.


Too often, though, kids enter a CS program because they 'like computers' and 'want to create games' and 'love 3D modeling.' A lot of these kids HATE MATH and dread the year of calculus required in our program... they have no desire to learn about language processing or the importance (and amazing power) of statistics and linear math in solving real-world problems...


I think it is great that you would like kids to graduate with good OOPS skills and great writing skills, etc. But you are asking that scientists get skills to help them in IT and that is not the right approach. If you don't want a SCIENTIST... then do not hire one. Hire an IT prof or MIS person... that's what they went to school for.


CS is FOR people who want to develop better AI, Vision Systems, HCI systems, optimized compilers, faster rasterizing engines, figure out faster factorizations, develop clusterzable apps, increase compression ratios, optimize multi-threading.


Let us develop those tools so that your code monkeys can write faster Point-of-sale applications and bigger web-based database front-ends.


Oh, you can't be bothered with that stuff? Great: while you are making $50k a year tweaking your UML/ER Diagrams I'll be building the next generation tool that industry will pay millions for.


I am not saying that what you aren't doing isn't important (or that it isn't good) it just bores me to tears and you can have it.

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Showing messages 1 through 4 of 4.

  • Missing the boat...
    2005-09-11 18:33:08  malkin [Reply | View]

    DaveCrist said:
    "Too often, though, kids enter a CS program because they 'like computers' and 'want to create games' and 'love 3D modeling.'"

    Wanting to create games is not necessarily a bad reason to go into Computer Science. Trust me, game companies need people with good theoretical fundamentals, too!
  • Missing the boat...
    2005-09-11 12:54:50  snap [Reply | View]

    here-here!

    good luck with that next-gen tool there btw... ;)



  • Missing the boat...
    2005-09-11 12:51:30  RMarcelo [Reply | View]

    Hey DaveCrist,

    good answer.

    I think school should give more theory real world. Experience will be teaching thru interships. It was design to be this way.

    But one thing that I saw on my 13 years working with computer (and I did everything. From bad graphical design thru programming and system analysis) is that the best people that I met had a better base and theory background and people that just learn the pratical approach has a lot of problems to catch with new technologies.

    That's my two cents...
    • Missing the boat...
      2005-09-11 12:53:32  RMarcelo [Reply | View]

      (just fixing) I think school should give more theory than real world experience.

Showing messages 1 through 4 of 4.