5 ms·

The Future of Computer Science And Why Every Other Major Sucks

44 points by NEPatriot 16y ago

presidentender 16y ago
Does anyone have a transcript? It's a compelling title, but I'd rather not wait for the man in the jester hat to finish speaking before I get access to his point.
- jorgeortiz85 16y ago
  Here are the slides (the speakers notes have some of the text of the talk): http://www.scottaaronson.com/talks/futurecs.ppt http://www.scottaaronson.com/talks/futurecs.ppt And the blog post (no transcript): http://scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=442 http://scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=442
  - pasbesoin 16y ago
    There are 13 slides with not a lot of information content, but bulky due to graphics (~ 7 MB). One can avoid running PowerPoint by viewing them through the Google Docs Viewer: https://docs.google.com/gview?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scottaaronson.com%2Ftalks%2Ffuturecs.ppt https://docs.google.com/gview?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scottaaro...
    - jorgeortiz85 16y ago
      The "Speakers Notes" have the bulk of the information content, but AFAICT don't show up in that Google Docs rendition.
      - pasbesoin 16y ago
        Oh, my bad. Thanks for the clarification.
kylecordes 16y ago
It was very nice of them to put this online. But the audio quality is poor. It seems like when someone high profile (like MIT TechTV) goes to the effort of recording and posting video, they could spend a few more bucks and put a microphone on the speaker (or hook in to whatever audio system that handheld mic was hooked up to). As a general rule, using the build in mic of a video camera at the back of a room will yield tolerable audio only in very rare conditions (a room that's "dead" acoustically, and a very quiet or nonexistent audience).
ElliotH 16y ago
Great to hear some positive stuff on CompSci. Seems like recently theres been a lot of news on why its not relevant or unnecessary - which isn't optimistic news for me since thats what I'm going to be studying at University later this year!
- stcredzero 16y ago
  Just remember that CS is a means, not an end! (Imagine an ancient Mesopotamian scribe telling you writing is the ultimate and all else is subordinate.) Domain knowledge! Get some!
  - nightski 16y ago
    For the typical programmer, maybe. But that is like saying mathematics is a means, not an end. Which is true, but that does not mean there is no value in studying and advancing the field of mathematics!
    - tewks 16y ago
      That's going to be true for any technical discipline. The majority of any engineering or maths curriculum is available on Wikipedia and mathworld in great detail. Why CS is different is due to less of a need of verification of skill. Many don't mind giving an informally taught programmer a job because his/her work can be verified by reading or executing code. That isn't possible in civil engineering, for example.
      - hugh3 16y ago
        Exactly. This is also why programming is the only adult professional skill which is regularly self-taught by, say, nine-year-olds.
        NEPatriot 16y ago
        What about painting? Or any art form?
stcredzero 16y ago
Here's a Slideshare, for those who don't want to download the Powerpoint http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/llimllib/the-future-of-computer-science-and-why-every-other-major-sucks-by-comparison-3705322 http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/llimllib/the-future-of-comp...
mkramlich 16y ago
I think CS and robotics will become in greater demand in the future but I think the demand for traditional university CS education will decrease. It is still mostly a "results-only" field, and the Internet has made it even easier to self-educate, quickly and cheaply.
POWERDOG 16y ago
Finally some good stuff about CS, that also from a highly respected person. Much better than some fizzbuzz programmer thinking how CS and Masters degree suck.
trm 16y ago
As someone who was in this audience two months ago, I am incredibly excited to be starting school at MIT this September and studying computer science. Formal study of CS gets a lot of heat around these parts, but I do think it's one of the best subjects to study for the reasons discussed in the video. Computers are the fastest-changing technology that people have ever witnessed, and there's vast potential for the future of computers and their impact on society.
- corruption 16y ago
  Honestly, I'm in two minds about it. If I didn't have the domain knowledge I do (I did a masters in another field before starting cs, and since have performed research in many varied fields of interest) I wouldn't be half as successful or have anywhere near the range of experiences to draw on. Of the ~50 or so coders I've hired over the years for my co, the best were always ones with domain knowledge from another field. They weren't the best coders from a technical point of view, but were the best at being able to deliver working software to clients faster. More often than not the ones without extra knowledge were unable to grasp the domain problems, and their solutions always needed rejigging. Edit: By being unable to grasp, I mean that the distance from their solution to the optimal solution was always quite large. More often than not their design, while designed for extensibility was flexible in a dimension that didn't move towards the optimal solution. So the extra engineering time was wasted. I don't know that I would hire a pure CS grad again, and all the interns I have now I strongly recommend they concurrently study other fields. Computers are a means to an end. I suggest studying both the means and the end.
  - arethuza 16y ago
    I've probably hired about the same number - the guys who were the absolute best were from CS backgrounds. Probably depends on the kind of systems you are building.
    - corruption 16y ago
      I wasn't meaning that they had no CS backgrounds, but had a cross-discipline background. I've never hired someone without a degree in computer science, but the best had a multidisciplinary background (e.g. cs + english, cs + a biological science, cs + psychology etc)

44 points by NEPatriot 16y ago

Does anyone have a transcript? It's a compelling title, but I'd rather not wait for the man in the jester hat to finish speaking before I get access to his point.

jorgeortiz85 16y ago
Here are the slides (the speakers notes have some of the text of the talk): http://www.scottaaronson.com/talks/futurecs.ppt http://www.scottaaronson.com/talks/futurecs.ppt And the blog post (no transcript): http://scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=442 http://scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=442
- pasbesoin 16y ago
  There are 13 slides with not a lot of information content, but bulky due to graphics (~ 7 MB). One can avoid running PowerPoint by viewing them through the Google Docs Viewer: https://docs.google.com/gview?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scottaaronson.com%2Ftalks%2Ffuturecs.ppt https://docs.google.com/gview?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scottaaro...
  - jorgeortiz85 16y ago
    The "Speakers Notes" have the bulk of the information content, but AFAICT don't show up in that Google Docs rendition.
    - pasbesoin 16y ago
      Oh, my bad. Thanks for the clarification.

kylecordes 16y ago

It was very nice of them to put this online. But the audio quality is poor. It seems like when someone high profile (like MIT TechTV) goes to the effort of recording and posting video, they could spend a few more bucks and put a microphone on the speaker (or hook in to whatever audio system that handheld mic was hooked up to). As a general rule, using the build in mic of a video camera at the back of a room will yield tolerable audio only in very rare conditions (a room that's "dead" acoustically, and a very quiet or nonexistent audience).

ElliotH 16y ago

Great to hear some positive stuff on CompSci. Seems like recently theres been a lot of news on why its not relevant or unnecessary - which isn't optimistic news for me since thats what I'm going to be studying at University later this year!

stcredzero 16y ago
Just remember that CS is a means, not an end! (Imagine an ancient Mesopotamian scribe telling you writing is the ultimate and all else is subordinate.) Domain knowledge! Get some!
- nightski 16y ago
  For the typical programmer, maybe. But that is like saying mathematics is a means, not an end. Which is true, but that does not mean there is no value in studying and advancing the field of mathematics!
  - tewks 16y ago
    That's going to be true for any technical discipline. The majority of any engineering or maths curriculum is available on Wikipedia and mathworld in great detail. Why CS is different is due to less of a need of verification of skill. Many don't mind giving an informally taught programmer a job because his/her work can be verified by reading or executing code. That isn't possible in civil engineering, for example.
    - hugh3 16y ago
      Exactly. This is also why programming is the only adult professional skill which is regularly self-taught by, say, nine-year-olds.
      - NEPatriot 16y ago
        What about painting? Or any art form?

stcredzero 16y ago

Here's a Slideshare, for those who don't want to download the Powerpoint http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/llimllib/the-future-of-computer-science-and-why-every-other-major-sucks-by-comparison-3705322 http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/llimllib/the-future-of-comp...

mkramlich 16y ago

I think CS and robotics will become in greater demand in the future but I think the demand for traditional university CS education will decrease. It is still mostly a "results-only" field, and the Internet has made it even easier to self-educate, quickly and cheaply.

POWERDOG 16y ago

Finally some good stuff about CS, that also from a highly respected person. Much better than some fizzbuzz programmer thinking how CS and Masters degree suck.

trm 16y ago

As someone who was in this audience two months ago, I am incredibly excited to be starting school at MIT this September and studying computer science. Formal study of CS gets a lot of heat around these parts, but I do think it's one of the best subjects to study for the reasons discussed in the video. Computers are the fastest-changing technology that people have ever witnessed, and there's vast potential for the future of computers and their impact on society.

corruption 16y ago
Honestly, I'm in two minds about it. If I didn't have the domain knowledge I do (I did a masters in another field before starting cs, and since have performed research in many varied fields of interest) I wouldn't be half as successful or have anywhere near the range of experiences to draw on. Of the ~50 or so coders I've hired over the years for my co, the best were always ones with domain knowledge from another field. They weren't the best coders from a technical point of view, but were the best at being able to deliver working software to clients faster. More often than not the ones without extra knowledge were unable to grasp the domain problems, and their solutions always needed rejigging. Edit: By being unable to grasp, I mean that the distance from their solution to the optimal solution was always quite large. More often than not their design, while designed for extensibility was flexible in a dimension that didn't move towards the optimal solution. So the extra engineering time was wasted. I don't know that I would hire a pure CS grad again, and all the interns I have now I strongly recommend they concurrently study other fields. Computers are a means to an end. I suggest studying both the means and the end.
- arethuza 16y ago
  I've probably hired about the same number - the guys who were the absolute best were from CS backgrounds. Probably depends on the kind of systems you are building.
  - corruption 16y ago
    I wasn't meaning that they had no CS backgrounds, but had a cross-discipline background. I've never hired someone without a degree in computer science, but the best had a multidisciplinary background (e.g. cs + english, cs + a biological science, cs + psychology etc)