5 ms·

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 new

• 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?
          • hugh3 16y ago
            Hmm, good point. Painting is, likewise, a field where it's easy to try new things and figure out on your own whether they work or not.
          • sown 16y ago
            Most 9 year olds don't know about chiaroscuro in the same way most 9 year old programmers don't know about compiler theory. I think at the undergraduate level a lot of what they teach won't get you hired if you know it but will get you fired if it turns out you don't.
          • tewks 16y ago
            There's is a distinction between a professional skill like programming and an artistic skill like painting, which could perhaps be expressed through demand levels and commoditization. Programming is easier to commoditize than painting. Painting ceased being a professional skill in relatively high demand upon the advent of the camera. The individuality of the painter became even more important during impressionism.
            • NEPatriot 16y ago
              I would say that in creating something one's skills are almost irrelevant. Does it matter the skill of the creator if the art is beautiful or the application just works?
        • liedra 16y ago
          I think a lot of things are self-taught by nine-year-olds: the basics of engineering (I know a nine year old who built a potato gun!), sports, arts and crafts, networking, animal care, and these are just the things off the top of my head :)
      • moultano 16y ago
        >The majority of any engineering or maths curriculum is available on Wikipedia and mathworld in great detail. I'd love to believe that someone could do this, but I haven't seen it happen. Most of the course-like learning I've been able to do "online" has been because some professor was nice enough to put a pdf of their textbook on their university page. That said, I've created a subreddit specifically for people who want to read long articles that teach them something important. http://www.reddit.com/r/learnit/ http://www.reddit.com/r/learnit/
        • tewks 16y ago
          Sorry, but which topics in particular do you find lacking on Wikipedia or mathworld, for example? The math and physics articles are generally pretty good, include derivations, background on the subject, and you can then click to learn about the personalities who discovered the idea. There are no problem sets, however.
          • moultano 16y ago
            >There are no problem sets, however. This is one problem, the other problem is that there isn't a good way to sort the articles by prerequisites. There's also no easy way find out what you don't know you don't know about a subject.
        • anonymousDan 16y ago
          My god, thanks for that, I found this link: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/04/how-to-get-up-right-away-when-your-alarm-goes-off/ http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/04/how-to-get-up-right... ...it could be the solution to a major problem of mine!