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I think you are failing to differentiate between computer science and programming. In my mind computer science is to programming as fluid dynamics is to plumbin

by s_m_t 9y ago

I think you are failing to differentiate between computer science and programming. In my mind computer science is to programming as fluid dynamics is to plumbing. I know next to nothing about computer science, I don't think I've ever opened a computer science textbook or read a paper on computer science but I can program fairly well (at least I think so), in fact, almost all of the neat tricks I know seem to have something to do with statistics... not computer science. In the same way, I know absolutely nothing about fluid dynamics except that it is probably the study of how fluids behave but I can fix my shower and operate a hose and set up an drip line for irrigating crops. From this point of view you might ask the reverse of the articles question. Why are so many people enrolled in computer science when it seems to be such a specialized subject that might not even be useful to the average programmer?

vivekd 9y ago
>I think you are failing to differentiate between computer science and programming. In my mind computer science is to programming as fluid dynamics is to plumbing. Maybe but Im just following the articles lead in conflating the two - from the article: >There’s ostensibly more demand for programmers than ever, yet CS degrees haven’t even recovered from their 2004 high. The article seems to make the assumption (and I think the right one) that lots of people get computer science degrees to become programmers.
jim-jim-jim 9y ago
That's a good point. My mother never studied computer science or even went to university, but she learned to write basic programs (I'm guessing in uh, BASIC) in high school, and it carried over into her office work, which definitely wasn't theory heavy. She's totally lost with modern PCs and languages, but there's probably still a place for theory-agnostic "pipe-laying" roles like the one she had.

by s_m_t 9y ago

vivekd 9y ago

>I think you are failing to differentiate between computer science and programming. In my mind computer science is to programming as fluid dynamics is to plumbing. Maybe but Im just following the articles lead in conflating the two - from the article: >There’s ostensibly more demand for programmers than ever, yet CS degrees haven’t even recovered from their 2004 high. The article seems to make the assumption (and I think the right one) that lots of people get computer science degrees to become programmers.

jim-jim-jim 9y ago

That's a good point. My mother never studied computer science or even went to university, but she learned to write basic programs (I'm guessing in uh, BASIC) in high school, and it carried over into her office work, which definitely wasn't theory heavy. She's totally lost with modern PCs and languages, but there's probably still a place for theory-agnostic "pipe-laying" roles like the one she had.