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Computer Science... Now there's an oxymoron. At most institutions the subject matter is not really about computers nor is it science, at least not in the physic

Computer Science... Now there's an oxymoron. At most institutions the subject matter is not really about computers nor is it science, at least not in the physics or chemistry sense.

filleduchaos 8y ago
That sounds like a rather narrow definition of science that will become even more obsolete in the years to come. With how far mankind has come, it's a little silly to think that "natural" systems will remain the only things that science is concerned with.
- SahAssar 8y ago
  I think that their point is that "Computer Science" does not seem very very interested in the provability of their science (the "Science" part) nor the applicability for general purpose computing (the "Computer" part).
  - filleduchaos 8y ago
    > "Computer Science" does not seem very very interested in the provability of their science ...uh, what computer science are you talking about? Formal verification is a huge part of CS, and provability is a tiny part of what makes science science - systematic study through observation and experimentation. Science is a discipline, not in itself a fact to be proved. Also, what parts of CS do you think are inapplicable to general purpose computing?
otras 8y ago
Reminds me of the opening lines of the SICP lectures[0]: "I'd like to welcome you to this course on Computer Science. Actually that's a terrible way to start. Computer science is a terrible name for this business. First of all, it's not a science. It might be engineering or it might be art. We'll actually see that computer so-called science actually has a lot in common with magic. We will see that in this course. So it's not a science. It's also not really very much about computers. And it's not about computers in the same sense that physics is not really about particle accelerators. And biology is not really about microscopes and petri dishes. And it's not about computers in the same sense that geometry is not really about using a surveying instruments." [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Op3QLzMgSY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Op3QLzMgSY
- crimsonalucard 8y ago
  It's really more math then anything. Building concepts from atomic axioms.
  - jonny_eh 8y ago
    I like to think of it as dynamic math. Calculus is also a form of "math over time", but is more about a single equation to describe that change over time. Computer science is more like "math with discrete logical steps over time". It allows you to answer questions like "which algorithm can sort a given array in the fewest steps"?
    - crimsonalucard 8y ago
      Math is building formal logic systems based off of a set of a few axioms. Computer science is essentially an aspect of this.
pjmlp 8y ago
Which is actually an English issue how to describe it. In Portuguese it is never called Computer Science as such, rather Informatics, Computation or Informatics Engineering if I do a literal translation. And those that have Engineering in their name, are only allowed to be called that way if recognised by the Engineers country organization as such.
- Symbiote 8y ago
  It's not an English language problem, terms like informatics[0], computing, computation or <x> engineering are valid and used by some universities. My degree is simply "MEng Computing". It's recognized[1] by the engineering association, although that's so irrelevant in most IT that I had to look up the organization: the "BCS (BCS - Chartered Institute for IT) and the IET (Institute of Engineering and Technology)." [0] My job title includes the word "informatician". [1] https://www.imperial.ac.uk/computing/prospective-students/accreditation/ https://www.imperial.ac.uk/computing/prospective-students/ac...
  - pjmlp 8y ago
    Thanks for the clarification, guess got it wrong. :)
zjaffee 8y ago
Science can be both experimental and formal (see Math). This said, there are certainly aspects of CS that require collecting data, designing experiments, ect.

Computer Science... Now there's an oxymoron. At most institutions the subject matter is not really about computers nor is it science, at least not in the physics or chemistry sense.

filleduchaos 8y ago

That sounds like a rather narrow definition of science that will become even more obsolete in the years to come. With how far mankind has come, it's a little silly to think that "natural" systems will remain the only things that science is concerned with.

SahAssar 8y ago
I think that their point is that "Computer Science" does not seem very very interested in the provability of their science (the "Science" part) nor the applicability for general purpose computing (the "Computer" part).
- filleduchaos 8y ago
  > "Computer Science" does not seem very very interested in the provability of their science ...uh, what computer science are you talking about? Formal verification is a huge part of CS, and provability is a tiny part of what makes science science - systematic study through observation and experimentation. Science is a discipline, not in itself a fact to be proved. Also, what parts of CS do you think are inapplicable to general purpose computing?

otras 8y ago

Reminds me of the opening lines of the SICP lectures[0]: "I'd like to welcome you to this course on Computer Science. Actually that's a terrible way to start. Computer science is a terrible name for this business. First of all, it's not a science. It might be engineering or it might be art. We'll actually see that computer so-called science actually has a lot in common with magic. We will see that in this course. So it's not a science. It's also not really very much about computers. And it's not about computers in the same sense that physics is not really about particle accelerators. And biology is not really about microscopes and petri dishes. And it's not about computers in the same sense that geometry is not really about using a surveying instruments." [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Op3QLzMgSY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Op3QLzMgSY

crimsonalucard 8y ago
It's really more math then anything. Building concepts from atomic axioms.
- jonny_eh 8y ago
  I like to think of it as dynamic math. Calculus is also a form of "math over time", but is more about a single equation to describe that change over time. Computer science is more like "math with discrete logical steps over time". It allows you to answer questions like "which algorithm can sort a given array in the fewest steps"?
  - crimsonalucard 8y ago
    Math is building formal logic systems based off of a set of a few axioms. Computer science is essentially an aspect of this.

pjmlp 8y ago

Which is actually an English issue how to describe it. In Portuguese it is never called Computer Science as such, rather Informatics, Computation or Informatics Engineering if I do a literal translation. And those that have Engineering in their name, are only allowed to be called that way if recognised by the Engineers country organization as such.

Symbiote 8y ago
It's not an English language problem, terms like informatics[0], computing, computation or <x> engineering are valid and used by some universities. My degree is simply "MEng Computing". It's recognized[1] by the engineering association, although that's so irrelevant in most IT that I had to look up the organization: the "BCS (BCS - Chartered Institute for IT) and the IET (Institute of Engineering and Technology)." [0] My job title includes the word "informatician". [1] https://www.imperial.ac.uk/computing/prospective-students/accreditation/ https://www.imperial.ac.uk/computing/prospective-students/ac...
- pjmlp 8y ago
  Thanks for the clarification, guess got it wrong. :)

zjaffee 8y ago

Science can be both experimental and formal (see Math). This said, there are certainly aspects of CS that require collecting data, designing experiments, ect.