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I'm a sophomore in college and I agree. Emphasis on making mindless web apps has made my peers (and me, sadly) into consumers of SDKs and frameworks, rather tha

I'm a sophomore in college and I agree. Emphasis on making mindless web apps has made my peers (and me, sadly) into consumers of SDKs and frameworks, rather than producers of technology. To add to the confusion, every VC with a blog is writing about how CS education is irrelevant and that it's worth dropping out. But I doubt that the core tech behind Google or the erstwhile Sun could have been made if their founders hadn't learned proper computer science.

ziadbc 16y ago
One comment I would have on this is that theory is often not framed by many professors in the context of practice or application. The converse is also true. Math theory is a beautiful thing, but if no context is provided (this can be merely history, or a story of how it was applied, rather than actual applied homework itself) would go a long way with students. Otherwise you're just teaching people the notation and rote plugging and chugging of theory, rather than true understanding of the theory.
nlawalker 16y ago
Google is not like the current wave of VC web apps: it was built on an idea that couldn't exist without the proper technology. For most VCs, that technology is merely "the internet," and their ideas simply leverage web connectivity to get up and running so they can see how they do in the marketplace. If a stronger technological backbone is needed later, they can always hire computer science grads. For example, Facebook didn't need computer scientists to start out, but it needed them to grow. For VCs looking to make a buck, the business idea comes first, and innovation in technology can follow if it needs to.
metamemetics 16y ago
As a counterpoint, I think the appeal of (mindless\thoughtful) web applications are keeping people interested in Linux, open source software, new languages, and motivating them to continue learning on their own. The vast majority of non-top tier CS programs just manufacture Eclipse\Visual Studio users for large companies without motivating students to keep discovering new skills. Focusing on a couple successful outliers isn't a representative sample.

ziadbc 16y ago

One comment I would have on this is that theory is often not framed by many professors in the context of practice or application. The converse is also true. Math theory is a beautiful thing, but if no context is provided (this can be merely history, or a story of how it was applied, rather than actual applied homework itself) would go a long way with students. Otherwise you're just teaching people the notation and rote plugging and chugging of theory, rather than true understanding of the theory.

nlawalker 16y ago

Google is not like the current wave of VC web apps: it was built on an idea that couldn't exist without the proper technology. For most VCs, that technology is merely "the internet," and their ideas simply leverage web connectivity to get up and running so they can see how they do in the marketplace. If a stronger technological backbone is needed later, they can always hire computer science grads. For example, Facebook didn't need computer scientists to start out, but it needed them to grow. For VCs looking to make a buck, the business idea comes first, and innovation in technology can follow if it needs to.

metamemetics 16y ago

As a counterpoint, I think the appeal of (mindless\thoughtful) web applications are keeping people interested in Linux, open source software, new languages, and motivating them to continue learning on their own. The vast majority of non-top tier CS programs just manufacture Eclipse\Visual Studio users for large companies without motivating students to keep discovering new skills. Focusing on a couple successful outliers isn't a representative sample.