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> PhDs in freaking computer science can't code I’ve known people with PhDs in computer science (from a top tier school) that couldn’t code. Their research was

> PhDs in freaking computer science can't code I’ve known people with PhDs in computer science (from a top tier school) that couldn’t code. Their research was all done in Matlab for simulations, modeling a biological process. It was a very specific set of skills required. And at the time, this person couldn’t have written a web front end to a database to save their lives. Just because one is good at the theory behind CS doesn’t mean they understand software engineering. Similarly, because one is good at the theory doesn’t mean they can’t code. They are two related, but different, skill sets.

pxc 5y ago
> > PhDs in freaking computer science can't code and many graduates in freaking computer science can't read or write proofs, either > They are two related, but different, skill sets. exactly. I think it would be valuable to enforce more crossover in our educational institutions, though. We should have clearer boundaries between computer science and software engineering, and then also require students (at every level) in each to do some study in the other. Researchers should be in touch with the concerns and needs of ordinary programmers, and ordinary programmers should be capable of looking at the output of researchers to take good ideas and make them practicable and polished. Sometimes the disconnect means research effort gets wasted and practical technology lingers on designs that serve it relatively poorly. But of course software engineering and computer science are distinct and deep specializations.