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Outside of the U.S.A. (notably in the U.K.) the computer science department is known as the informatics department. This makes the larger claim that the field'

Outside of the U.S.A. (notably in the U.K.) the computer science department is known as the informatics department. This makes the larger claim that the field's interest is information theory. Consider the information theoretic guarantees of total order broadcast and it's equivalence to consensus. Consider also the relationships between automata and languages, computational complexity theory, the relational calculus. Many proofs of correctness have been made over many matters in the field and these are expected to remain as true as the laws of physics.

belugacat 5y ago
This is kind of getting into weird semantics. For what it’s worth I hold a BSc from a large, reputable UK university in computer science, not informatics, so it’s not as universal as you suggest. I do also hold an undergraduate degree from a French university in informatique, a contraction of “information automatique”. Both words are equally important in the name of that discipline, and the “automatique” part is very much about process. But we are debating the map here, not the territory.
- erikerikson 5y ago
  Thank you for the correction, I should have used softer language. My sample size is small but my edit link is gone. To clarify my meaning, I don't mean to contradict process being core to the field but rather that process is within what I consider a more broad scope for the theory of information. While we could talk about the process involved in proving the equivalence of an automata to a language it feels like a stretch to call the fact of their equivalence a part of the study of process itself. If you're game, I'm curious what seems weird about the semantics? Not just the map but the terms written on it. :D
lliamander 5y ago
You're absolutely right about information being a key part of computer science. I don't really know how to articulate the relationship between "process" and "information" but it makes sense to me to group them together, and I do like the name "informatics" to describe the science.

belugacat 5y ago

This is kind of getting into weird semantics. For what it’s worth I hold a BSc from a large, reputable UK university in computer science, not informatics, so it’s not as universal as you suggest. I do also hold an undergraduate degree from a French university in informatique, a contraction of “information automatique”. Both words are equally important in the name of that discipline, and the “automatique” part is very much about process. But we are debating the map here, not the territory.

erikerikson 5y ago
Thank you for the correction, I should have used softer language. My sample size is small but my edit link is gone. To clarify my meaning, I don't mean to contradict process being core to the field but rather that process is within what I consider a more broad scope for the theory of information. While we could talk about the process involved in proving the equivalence of an automata to a language it feels like a stretch to call the fact of their equivalence a part of the study of process itself. If you're game, I'm curious what seems weird about the semantics? Not just the map but the terms written on it. :D

lliamander 5y ago

You're absolutely right about information being a key part of computer science. I don't really know how to articulate the relationship between "process" and "information" but it makes sense to me to group them together, and I do like the name "informatics" to describe the science.