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To paraphrase Harold Abelson: Computer Science is not really very much about computers. And it’s not about computers in the same sense that physics isn’t reall

To paraphrase Harold Abelson: Computer Science is not really very much about computers. And it’s not about computers in the same sense that physics isn’t really about particle accelerators, and biology is not really about microscopes and petri dishes. It is about formalizing intuitions about process: how to do things [0]. [0]: https://www.driverlesscrocodile.com/technology/the-wizard-1-harold-abelson-on-the-essence-of-computer-science-as-formalising-procedural-knowledge/#:~:text=So%20it's%20not%20a%20science,about%20microscopes%20and%20petri%20dishes https://www.driverlesscrocodile.com/technology/the-wizard-1-....

gpderetta 4y ago
“Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes” - Edsger Dijkstra
- skeaker 4y ago
  This rant from a little while ago soured me on this quote: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34940148 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34940148
  - gpderetta 4y ago
    FWIW, that's actually a good rant.
- AstralStorm 4y ago
  And then some guy called Kepler invented a new kind of telescope. (And we all atarted writing more quantum algorithms.)
mtlmtlmtlmtl 4y ago
Watching Abelson give that lecture(on video I mean, first lecture of SICP IIRC) made a lot of things click in my head as a neophyte programmer. Even after one lecture my understanding of the nature of computation had grown immensely. He and Sussman are great at distilling and explaining abstract concepts in a clear and precise way.
coldtea 4y ago
That's irrelevant though, because actual programming is very much about computers, and about writing things the majority of which have already been formalized by computer scientists, and gluing code and programs inti pipelines...
- dimitrios1 4y ago
  I just adore the hubris on full display here to say what one of the world's best computer science educators has to say is irrelevant.
  - airstrike 4y ago
    I think the parent's point is that even highly inspired wisdom can be irrelevant if applied to all situations More like "it doesn't apply" than "it's inherently invaluable" Also your comment is technically an appeal to authority
  - antegamisou 4y ago
    That's the most humble HNer for you btw.
  - anon7725 4y ago
    It is indeed not particularly relevant to the emergence of AGI and its effect on our work.
  - coldtea 4y ago
    First, this is an argument by authority. One of the "world's best computer science educators" can still say all kinds of wrong stuff. Especially someone as opinionated as Dijkstra, with many controversial opinions other world leading computer science educators disagree with. Second, relevance and applicability is depending on context. On the context of this discussion, about practical programming in the trenches, what Dijkstra said is irrelevant. For starters, he was talking about computer science. Programmers in the trenches (what the thread is discussing) don't do computer science. They merely apply stuff developed by computer scientists (but also by non-scientific practioners in the field), in informal (and often haphazard) manner, to solve business problems (often the same problems again and again, which is something totally beneath a scientist). So, yes, something Dijkstra had said can still be wrong, regardless of his achievements. And it can also far more easily be irrelevant, as this just needs his saying to be unrelated to the discussion.

gpderetta 4y ago

“Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes” - Edsger Dijkstra

skeaker 4y ago
This rant from a little while ago soured me on this quote: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34940148 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34940148
- gpderetta 4y ago
  FWIW, that's actually a good rant.
AstralStorm 4y ago
And then some guy called Kepler invented a new kind of telescope. (And we all atarted writing more quantum algorithms.)

mtlmtlmtlmtl 4y ago

Watching Abelson give that lecture(on video I mean, first lecture of SICP IIRC) made a lot of things click in my head as a neophyte programmer. Even after one lecture my understanding of the nature of computation had grown immensely. He and Sussman are great at distilling and explaining abstract concepts in a clear and precise way.

coldtea 4y ago

That's irrelevant though, because actual programming is very much about computers, and about writing things the majority of which have already been formalized by computer scientists, and gluing code and programs inti pipelines...

dimitrios1 4y ago
I just adore the hubris on full display here to say what one of the world's best computer science educators has to say is irrelevant.
- airstrike 4y ago
  I think the parent's point is that even highly inspired wisdom can be irrelevant if applied to all situations More like "it doesn't apply" than "it's inherently invaluable" Also your comment is technically an appeal to authority
- antegamisou 4y ago
  That's the most humble HNer for you btw.
- anon7725 4y ago
  It is indeed not particularly relevant to the emergence of AGI and its effect on our work.
- coldtea 4y ago
  First, this is an argument by authority. One of the "world's best computer science educators" can still say all kinds of wrong stuff. Especially someone as opinionated as Dijkstra, with many controversial opinions other world leading computer science educators disagree with. Second, relevance and applicability is depending on context. On the context of this discussion, about practical programming in the trenches, what Dijkstra said is irrelevant. For starters, he was talking about computer science. Programmers in the trenches (what the thread is discussing) don't do computer science. They merely apply stuff developed by computer scientists (but also by non-scientific practioners in the field), in informal (and often haphazard) manner, to solve business problems (often the same problems again and again, which is something totally beneath a scientist). So, yes, something Dijkstra had said can still be wrong, regardless of his achievements. And it can also far more easily be irrelevant, as this just needs his saying to be unrelated to the discussion.