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I often wonder, is Phd in computer science really required to do awesome work?
by hobbyist 14y ago
I often wonder, is Phd in computer science really required to do awesome work?
- leibniz 14y agoWhen I heard the first couple of videos of Rich, I also asked myself this question. Here's Matt Welsh's take on "Do you need a PhD"?: http://matt-welsh.blogspot.co.at/2012/03/do-you-need-phd.html http://matt-welsh.blogspot.co.at/2012/03/do-you-need-phd.htm...
- tensor 14y agoOf course not. You can certainly learn all you need to know on your own. However, that doesn't make the process of learning any easier. If you can get into a PhD program, it is a wonderful way to get access to information of various sorts. If not, then the new free CS courses that are now being offered by Stanford and others provide extra help beyond reading books and papers. I'd highly recommend trying some!
- swannodette 14y agoRich Hickey never went to school for Computer Science as far as I know. He studied music composition.
- wooby 14y agoRich has a CS master's degree.
- swannodette 14y agoDid not know that!
- Jach 14y agoI would say no, but a good chunk of knowledge is (though probably less is required than imagined) and if the academic methods of acquiring knowledge suit you (for many hackers they don't) then a Ph.D is a fine way to get a good chunk of knowledge. Here's Rich Hickey's recommended reading for Clojure specifically: http://www.amazon.com/Clojure-Bookshelf/lm/R3LG3ZBZS4GCTH/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full http://www.amazon.com/Clojure-Bookshelf/lm/R3LG3ZBZS4GCTH/re... It's not exhaustive for even functional programming and design let alone the entirety of computer science, but it's certainly a good chunk of knowledge enough to do awesome work from.