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I don't really agree with the arbitrary world defined in this article, it seems overly simplified and makes a lot of assumptions. I understand this might be jus

by Morgawr 13y ago

I don't really agree with the arbitrary world defined in this article, it seems overly simplified and makes a lot of assumptions. I understand this might be just for beginners or people who want to get a simple view of the world but it's totally not how it works. The "real world" is actually much simpler. A "coder" is somebody who "codes", a "programmer" is somebody who writes "programs" (is this different from coder? Maybe the way we perceive the word is, but deep down it really isn't). A "hacker" is somebody who "hacks", which can mostly mean who engages in playful cleverness[0], it needn't be software or hardware, low or high level. A "developer" is somebody who "develops" software (this might be a step up from a programmer because a developer is usually the creator/architect of that software too, not just a code monkey). A Computer Scientist is somebody who studies Computer Science, which is a branch of math, usually (but not necessarily) with a degree. Feel free to criticize me, this is my view of this world as opposed to the author's view of his own world which I don't agree with. [0] http://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html http://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html ps: shall we add also sysadmins, IT techs, Software Engineers and Computer Engineers in the mix?

weinzierl 13y ago
I ask because English isn't my first language. Is a scientist really considered someone who studies a field? You might have a degree, but does that make you a scientist? I always thought a scientist usually is at least at PhD level.
- Morgawr 13y ago
  English isn't my first language either so I apologize if this is incorrect. I think a scientist is somebody who applies a scientific method or, more broadly, does research in a field. Since "Computer Science" isn't really a science (it's closer to Math) it gets muddier, I'd assume a computer scientist is somebody who does research in the field of computer science. That's as "objective" as it can be in my opinion. All in all what's important is that these fields needn't be mutually exclusive, one can be a programmer and a computer scientist. (And the original point of my comment was that applying arbitrary definitions to roles is way too simplistic, the best we can do is apply those words as literal value)
- lmm 13y ago
  To my mind a scientist means someone who is doing research - whether that be academically or industrially - and qualifications are secondary to that. I don't really feel comfortable with "computer science", as it seems to mean different things to different people, and isn't always in line with what I think of as "science".
kriro 13y ago
Not sure if CS is a branch of mathematics or if it's the other way around. Turing Machines/Lambda Calculus FTW ;) One man's halting problem is another man's incompleteness theorem(s)
- yareally 13y ago
  I'd put most of Computer Science under Applied Mathematics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_mathematics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_mathematics

by Morgawr 13y ago

weinzierl 13y ago

I ask because English isn't my first language. Is a scientist really considered someone who studies a field? You might have a degree, but does that make you a scientist? I always thought a scientist usually is at least at PhD level.

Morgawr 13y ago
English isn't my first language either so I apologize if this is incorrect. I think a scientist is somebody who applies a scientific method or, more broadly, does research in a field. Since "Computer Science" isn't really a science (it's closer to Math) it gets muddier, I'd assume a computer scientist is somebody who does research in the field of computer science. That's as "objective" as it can be in my opinion. All in all what's important is that these fields needn't be mutually exclusive, one can be a programmer and a computer scientist. (And the original point of my comment was that applying arbitrary definitions to roles is way too simplistic, the best we can do is apply those words as literal value)
lmm 13y ago
To my mind a scientist means someone who is doing research - whether that be academically or industrially - and qualifications are secondary to that. I don't really feel comfortable with "computer science", as it seems to mean different things to different people, and isn't always in line with what I think of as "science".

kriro 13y ago

Not sure if CS is a branch of mathematics or if it's the other way around. Turing Machines/Lambda Calculus FTW ;) One man's halting problem is another man's incompleteness theorem(s)

yareally 13y ago
I'd put most of Computer Science under Applied Mathematics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_mathematics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_mathematics