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So one of the very few English professors in the country with a computer science degree is offended by Google's hiring practices. The fact is most English majo

So one of the very few English professors in the country with a computer science degree is offended by Google's hiring practices. The fact is most English majors don't enjoy heavy duty math or science as much and it's not that weird to expect a computer science major to depend more on logic and rigor when approaching a problem than it is for someone whose thesis was devoted to a literary analysis of the symbolism behind the pickle dish in Ethan Frome.

kennymeyers 12y ago
"The fact is most English majors don't enjoy heavy duty math or science as much" These statements need data to back them up, Mr. Science.
- learc83 12y ago
  You don't think it's a given that, on average, students who choose a degree that requires "heavy duty math" enjoy it more than students who choose a degree that doesn't require "heavy duty math"?
  - FLUX-YOU 12y ago
    I would change your assertion to "choose a degree that requires heavy duty math and succeed/graduate". Sampling after the choice is initially made is clouded by kids choosing what is popular and/or being forced to go to college because of social pressures and/or choosing only what will hopefully make them the most cash.
  - matwood 12y ago
    Given my science background, very little is a given until I see data. CS people get on their soapbox and talk about being superior in logical and rigorous thinking and then lead off with statements like it's a given.
  - kennymeyers 12y ago
    I'm unsure of the motivations most people have in choosing majors. When I see generalizations of a very large group of people, no matter how obvious it may seem, I just like to see data to back it up.
  - MisterBastahrd 12y ago
    I chose CS after my university cancelled its computer engineering program. I chose computer engineering because it was a challenge in a way that english and history weren't. Much of my childhood was spent with my nose in a book because it was a way to avoid dealing with the religious schism in my family. As a result, my ability to read and write for an academic setting (and on standardized tests) made getting high grades a trivial matter.
- frogpelt 12y ago
  Perhaps I shouldn't call it a fact without data but I assume English majors choose English over the other choices because they feel that they would enjoy English more than the other choices. Is that logical?
  - kennymeyers 12y ago
    Absolutely, but that doesn't exclude them from enjoying and loving the other topics.
batbomb 12y ago
Oh please, the amount of math and (physical) science a typical CS major goes through is pretty laughable compared to a math, physics, or chem major. It's usually on par with biologists with a bit more calculus. It's not that CS majors are magically people who love science and math and English majors don't. It doesn't even matter most of the time. The fact is Google wants CS majors because should be able to hit the ground running. That's not even the case for the average college of science major applying to the average job at google. Yeah, maybe they know matlab, maple/Mathematica, and enough C++ to implement the Newton-Raphson method, but they've never even touched a database before.
- morgante 12y ago
  > Oh please, the amount of math and (physical) science a typical CS major goes through is pretty laughable compared to a math, physics, or chem major. It's usually on par with biologists with a bit more calculus. Sure, but CS isn't supposed to teach you physical science. It's supposed to teach you logical reasoning, and at that we definitely are better. Most "hard science" students I know struggle through parsing a basic decision tree. If I had to hire a logical thinker and couldn't hire a CS major, I'd definitely go for a philosophy major. Purely anecdotally, they're the only other discipline I've had a lot of success in teaching programming to.
morgante 12y ago
> enjoy heavy duty math or science Neither do I, and I'm a CS major.

kennymeyers 12y ago

"The fact is most English majors don't enjoy heavy duty math or science as much" These statements need data to back them up, Mr. Science.

learc83 12y ago
You don't think it's a given that, on average, students who choose a degree that requires "heavy duty math" enjoy it more than students who choose a degree that doesn't require "heavy duty math"?
- FLUX-YOU 12y ago
  I would change your assertion to "choose a degree that requires heavy duty math and succeed/graduate". Sampling after the choice is initially made is clouded by kids choosing what is popular and/or being forced to go to college because of social pressures and/or choosing only what will hopefully make them the most cash.
- matwood 12y ago
  Given my science background, very little is a given until I see data. CS people get on their soapbox and talk about being superior in logical and rigorous thinking and then lead off with statements like it's a given.
- kennymeyers 12y ago
  I'm unsure of the motivations most people have in choosing majors. When I see generalizations of a very large group of people, no matter how obvious it may seem, I just like to see data to back it up.
- MisterBastahrd 12y ago
  I chose CS after my university cancelled its computer engineering program. I chose computer engineering because it was a challenge in a way that english and history weren't. Much of my childhood was spent with my nose in a book because it was a way to avoid dealing with the religious schism in my family. As a result, my ability to read and write for an academic setting (and on standardized tests) made getting high grades a trivial matter.
frogpelt 12y ago
Perhaps I shouldn't call it a fact without data but I assume English majors choose English over the other choices because they feel that they would enjoy English more than the other choices. Is that logical?
- kennymeyers 12y ago
  Absolutely, but that doesn't exclude them from enjoying and loving the other topics.

batbomb 12y ago

Oh please, the amount of math and (physical) science a typical CS major goes through is pretty laughable compared to a math, physics, or chem major. It's usually on par with biologists with a bit more calculus. It's not that CS majors are magically people who love science and math and English majors don't. It doesn't even matter most of the time. The fact is Google wants CS majors because should be able to hit the ground running. That's not even the case for the average college of science major applying to the average job at google. Yeah, maybe they know matlab, maple/Mathematica, and enough C++ to implement the Newton-Raphson method, but they've never even touched a database before.

morgante 12y ago
> Oh please, the amount of math and (physical) science a typical CS major goes through is pretty laughable compared to a math, physics, or chem major. It's usually on par with biologists with a bit more calculus. Sure, but CS isn't supposed to teach you physical science. It's supposed to teach you logical reasoning, and at that we definitely are better. Most "hard science" students I know struggle through parsing a basic decision tree. If I had to hire a logical thinker and couldn't hire a CS major, I'd definitely go for a philosophy major. Purely anecdotally, they're the only other discipline I've had a lot of success in teaching programming to.

morgante 12y ago

> enjoy heavy duty math or science Neither do I, and I'm a CS major.