Computer Science is Not About Computers!
When most people encounter the phrase "Computer Science" it usually conjures up a vision of tech support or, to a lesser extent, computer repair.
It is simultaneously amusing and irritating that the majority of the population does not know what the field of Computer Science does.
The term "computer" has become more vague (or more broad) over the previous half-century and even more so in the last 20 years. The proliferation of computers in our society has grown to a point where nearly everything we touch is or contains a computer.
The ever-growing misunderstanding of what Computer Science is may not be of much concern, but will become an issue for future generations of Computer Scientists.
If you are reading this and do not immediately see what the problem is or why it matters at all, do not fear for you are not alone!
First let us tackle an overly simplified view of what Computer Science is and is not.
The root of the problem can be traced to a common belief that nearly everyone, even many Computer Science majors, believe is that Computer Science is the study of computers. This belief is wrong!
It is easy to understand why so many people have come to the same incorrect conclusion. In most other academic fields the area of study is part of the name. Some easy examples include: Philosophers study philosophy, Mathematicians study Mathematics, Historians study history, et cetera.
When people hear the phrase "Computer Science" the mental images drawn usually belong to other fields, such as IT (tech support, system administration, et cetera) or Engineering (electronic, mechanical, et cetera.)
If you are wondering why Computer Science is different than nearly all other fields, then perhaps now would be a good time to explain what Computer Science is.
Computer Science is the study of computations, period, end of discussion. However, before you pack up and leave let us break down the elements that make up Computer Science in an effort to make things a little easier to understand. It is easy to make a connection between some academic studies that overlap.
Most of the sciences are dependent Mathematics, at the very least, while others are dependent on several other fields. For example, Astronomy overlaps with Mathematics and Physics, especially in areas dealing with celestial movements or distances.
In a similar fashion, Computer Science includes elements from Mathematics, Engineering, Logic, Philosophy, Natural Language, et cetera. It should be no surprise that a good Computer Science program will include courses dedicated to each of these dependent fields to better prepare the student for being a Computer Scientist and not just a code monkey as is frequently the academic outcome produced by certain technical schools that will remain nameless. It should also come as no surprise that at Western Washington University, and likely other universities, the difference in the amount of Mathematics courses required between a Computer Science major and a Mathematics minor is only one course!
A common method employed in communications to get a specific point across is to use an analogy that the audience can relate to or at least understand. It should not be a surprise that one of the senior Computer Science professors at WWU has coined a nice analogy: "Computers are to Computer Science as Telescopes are to Astronomy." Dr. Hearne, WWU CS Department. This is one of the best quotes this author has ever heard regarding how computers relate to Computer Science.
No doubt that Astronomy includes elements that require studying the Telescopes themselves, but clearly Astronomy as a whole is not about the Telescopes. Similarly, Computer Science is not about studying the computers, but includes the study of computers as a tool to get the job done.
Finally, to get back to the issue of why this matters, especially to future generations. A real-life example may help here, so one from this authors own university is quite fitting.
Earlier this year WWU attempted to ax the entire Computer Science department in a quick and quiet manner. Large gaping holes in the state budget has resulted in severe budget cuts in many areas, including education. One report stated that the budget cut faced by WWU was greater than 50% of the operating budget! A solution conjured up by the university administration was to eliminate an entire department as well as forcing cutbacks in all departments. Since this university puts more emphasis on Liberal Arts, Humanities, and Business Administration, it was no surprise that the college selected to receive the cut was the College of Sciences and Technology, home to the Computer Science department.
The (then) dean of CST looked at the departments within the college and determined that Geology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, et cetera. could not be eliminated because they are required by non-majors for graduation. In a closed door meeting with the (then) provost, it was quietly passed that the Computer Science department should be eliminated.
Once word was leaked of the universities intentions, the Computer Science faculty, staff, and students were able to stir up enough support, including former students employed by significantly large multi-national corporations, that a meeting was held between the provosts office and the top professors from the Computer Science department. After many "non-answer" answers, one Computer Science professor was finally able to provoke a jaw dropping statement from the provost to the effect of: "Computer Science is a useless field of study now that everyone has a computer and a word processor these days."
There is clearly a fundamental misunderstanding of what Computer Science is and is supposed to do. It is not clear what solution, if any, there may be in eradicating this misunderstanding or even reducing it. One suggestion has been to rename the field of Computer Science to something that is less confusing for the general public. Possible contenders could include "Computation Science" or "Computing Machine Science."
It is unfortunate that the administration of a university does not even know what one of its fields of study is, but blame cannot be placed solely on them either. The problem is widespread and has become more complex with certain companies pushing their "computer" products in a way that causes the product to mutate into a mainstream piece of popular culture. Not to mention a certain company, which has a logo modeled after a partially eaten piece of fruit, has tried hard to turn the science of computer programming into an artistic, popular culture-accepted, career. This new playboy-like view of programmers is sort of akin to how people viewed pre-World War II pilots.
A few things are evident when considering the current state that has resulted in a melding of society and computers: Computers, in any size, shape, or form, are not going away and will continue to evolve and be adapted to new situations. Finding correct solutions to problems involving computer programming requires someone with more knowledge than a code monkey. We need properly trained computer scientists to develop algorithms that result in not just a solution to the problem, but an efficient solution. In addition, we need Computer Scientists to discover methods to allow the application of old solutions in new situations. Simply put: we need Computer Scientists to be there leading the way!
It is doubtful that we will abruptly run out of Computer Scientists, but how many there will be in the future depends on how well we can keep uninformed officials, administrators, and even our friends and neighbors from destroying or dumbing down one of the most vital fields in modern times. If you want to make full use of the multi-core processor in your smart-phone, or ensure the algorithm used to calculate your driving route on your next road trip is not only accurate, but also provides the best route that will save you gas and avoid roads under construction, or the next video game to get the most out of your gaming console without having to buy a new upgraded console every year, or manage airplanes from colliding with one another, or ensure trains use the correct tracks at the right times to avoid collisions and delays, and make sure missiles find the correct target and detonate at the appropriate time, then we need to make sure corporations and governments do not hire code monkeys instead of properly educated Computer Scientists and, more importantly we need to keep universities on track. We need universities to produce sufficient quantities of students in Computer Science, but we do not want them to dumb down the programs to attract new students or to push high numbers through the doors.
Although turning some of those proverbial weed out courses into regular courses is quiet acceptable! After all we are here to learn and become scientists and not be elitists that create more problems than solutions...
When most people encounter the phrase "Computer Science" it usually conjures up a vision of tech support or, to a lesser extent, computer repair.
It is simultaneously amusing and irritating that the majority of the population does not know what the field of Computer Science does.
The term "computer" has become more vague (or more broad) over the previous half-century and even more so in the last 20 years. The proliferation of computers in our society has grown to a point where nearly everything we touch is or contains a computer.
The ever-growing misunderstanding of what Computer Science is may not be of much concern, but will become an issue for future generations of Computer Scientists.
If you are reading this and do not immediately see what the problem is or why it matters at all, do not fear for you are not alone!
First let us tackle an overly simplified view of what Computer Science is and is not.
The root of the problem can be traced to a common belief that nearly everyone, even many Computer Science majors, believe is that Computer Science is the study of computers. This belief is wrong!
It is easy to understand why so many people have come to the same incorrect conclusion. In most other academic fields the area of study is part of the name. Some easy examples include: Philosophers study philosophy, Mathematicians study Mathematics, Historians study history, et cetera.
When people hear the phrase "Computer Science" the mental images drawn usually belong to other fields, such as IT (tech support, system administration, et cetera) or Engineering (electronic, mechanical, et cetera.)
If you are wondering why Computer Science is different than nearly all other fields, then perhaps now would be a good time to explain what Computer Science is.
Computer Science is the study of computations, period, end of discussion. However, before you pack up and leave let us break down the elements that make up Computer Science in an effort to make things a little easier to understand. It is easy to make a connection between some academic studies that overlap.
Most of the sciences are dependent Mathematics, at the very least, while others are dependent on several other fields. For example, Astronomy overlaps with Mathematics and Physics, especially in areas dealing with celestial movements or distances.
In a similar fashion, Computer Science includes elements from Mathematics, Engineering, Logic, Philosophy, Natural Language, et cetera. It should be no surprise that a good Computer Science program will include courses dedicated to each of these dependent fields to better prepare the student for being a Computer Scientist and not just a code monkey as is frequently the academic outcome produced by certain technical schools that will remain nameless. It should also come as no surprise that at Western Washington University, and likely other universities, the difference in the amount of Mathematics courses required between a Computer Science major and a Mathematics minor is only one course!
A common method employed in communications to get a specific point across is to use an analogy that the audience can relate to or at least understand. It should not be a surprise that one of the senior Computer Science professors at WWU has coined a nice analogy: "Computers are to Computer Science as Telescopes are to Astronomy." Dr. Hearne, WWU CS Department. This is one of the best quotes this author has ever heard regarding how computers relate to Computer Science.
No doubt that Astronomy includes elements that require studying the Telescopes themselves, but clearly Astronomy as a whole is not about the Telescopes. Similarly, Computer Science is not about studying the computers, but includes the study of computers as a tool to get the job done.
Finally, to get back to the issue of why this matters, especially to future generations. A real-life example may help here, so one from this authors own university is quite fitting.
Earlier this year WWU attempted to ax the entire Computer Science department in a quick and quiet manner. Large gaping holes in the state budget has resulted in severe budget cuts in many areas, including education. One report stated that the budget cut faced by WWU was greater than 50% of the operating budget! A solution conjured up by the university administration was to eliminate an entire department as well as forcing cutbacks in all departments. Since this university puts more emphasis on Liberal Arts, Humanities, and Business Administration, it was no surprise that the college selected to receive the cut was the College of Sciences and Technology, home to the Computer Science department.
The (then) dean of CST looked at the departments within the college and determined that Geology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, et cetera. could not be eliminated because they are required by non-majors for graduation. In a closed door meeting with the (then) provost, it was quietly passed that the Computer Science department should be eliminated.
Once word was leaked of the universities intentions, the Computer Science faculty, staff, and students were able to stir up enough support, including former students employed by significantly large multi-national corporations, that a meeting was held between the provosts office and the top professors from the Computer Science department. After many "non-answer" answers, one Computer Science professor was finally able to provoke a jaw dropping statement from the provost to the effect of: "Computer Science is a useless field of study now that everyone has a computer and a word processor these days."
There is clearly a fundamental misunderstanding of what Computer Science is and is supposed to do. It is not clear what solution, if any, there may be in eradicating this misunderstanding or even reducing it. One suggestion has been to rename the field of Computer Science to something that is less confusing for the general public. Possible contenders could include "Computation Science" or "Computing Machine Science."
It is unfortunate that the administration of a university does not even know what one of its fields of study is, but blame cannot be placed solely on them either. The problem is widespread and has become more complex with certain companies pushing their "computer" products in a way that causes the product to mutate into a mainstream piece of popular culture. Not to mention a certain company, which has a logo modeled after a partially eaten piece of fruit, has tried hard to turn the science of computer programming into an artistic, popular culture-accepted, career. This new playboy-like view of programmers is sort of akin to how people viewed pre-World War II pilots.
A few things are evident when considering the current state that has resulted in a melding of society and computers: Computers, in any size, shape, or form, are not going away and will continue to evolve and be adapted to new situations. Finding correct solutions to problems involving computer programming requires someone with more knowledge than a code monkey. We need properly trained computer scientists to develop algorithms that result in not just a solution to the problem, but an efficient solution. In addition, we need Computer Scientists to discover methods to allow the application of old solutions in new situations. Simply put: we need Computer Scientists to be there leading the way!
It is doubtful that we will abruptly run out of Computer Scientists, but how many there will be in the future depends on how well we can keep uninformed officials, administrators, and even our friends and neighbors from destroying or dumbing down one of the most vital fields in modern times. If you want to make full use of the multi-core processor in your smart-phone, or ensure the algorithm used to calculate your driving route on your next road trip is not only accurate, but also provides the best route that will save you gas and avoid roads under construction, or the next video game to get the most out of your gaming console without having to buy a new upgraded console every year, or manage airplanes from colliding with one another, or ensure trains use the correct tracks at the right times to avoid collisions and delays, and make sure missiles find the correct target and detonate at the appropriate time, then we need to make sure corporations and governments do not hire code monkeys instead of properly educated Computer Scientists and, more importantly we need to keep universities on track. We need universities to produce sufficient quantities of students in Computer Science, but we do not want them to dumb down the programs to attract new students or to push high numbers through the doors.
Although turning some of those proverbial weed out courses into regular courses is quiet acceptable! After all we are here to learn and become scientists and not be elitists that create more problems than solutions...