[ad_1]
What is the place of computer science in liberal arts colleges? As our young department strives to establish itself within the university as a whole and struggles internally over the nature of the department, As a senior math-CS major at Reed College, this question seems urgent to me. I think much of the concern about the role of computer science stems from misunderstandings about the nature of what is being taught as a subject and at Reed. Computer science, as practiced at Reed College and throughout the academy, is more than just a vocational training; it is also an important intellectual pursuit with broad applications to humanistic inquiry.
Broad definition: Computer science is: studying calculations. Computation, the algorithmic process of solving problems, is probably as old as thought. Its construction has been studied at least since the abacus was invented in Sumer in the 3rd millennium BC. In this sense, computer science cannot simply be understood as the study of computers, like the literal physical devices we all use every day. Instead, it is a study of the very idea of mechanical problem solving. The modern computer is an important example of such a tool, and therefore necessarily plays a central role in this field, both as a method and as an object, but it is important to note that the field’s interests are much older. Must be understood. Of course, like all academic disciplines, its modern boundaries are historically contingent, and computer science is intertwined with mathematics and philosophy, physics and linguistics, sociology and political science. Disciplines that have something to say about computers, artifacts, or computational processes, or that use computers and computation as tools for studying their own objects, should be natural allies.
In fact, the study of computation involves many fundamental humanistic pursuits. CS 382 (Algorithms and Data Structures) and 387 (Computability and Complexity) ask which questions can be answered with memorized calculations and, in contrast, which questions require true creative thinking. discuss which one. CS 315 (Ethics and Public Policy) and 386 (Private and Impartial Data Analysis) question the role of computer technology and algorithmic decision-making in society, and question when states should and should act with discretion. I’m asking you what’s going on. Just a procedure. CS 378 (Deep Learning), 384 (Programming Language Design and Implementation), and 394 (Principles of Compiler Design) discuss the various means of representing processes of computation, and therefore of thought, and the requirements for such translations. Research the limitations. Inevitably so. I don’t think anyone doubts that these and similar questions exist in the liberal arts field.
in plato Republic, he says that education should be an “art of direction.” In other words, the aim is not to impart knowledge to students, but to redirect them so that they can explore knowledge on their own. By this standard, computer science has a clear place among the liberal arts. At best, they teach us to communicate our ideas and arguments accurately, to reason rigorously and creatively about deep questions, and to critically evaluate trade-offs between conflicting arguments and design choices. I’ll give it to you. Sometimes we can work with mathematical precision, but other times we have to make subjective, even philosophical judgments. The great diversity of methods in this field is evidence of its natural focus. Computational questions reward gathering as many tools as possible and studying them from different perspectives.
From this perspective, you need to understand that computer science is more than just coding or software engineering. Indeed, coding is one of the field’s central tools, similar to the role of ethnography in anthropology or primary source analysis in history. It is a tool used to express computational patterns in order to specify how a computer works and to accurately communicate our ideas to other computer scientists. Many computer scientists spend a lot of time coding, but many anthropologists also spend a lot of time doing fieldwork. I’m not denying the importance of coding in this field. Just as anthropology is valuable to journalists, computer science is extremely valuable to software engineers. But software engineering is not about software engineers. the meaning to exist.
Computation is as natural a subject of study as matter, life, politics, and literature. Computer science methods are just as valuable as those in chemistry, biology, political science, or English. Ada Lovelace, the author of the first modern computer program and one of the founders of the modern academic discipline of computer science, said, “As the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves, analysis… “The engine weaves algebraic patterns.” Computer science is nothing but the study of weaving such patterns.
Riley Chahar
[ad_2]
Source link
