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Putting the Science back in Computer Science

cs.princeton.edu

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Re: Putting the Science back in Computer Science

#41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have noticed that any degree program that ends with "Science" is generally not science. "Social Science" and "Political Science" are two of the big offenders.

This is an old topic. Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim, both foundational to the social sciences, each sought to bring empiricism and the scientific method to the study of social institutions. I would argue that they were largely successful and it is a shift in our modern understanding of science that questions whether Social Science is "real" science. Specifically, I think the power of mathematics as a tool for obje…

Apparently until quite recently, commonly there was much more math in good sociology programs than in biology. See:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2238391

Re: Putting the Science back in Computer Science

#42
post #36
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds very much like the debugging process in an open source project.

Debugging a program is slightly different from trying to understand the nature of the world, no? I suppose that's the other major criteria I tend to use when thinking about scientists.

Who cares about the nature of the world when you can explore the nature of the machine?
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