Teach Yourself Computer Science • Hacker News Board

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#231

Post by thundergolfer » Sun, Jun 21, 2020, 11:33 PM UTC

sebws wrote: post #126

thundergolfer wrote: post #105

Can anyone with a CS undergrad from an elite US college (Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, Carnegie Mellon) comment on whether they feel their undergrad covered 100-200 hours worth of these subjects? As someone with an Australian CS degree, I feel like my curriculum covered less than half of this properly.

I'm currently studying CS at UNSW and half of these subjects I've taken relevant courses, and the other half are in my future. Where did you have your experience?

RMIT in Melbourne. UNSW is way better than the former, and from what I’ve gathered is the best program for CS in the country.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#232

Post by thundergolfer » Sun, Jun 21, 2020, 11:43 PM UTC

mcguire wrote: post #199

thundergolfer wrote: post #86

At 200 hours per subject, it would take 2 years to complete if studying part-time (20hr/week) during only the working weeks of the year (92 weeks). If you're uncomfortable working+studying 60-70hrs a week, it would probably take 4 years. Are there blog posts around where people share their experience of undertaking and completely this endeavour?

Heck, I don't know of any blogs with people sharing their experience of an undergrad CS degree.

Good point. I’ve been meaning to write up my experience, because I feel that it was really poor and Australian students need to be more aware of how sub-par our CS education system is.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#233

Post by gridspy » Mon, Jun 22, 2020, 12:52 AM UTC

YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #197

hnarn wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the most important skill is just being able to solve real problems, soft skills and breaking problems into parts. As well as the ability to self learn and research. Seeing a very non-technical friend of mine being completely immersed in games like "Factorio" and "Satisfactory" where the entire game is essentially just putting constantly more complex and valuable resources together in automated ways is fascinating t…

>> The sheer look of glee and pride when he gives a tour of all the automation around his base is infectious, and although he doesn't share my amazement at my conclusion, I can't help but think that he's already doing what most engineers I work with do every day, and he doesn't even realize it. One reason why I can't really get into Factorio. It's too much like work. The funny thing is I do code at home, for fun, in…

I understand what you mean. While I'm a Factorio fan I felt this way about the graphical-programming zachlike SpaceChem. Too much like work.

I approached Factorio like MineCraft but with the boring stuff automated.

To have fun in a game like Factorio, just mess around - you don't need to make a perfect factory, or compete with your friend.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#234

Post by humaniania » Mon, Jun 22, 2020, 2:03 AM UTC

andrewflnr wrote: post #185

hnarn wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the most important skill is just being able to solve real problems, soft skills and breaking problems into parts. As well as the ability to self learn and research. Seeing a very non-technical friend of mine being completely immersed in games like "Factorio" and "Satisfactory" where the entire game is essentially just putting constantly more complex and valuable resources together in automated ways is fascinating t…

God, yes, all the wasted potential out there hurts my soul.

They're having fun and learning. I think it's OK.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#235

Post by musicale » Mon, Jun 22, 2020, 2:12 AM UTC

These are all good courses actually!

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#236

Post by andrewflnr » Mon, Jun 22, 2020, 2:13 AM UTC

humaniania wrote: post #234

andrewflnr wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

God, yes, all the wasted potential out there hurts my soul.

They're having fun and learning. I think it's OK.

In cases where the bulk of their time is wasted on a boring job when they could be learning and having fun all the time on something impactful, no that's not OK.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#237

Post by musicale » Mon, Jun 22, 2020, 2:27 AM UTC

Of course an MS - which they recommend against - would likely cover additional topics (computer graphics, AI/machine learning, formal methods) as well as follow-on material to the introductory courses listed on the page.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#238

Post by dennisgorelik » Mon, Jun 22, 2020, 2:50 AM UTC

karmicthreat wrote: post #163

One thing I'm always amazed by when casually talking to people about what I do is how they don't think they can do it. Many people think that software engineering and programming are some inscrutable thing. Sometimes I try to tell them that it is nothing special, it doesn't take a mega genius or math expert to do it. That the most important skill is just being able to solve real problems, soft skills and breaking pro…

> being able to solve real problems, soft skills and breaking problems into parts. As well as the ability to self learn and research

You are implying, that most people can do that. I think only about 15% of adults can do what you listed.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#239

Post by peteretep » Mon, Jun 22, 2020, 3:45 AM UTC

dennisgorelik wrote: post #238

karmicthreat wrote: post #163

One thing I'm always amazed by when casually talking to people about what I do is how they don't think they can do it. Many people think that software engineering and programming are some inscrutable thing. Sometimes I try to tell them that it is nothing special, it doesn't take a mega genius or math expert to do it. That the most important skill is just being able to solve real problems, soft skills and breaking pro…

> being able to solve real problems, soft skills and breaking problems into parts. As well as the ability to self learn and research You are implying, that most people can do that. I think only about 15% of adults can do what you listed.

And only about 50% of people employed as programmers.

Re: Teach Yourself Computer Science

#240

Post by aryzach » Mon, Jun 22, 2020, 4:17 AM UTC

varrock wrote: post #71

pretzell wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that CS vs SWE thing happens with a lot of people, and I got caught there, too. Luckily, I ended up really liking CS and it introduced me to the field, whereas otherwise I would've gone for SWE. There really needs to be a 'teachYourselfSWE' for people who are into that.

How can you tell which one is right for you? So many computer scientist graduates I know ended up pursuing software engineering that I've mistakingly conflated the two.

it's really theory (CS) vs building things (SWE). As you want to build larger projects, or build them better, you rely on CS ideas to do that. So SWE is really engineering assisted by applied CS. I've been studying CS for about two years and am only now learning any real application development. You can study CS without ever touching a computer or building an application (though doing both those things will give you context for why CS topics matter).

It's kinda like if you want to build a rocket to get to space, you can tinker with propellant, metal, and fire, and be a hobbyist that eventually you build a rocket to go to space. Or you can be a physicist and calculate everything on paper. To get to space you really need both those people, but the physicist can learn to build and the engineer can learn theory.