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Have Liberal Arts Degree, Will Code

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Re: Have Liberal Arts Degree, Will Code

#31

Post by ForHackernews »

dragonwriter wrote: post #19
ForHackernews wrote: post #4

This is a real pet peeve of mine, but "Liberal Arts" is not synonymous with "Humanities": http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liberal%20arts > College or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum. ... In modern colleges and universities, the liberal arts include the study of litera…

> Computer science (as distinct from "programming" or "software engineering") is a liberal art! Arguably, but a BS in Computer Science isn't a Liberal Arts degree, its a science degree that is named that to distinguish it from a Liberal Arts degree (BA, the "Arts" refers to Liberal Arts.) Of course, if you have a BA in Computer Science, that is a Liberal Arts degree.

I would argue that in most cases, the BA/BS distinction is a meaningless artifact of what credential your university happens to offer.

For example, MIT only awards BS degrees to undergrads, so you could major in French Studies or history and get a BS: http://mitadmissions.org/discover/majors

In contrast, a school like Amherst only awards BA degrees, so you'd wind up with a BA in physics, chem or computer science: https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments

Re: Have Liberal Arts Degree, Will Code

#32

Post by dragonwriter »

nirnira wrote: post #29
quomopete wrote: post #16

> If a 10-year-old can become an ace web programmer, why can’t a liberal arts graduate? Brain plasticity. Next.

I've never found these "brain plasticity" arguments very compelling. I had no motivation or context for learning when I was young (0-20) and while I might have done well in school tests and read a lot of books, I don't think I really absorbed anything in any depth, or thought in any particularly interesting or challenging ways - I certainly never achieved anything which would have required so much willpower and focus…

The fact that it is possible for a motivated 25-year-old to be better at learning something than the same person as an unmotivated 10-year-old does not refute the fact that human brain development is such that certain forms of learning are much easier at 10 than at 25.

Re: Have Liberal Arts Degree, Will Code

#33

Post by ben_mcmahen »

I wrote a short essay on my experience with transitioning from the humanities to web design and development. In short, I think it can be done... and that there are even certain advantages and unique skills that a liberal arts degree provides... but ultimately it comes down to some innate skills combined with lots of hard work. Here is my full essay for anyone interested: https://medium.com/this-happened-to-me/d609c1770dd4

Re: Have Liberal Arts Degree, Will Code

#34

Post by dragonwriter »

ForHackernews wrote: post #31
dragonwriter wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Computer science (as distinct from "programming" or "software engineering") is a liberal art! Arguably, but a BS in Computer Science isn't a Liberal Arts degree, its a science degree that is named that to distinguish it from a Liberal Arts degree (BA, the "Arts" refers to Liberal Arts.) Of course, if you have a BA in Computer Science, that is a Liberal Arts degree.

I would argue that in most cases, the BA/BS distinction is a meaningless artifact of what credential your university happens to offer. For example, MIT only awards BS degrees to undergrads, so you could major in French Studies or history and get a BS: http://mitadmissions.org/discover/majors In contrast, a school like Amherst only awards BA degrees, so you'd wind up with a BA in physics, chem or computer science: htt…

I think in most cases BA vs. BS is meaningful -- schools that offer only BS degrees have different kinds of core programs than schools that offer only BA degrees, and there are plenty of schools that offer both kinds of degrees, sometimes in the same major field of study.

Re: Have Liberal Arts Degree, Will Code

#35

Post by ForHackernews »

dragonwriter wrote: post #34
ForHackernews wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would argue that in most cases, the BA/BS distinction is a meaningless artifact of what credential your university happens to offer. For example, MIT only awards BS degrees to undergrads, so you could major in French Studies or history and get a BS: http://mitadmissions.org/discover/majors In contrast, a school like Amherst only awards BA degrees, so you'd wind up with a BA in physics, chem or computer science: htt…

I think in most cases BA vs. BS is meaningful -- schools that offer only BS degrees have different kinds of core programs than schools that offer only BA degrees, and there are plenty of schools that offer both kinds of degrees, sometimes in the same major field of study .

I guess if a single school offers both degrees in the same field, with different requirements, that would be a meaningful distinction.

However, in my experience, it will still be a distinction without a difference, since very few employers would understand or care about it.

Re: Have Liberal Arts Degree, Will Code

#36

Post by nimblegorilla »

norswap wrote: post #15
gruseom wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Programming is writing.

Despite the flurry of Stunk&White analogies, I actually found the two activities to be quite distinct. I think in part because language is much more general (you could say "lose") and because programming exhibit concepts that are nowhere to be found in language (even at the "language" level, programming idioms have little to do with actual idioms).

Good developers also tend to have good communication skills (such as writing). There isn't a 1-to-1 mapping, but things like Strunk&White can give a lot of insight applicable to developers. One example is Strunk&White's idea of a style guide, a concept that all multi-developer software projects should implement to some degree.

Re: Have Liberal Arts Degree, Will Code

#38

Post by byoung2 »

dragonwriter wrote: post #25

> If a 10-year-old can become an ace web programmer, why can’t a liberal arts graduate? Most 10-year-olds can't become ace web programmers (well, given an infinite time horizon, maybe they can, but then they aren't 10-year-olds anymore.) For, largely completely different reasons, most liberal arts graduates probably can't either. Of course, some can (I think I'm a pretty decent programmer, and my degree is a BA in Po…

I think I'm a pretty decent programmer, and my degree is a BA in Political Science. Then again, I was a programming long before I got that degree

I have a BA in English, but I've been programming since I was 7, starting with BASIC, then on my TI-82 in junior high, C in high school, Perl, PHP and Javascript in college. I work full time as a software engineer now, and I make a good living doing it.

Re: Have Liberal Arts Degree, Will Code

#40

Post by matwood »

ZanyProgrammer wrote: post #17
laxatives wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similarly, all the CS grads from Berkeley have BA's with lots of general education breadth requirements (EECS students have BS's).

If I could afford to continue and get a 4 year CS degree, I'd prefer myself to get a BA, or get a CS degree at a non engineering school.

I received my CS and MS in CompSci from a liberal arts school. For me it was a great route to take.
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