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Computer science courses that don't exist, but should (2015)

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Re: Computer science courses that don't exist, but should (2015)

#191

Post by codeulike »

CSCI 3240: Ignoring Hype

- How to ignore the latest platform/library/thing everyone is talking about on HN

CSCI 3120: Novelty Driven Development

- How to stay interested in your job by using the latest platform/library/thing everyone is talking about on HN even if it isn't actually necessary

NB: CSCI 3120 cannot be taken at the same time as CSCI 3240

PSYC 4870: Meeting Techniques

- mentioning problems before, during or after meetings - different techniques for different manager types

- small talk conventions in different cultures

- camera on or camera off - the modern split in corporate habits

PSYC 5630: Accepting Organisational Friction

- how to motivate yourself to write documentation that no-one will ever read

- managers are people too - understanding what makes someone think they want to be a manager

- Everything Will Take A Long Time And No-one Will Remember What Got Decided - working in large organisartions

- Cake and Stare - how to handle a leaving do

Re: Computer science courses that don't exist, but should (2015)

#192

Post by hgomersall »

whilenot-dev wrote: post #181
synack wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was at RIT (2006ish?) there was an elective History of Computing course that started with the abacus and worked up to mainframes and networking. I think the professor retired years ago, but the course notes are still online. https://www.cs.rit.edu/~swm/history/index.html

To strenghten GPs point a bit: There are courses on conceptual art (1966-72) or minimal art alone. One "History of Computing" course, while appreciated, is not doing its history enough justice.

Maybe that says more about the navel gazing prevalent in such conceptual art courses.

Re: Computer science courses that don't exist, but should (2015)

#193

Post by TheAceOfHearts »

w4rh4wk5 wrote: post #174

For CSCI 2100: Unlearning Object-Oriented Programming I'd recommend Casey Muratori's Handmade Hero series. Also check out https://www.youtube.com/@BetterSoftwareConference

Let's be real for a moment. I just looked it up and found a playlist for the full Handmade Hero series which contains 696 videos. Adding up the total duration of the playlist gave me a time of 4726711 seconds, or 1313 hours.

Even for the most passionate of developers, you're gonna have a hard time getting someone to commit even a fraction of that time towards educational content.

If you think there are any specific videos from the Handmade Hero series that are really worth watching, you should recommend them directly. But pointing someone to 1300 hours of content is an absurd suggestion.

Re: Computer science courses that don't exist, but should (2015)

#194

Post by kj4211cash »

tsumnia wrote: post #182
jayd16 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually a lot of degrees have a relevant ethics class.

Unfortunately "ethics" can also be a sneaky way to insert "politics" into the curriculum.

I've never seen this. Is this some weird right wing talking point?

I have seen a disconnect between what is covered in ethics classes and the types of scenarios students will encounter in the working world. My (one) ethics class was useless. But not political even with the redrawn ethical map of the Trump era.

Re: Computer science courses that don't exist, but should (2015)

#196

Post by nticompass »

synack wrote: post #39
corysama wrote: post #10

> CSCI 3300: Classical Software Studies Alan Kay, my favorite curmudgeon, spent decades trying to remind us we keep reinventing concepts that were worked out in the late 70s and he’s disappointed we’ve been running in circles ever since. He’s still disappointed because very few programmers are ever introduced to the history of computer science in the way that artists study the history of art or philosophers the histo…

When I was at RIT (2006ish?) there was an elective History of Computing course that started with the abacus and worked up to mainframes and networking. I think the professor retired years ago, but the course notes are still online. https://www.cs.rit.edu/~swm/history/index.html

Hello fellow RIT alum! I don't think I knew about this class when I went there, though I started as a Computer Engineering student (eventually switched to Computing Security).

Re: Computer science courses that don't exist, but should (2015)

#197

Post by cjfd »

motorest wrote: post #120
corysama wrote: post #10

> CSCI 3300: Classical Software Studies Alan Kay, my favorite curmudgeon, spent decades trying to remind us we keep reinventing concepts that were worked out in the late 70s and he’s disappointed we’ve been running in circles ever since. He’s still disappointed because very few programmers are ever introduced to the history of computer science in the way that artists study the history of art or philosophers the histo…

> He’s still disappointed because very few programmers are ever introduced to the history of computer science in the way that artists study the history of art or philosophers the history of philosophy. Software development/programming is a field where the importance of planning and design lies somewhere between ignored and outright despised. The role of software architect is both ridiculed and vilified, whereas the r…

Maybe history teaches us that planning and design do not work very well....

I think one of the problems is that if someone uses a word, one still does not know what it means. A person can say 'design patterns' and what he is actually doing is a very good use of them that really helps to clarify the code. Another person can say 'design patterns' and is busy creating an overengineered mess that is not applicable to the actual situation where the program is supposed to work.

Re: Computer science courses that don't exist, but should (2015)

#198

Post by yanslookup »

ByteDrifter wrote: post #116

Many computer science programs today have basically turned into coding trade schools. Students can use frameworks, but they don’t understand why languages are designed the way they are, or how systems evolved over time. It’s important to remember that computing is also a field of ideas and thought, not just implementation.

Which ones are those?

My large state university still has the same core required classes as it did 25 years ago. I don't think CS programs can veer to far away from teaching core computer science without losing accreditation.

Re: Computer science courses that don't exist, but should (2015)

#199

Post by bluedino »

d_silin wrote: post #11

"CSCI 4020: Writing Fast Code in Slow Languages" does exist, at least in the book form. Teach algorithmic complexity theory in slowest possible language like VB or Ruby. Then demonstrate how O(N) in Ruby trumps O(N^2) in C++.

I work with Python programmers (engineers/scientists who 'know' Python) daily. Having them understand why their slow code is slow would be amazing.

Re: Computer science courses that don't exist, but should (2015)

#200

Post by taneq »

corysama wrote: post #10

> CSCI 3300: Classical Software Studies Alan Kay, my favorite curmudgeon, spent decades trying to remind us we keep reinventing concepts that were worked out in the late 70s and he’s disappointed we’ve been running in circles ever since. He’s still disappointed because very few programmers are ever introduced to the history of computer science in the way that artists study the history of art or philosophers the histo…

I spent my teens explaining to my mum that main memory (which used to be 'core', she interjected) was now RAM, a record was now a row, a thin client was now a browser, PF keys were now just function keys. And then from this basis I watched Windows Forms and .NET and all the iterations of the JDK and the early churn of non-standardized JavaScript all float by, and thought, 'hmm.'
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