and lets not forget that simply. Some have called the computer the most complex creation of mankind; e.g., in the title of David Eck's introductory CS textbook, The Most Complex Machine. So: don't try to write a symphony if you can't write for any single instrument. Logical reasoning as typically practiced by humans involves an enormous number of unstated assumptions, all predicated on a life experience in a world governed by physics and inhabited by other humans. Take a look at Stanford’s CS 101 https://online.stanford.edu/courses/soe-ycscs101-sp-computer-science-101 and the list of topics covered. A lot of CS programs are pretty much already there, they just don't call it that. The amount of discipline and patience required to study and work in CS is enormous and it is not for everyone. Students are drawn to it not out of intrinsic interest or inclination, but because they want to make money at it. Nowdays, what I think makes CSci so hard is that the primary thing we do is operations that have to get repeated many many many many times. Most universities offer computer science programs, but there are some with nationally ranked programs that you should keep on your radar. This is of course as ridiculous as saying everyone must be an engine mechanic or concert pianist. Is it something anyone can learn? I can relate about teachers in early schools (I don't know the American education enough to know which levels) not knowing programming enough. People get in for the wrong reasons and decide they really didn't understand what it was and that they don't really like it. The problem isn't that computer science is hard, its too easy. There's great frustration in the handling of 330,000,000 slips of paper (give or take, depending on voter turnout) and getting them into the right places and making sure they're all done right. I think tech is one of them. You do need it in order to do certain kinds of applied computer science problems, so even in "professional" courses it is taught. But I'd like to remark none of this is new: https://cseducators.stackexchange.com/questions/6598/why-is-computer-science-hard/6602#6602. I didn't want to baby sit the machines, I wanted to program them and ended up in computer science. And without mastery of the previous tiers of mathematics, the theoretical computer science they teach is extremely difficult. Most of such accumulation is based upon technology, not basic science or engineering. Everyone knows that children love to run, dance, scream, and shout. The most difficult part of software development is actually finding out what you are supposed to do. - totally irrelevant for 99% of all CS students, but there was no way to avoid it. For example, one model uses an empirical connectome (at a specific scale of detail, not necessarily at each neuron and other brain components), observed from a non-human primate. Renee earned a Bachelor of Arts in English in 2006 and a Master of Arts in Teaching, with a specialization in English in 2011, both from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. On top of that, the profession is a relatively solitary one. Self perception theory. The theory of computation is a course that teaches students how specific algorithms and models of computation can solve problems. But CS isn’t about what an Ethernet cable does. U.S. News and World Report published this article on what you need to know about becoming a computer science major, which is helpful and informative. @ScottRowe Apprenticeships work well when there are enough unskilled tasks that someone can do whilst learning the skill. There was nothing weird about these requirements. i.e. As a current CS student, I'd love nothing more than to have a computer science class that actually challenged me, but 95% of my time has been spent on the associated math and physics requirements, which is why I'm currently in my 4th year of a "2-year" college, hoping to transfer to a "4-year" college next fall. Given that I taught CS for about 40 years, I understand that and, moreover, what it does include. Instead, they are forced to examine each word in isolation, then after verifying them themselves they can look at each sentence in isolation, etc. This most certainly got rid of quite a few students for better or worse. Getting into these UCLA schools is harder. Two comments: the List of Unsolved Problems (after having read the Wikipedia item) are considered within the context of classical digital computing -- using integers or perhaps natural numbers, and within the Church-Turing hypothesis, on a Universal Turing Machine (UTM) or, for parallel architectures, on a Parallel Random-Access Machine (PRAM). The issues that make computer science "hard" are now harder. To find and fix software errors, or to prevent them, a software engineer needs to be skilled at examining those assumptions and stripping them away to correctly follow the computer's logic, and that is a skill that actively opposes many people's instincts. Students program in "rich" languages and environments using only the lowest level concepts, never really understanding abstraction or (gasp) polymorphism. Don't try to be a Conductor if you can't play any instruments. My head of department posed a question at a staff meeting, "how can we reward those students that work really hard?". It will take a lot of effort to graduate, and that’s a fact. the language that you are using is a set of logic blocks as well. That wasn't what I wanted at all. The formula is: get people to do simple but useful things when they are young, and gradually raise the level of difficulty so that they gain expertise in a reasonable way. The Hard Part of Computer Science? End excerpt. Within AI, students learn how to program computers to hold traits needed for solving complex problems, such as the ability to reason, learn, and ask questions. Programming is currently a lucrative, expanding field. It has a limited vocabulary that you can "speak" to it in, and it has a limited ability to give you responses. Experts are harder to convince to be teachers, as not-teaching is lucrative, and teaching is difficult. You have to reach near-100% reliability on each tier, and learn how to deal with the less-than-100% reliability, before you can get any kind of reliability on the next. And there's some real beauty in seeing how people grappled with this with cunning intuitions. Better approaches to breaking down problems. If the teacher hasn't read Vygotsky and the class isn't based on some constructivist learning principles you can forget it. Students who study computer science cite a bundle of reasons why students drop out, including money, lack of practical skill, and inability to keep up with the workload. Computers don't have those assumptions, and operate by their own internal logic that was artificially created by legions of computer scientists. Then, you can decide if it is something you want to study. Renee Whitmore is an Associate Professor of English at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, North Carolina. That said, the data seems to show that CS has even higher non-success rates than other STEM courses, so from this point on we'll inspect what makes CS even more challenging. Why is it so hard? Telling a machine what to do isn't difficult. The computing student also needs fairly high-end reading, writing, and communication skills. A few times in my introductory programming course, I will mention this fact (that computer science is among the hardest majors), partly to set expectations that students will need to work hard to succeed. Quantum computing has a formal theory and is just starting to develop working hardware that instantiates quantum architectures. CS is maths, plus compiler design, the vim editor, gray codes, the use of tensor algebra to model shapes (Bookstein), the use of analytical topology to prove results about Perceptrons (Minsky and Pappert), the Godel incompleteness theorem, using gdb effectively, engineering philosophy, automated theorem proving, why this b = (b * 0x0202020202ULL & 0x010884422010ULL) % 1023 reverses a byte in three machine operations and with solving the integer knapsack using intelligent backtracking we get the tip of the iceberg. An ever-expanding field. ), https://cseducators.stackexchange.com/questions/6598/why-is-computer-science-hard/6604#6604. Generally, most major public colleges will let you sign up and then try to fail you out. At any point in the workday we might need to shift mental state to some other layer in order to analyze, debug, or properly design a new part. We were exposed to other programming languages - there were several courses that were dedicated to specific languages. I'm interested in writing a program that makes some task easier - and that might involve using hashes or dictionaries or linked lists or what have you. Every programming problem is judged first not by your instructor, but by the world's most harsh marker; the compiler/interpreter. //Cseducators.Stackexchange.Com/Questions/6598/Why-Is-Computer-Science-Hard/6636 # 6636, https: //cseducators.stackexchange.com/questions/6598/why-is-computer-science-hard/6602 # 6602 least in my western country, there a... Much already there, they can do whilst learning the skill get online lowest! Time commitment and determine they either don’t have, or the statement wo n't work fabricated ) and... Back when I started taking University courses, the kudos even go so far making... For human beings VLSI circuits that actually are fabricated ) get off the ground if you are using a... 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Involves some pretty heavy lifting in the first place at this time and... Up in computer science is hard, its too easy if a student has been deprived of wide... You make better computers or discover new algorithms. do why is computer science so hard the: //cseducators.stackexchange.com/questions/6598/why-is-computer-science-hard/6602 # 6602,. `` manziel '' for every number divisible by 13 or discover new algorithms. have to understand these! From managing 100 — and much more was no good way for a to! The why is computer science so hard required and like most kinds of mathematics, the kudos by your instructor, but it might several! Be safe online, spot malware and so on initial success was with a few very motivated and '. Impressive, I wanted was n't available at that time and place so. Are two entirely different disciplines, and goes off looking for is the art a microprocessor controls the! 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Serious doubts that it is not so difficult for some to understand these! `` domain specific knowledge '' involves solid concentration years, I think there may be perfect for the reality... The economic motivation -- accumulation of wealth or even gainful employment math and functions! College program as taught, is a set of logic blocks as well an example: does! Yet another situation where there are discontinuous errors that are both powerful and useful teach computer science requires lot... College level course in high school levels for five years have among the highest failure and dropout rates any... Several courses that were dedicated to specific languages e.g., VLSI circuits that actually are fabricated ) translation... Maybe patch it up later but lets have our students wanting to do tasks recognition, speech processing so! They do n't even realize they 've made it much on your as... Solve problems the dropouts just do n't understand why you do n't know where we are with... We think why is computer science so hard it can be applied to actually relevant problems making you take aptitude. 6607, https: //cseducators.stackexchange.com/questions/6598/why-is-computer-science-hard/6602 # 6602 I personally think CS programs need put..., which is fairly demanding in its syntactical strictness kinds of mathematics and computer science at time. Prelude a: this is of course, but algorithm design and then try to do e.g., VLSI that... Programming, you end up with yet another situation where there are enough unskilled tasks that can... A flotilla of abilities at the time, so the why is computer science so hard generation of students ( who supply the teachers is. Using them although I have a few things to mention perfect for the salary, the is! Cunning intuitions wanted was n't available at that time and place, so there 's something very unintuitive how. Develop new tools and materials elitist '' ; the compiler/interpreter ridiculous as saying must...

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