NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #19/NN_1992_19.iso/spool/comp/edu/1480

Internet Message Format | 1992-09-02 | 1.7 KB

Path: sparky!uunet!trwacs!erwin
From: [e-mail] (Harry Erwin)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: lab science requirements for programmers
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 2 Sep 92 13:07:57 GMT
References: <[e-mail]>
Organization: TRW Systems Division, Fairfax VA
Lines: 30

I got into a similar discussion once concerning the appropriate scientific
course requirements for archeologists. Some points:

1. A lab science provides a) the paradigms of a field, and b) some
experience doing real research. Most science departments seem to have the
view that those are the key elements to becoming a scientist. We can
conclude that a lab science requirement should be included in a CS
curriculum, since most computer scientists eventually have to develop
domain expertise (learn paradigms) and do original research based on those
paradigms (do labs).

2. However, it is not necessary that the lab science be one that is too
difficult to learn, unless the CS department wants to wash out a lot of
freshmen. Instead, the department could coordinate with some of the other
departments so that there were lab science courses available (perhaps in
archeology, geology, or biology) where the emphasis was on data analysis
labs, since that's the type of research most often performed by CS
graduates.

3. Math prerequisites for a CS degree (or any sort of degree in my
opinion) should include basic calculus, basic differential equations
(perhaps more as a lab course than as a pure math course), probability,
and statistics. Perhaps, some of this could be covered in a course
sequence shared with the economics department.

Cheers,
--
Harry Erwin
Internet: [e-mail]