Semantic Werks

Well, not really, although that seems to be the worry of some. There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth at the Rebooting Computing conference recently. The conference was held to address a drop in enrollments and a general belief that computing is perceived as irrelevant or uninteresting. Now, every field could stand some re-invention — isn’t that right, String Theorists? — but I think a lot of the perception has to do with conflicting issues:

1. What is computing? This term seems to subsume a vast array of research fields, industries and technologies. It’s always seemed to me that there are several, not necessarily overlapping, sub-fields in academic computer science departments: mathematics and logic, engineering, information technology. Many outside observers, like the InfoQ site, seem to conflate computer science with software engineering. Computer science is not just programming.
2. Employment. Since a major concern for undergrads is getting a job, the ongoing news that most computer jobs are being shipped overseas has to be worrying. Certainly in the last few years, if you were bright and good at math, you were better off going into finance. This will likely change now that finance is as respected a field as professional burglar.
3. Women. Why is computer science so devoid of the female? Is it these other reasons?
4. Lack of coverage does not equal lack of attention. The InfoQ reporter comments that no one in academia pays attention to topics his readers care about, like agility, Ruby, and architecture. Really? UofT students learn Python in undergrad, in second year they do mobile web development (admittedly in Java, which, though not as sexy as Ruby, will probably be better on the resume) using Scrum-like techniques, and in third year they study design patterns and XP. A reluctance to leap boldly onto a bandwagon does not imply being stuck in the mud. Heck, students ought to learn Cobol, Lisp, and Fortran, anything to shake them up.
5. Lab tech syndrome: Computer science does more than provide lab techs for bioinformatics. A lot of focus on ‘inter-disciplinarity’ often seems to involve the CS side building database apps for the ‘real’ scientists.

All that aside, it does seem like computer science and software development get very little credit, and a lot of blame. Think about the nifty stuff you can do with Google Earth, the iPhone, a GPS. All driven by software!

Finally: please, please stop referencing the Standish report. As Venkman is told in Ghostbusters: “Your theories are the worst kind of popular tripe, your methods are sloppy, and your conclusions are highly questionable! You are a poor scientist!” The best thing we can do for the field is stop paying attention to vendor-driven hype.