*"Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes... | Hacker News

Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit

		Someone on Sept 4, 2015 \| parent \| context \| favorite \| on: CS Unplugged: Computer Science Without a Computer "Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes." (Attributed to) Dijkstra. "Computer science isn't a science and it isn't about computers" (www.jonahkagan.me/projects/writing/cs-essay.html, but I think that isn't the original) You can learn music without ever touching an instrument, but you can't learn playing an instrument that way. Similarly, learning computer science is not the same thing as learning to program or learning software engineering.

tyrust on Sept 4, 2015 [–]

>"Computer science isn't a science and it isn't about computers"

Earliest use of this quote that I know of is from Abelson in his 1986 lecture teaching SICP: https://youtu.be/2Op3QLzMgSY?t=24

amelius on Sept 5, 2015 | [–]

Hence, we should call it "Information Technology" instead.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact