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From: wcn@cs.brown.edu (Wen-Chun Ni)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Computer Science or Engineering (Re: most respected chinese SCIENTISTs)
Message-ID: <75806@brunix.UUCP>
Date: 15 May 91 10:04:16 GMT
References: <1991May12.173021.4955@lynx.CS.ORST.EDU> <TSAO.91May12145829@bacchus.tcad.ee.ufl.edu> <1991May12.224331.20754@lynx.CS.ORST.EDU> <1991May14.190239.1330@cs.yale.edu>
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Reply-To: wcn@cs.brown.edu (Wen-Chun Ni)
Organization: Brown University Department of Computer Science
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In article <1991May14.190239.1330@cs.yale.edu> horne-scott@cs.yale.edu (Scott Horne) writes:
* In article <1991May12.224331.20754@lynx.CS.ORST.EDU>, wangh@beasley.CS.ORST.EDU (Haiyan Wang) writes:
* <In article <TSAO.91May12145829@bacchus.tcad.ee.ufl.edu> tsao@tcad.ee.ufl.edu ( Tsao) writes:
* <>
* <>Interesting, would you tell me what is "Computer Science" ?
* <
* <I think there are plenty Computer Science major netter out there to answer
* <this question.
* 
* Well, I'm a computer-"science" major (with a second major in Chinese language
* and literature), and I'm the one who originally raised this question on SCC.
* (Follow-ups to `comp.edu', please.)
* 
* >They should be able to state the difference between computer
* <science and computer engineering than I do as I am majoring in physics.
* 
* Fine.  There's a difference between computer engineering and what is called
* computer science, but that doesn't mean that the term `computer science'
* is an accurate description of the field.
* 
* You keep avoiding the question.  Please tell us:  What is scientific about
* computer "science"?
* 

Please pre-define "what is science" and there would be someone capable of
answering your question, because we might have different opinions about
the term "science." I myself incline to the interpretation of Whitehead
in his book "Science and the Modern World." What do your think? There
might be some very profound areas in Computer Science which are
untouched by an undergrade, but this doesn't mean an undergrade has less
understanding in computer science if summing up. Unix doesn't represent
the computer society. In the same way, term-rewriting techniques doesn't
either. Many people denied the significance of Computer Science based
on the observation that mathematicians had invented algorithms long 
before they discovered abstract algebra. This cannot be a conclusive
argument because the basic spirits are quite different in these two
subjects. On the other hand, we too cannot capture the spirit from
Electrical Engineering's basic approaches in building computers. 
Try to look at IEEE Tran. on Computers and those ACM-based journals,
you will find the fundamental differences in objectives and arguments.

Several fields of mathematics border theoretical computer science,
e.g. logic and combinatorics. But they are by no means the same in
goals. As a student in theoretical computer science, I don't feel that
the difference is subtle.

If, according to some mathmaticians like Kline, the basic approaches of
scientific studies include observations annd logical reasoning, then
I can't see why 'Computer Science' isn't accurate to describe
the studies so many people are conducting.

In physics, there have been fundamental differences in theory and
experiments. But I never heard of any kind of terms like 'physics
engineering,' even though Electrical Engineering can be considered
to be some kind of applications to Physics.

The above arguments still depends on the basic question:
    What is science?

And we earnestly hope Scott will give us his definitions.




  Wen-Chun Ni: Department of Computer Science   
	       Brown University,               
	       Providence, RI 02912           
  ________________________________________________________________

      *   *    *               I'm quite sure if God were asked
     *   *      *              to draw up a programme of the world
    **   ***  ***              he had created, he could never do it.
   * *   *      *                           
  *  *   ********                  -- Mahler to Alma, 15th Dec 1901
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