Not so long ago there was only computer science. Everywhere you go the word was computer science to describe any program related to computers. Then the emergence of new technologies in data communication and networking has divided the field once known to many as computer science into several specialized areas. The new areas have developed and claimed its own place in the field of science and technology. The demand was so high in all of these newly developed areas in terms of technology and skilled individuals. In business, engineering ,arts, music , medicine, defense or in any imaginable area of knowledge, specialized computing skills have been in great needs. The reasons being the very survival of such areas greatly depends on how it reacts to the implementation of computing technology. The notions of globalization, real time factor, speed and efficiency have put a pressure for all to embrace this modern-day survival tool (a.k.a computers). A new culture has started to repaint the old and obsolete corporate goals and objectives. A new generation with jeans and snickers has been filling up the stairs to the new corporate head office. The change is inevitable and with these changes the institutions of higher learning have to change. Many have gone out to industries to get an outlook of these changes; and consequently the whole academic program related to computers have gone through the pace. Generally the principles of focus are two-fold : one is to prepare them as knowledge seekers and two, is to prepare them for the job market. In a broader sense, the first principle describes an idealistic target of an academic institution. A place where people go to learn something about life. Maybe they come to read history or law, doing computer science or engineering. They learn how to solve problems, lay out arguments and put them together with logic and reasons, they learn how to think, produce ideas and put them across for some meaningful discussions. After 3 to 4 years with grueling tasks and expounding pressures in the form of assignments ,exams or projects; they will walk out of the convocation hall as a new person with his/her own thoughts and ideas about the world. The world of engineering, business , management or computer science. In short, they learn the basics and the program should be catered to strengthen the basics.
The rhetoric on why do we study computer science has time and time again demands answers with wider perspective. All these years CS students have been taught to solve computing problems, speed up some application processes or facilitate a difficult task where humans might be able to handle. Is computer science the science about computers or the computation for scientific reasoning ? Those are two contrasting ideas that need detailed arguments and justification. The main reason for this intriguing question is to explore the possibility that computer science can be manipulated to serve a bigger and meaningful purpose. It is time to transform the finite nature of computers into the infinity of the natural world not the other way around.
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