

Is Computer Science Science? (2005) [pdf] - Jtsummers
https://www.cs.mtu.edu/~john/jenning.pdf

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DanAndersen
Could someone help me understand the significance of this long-running debate?
What is different about a world in which CS is a science and a world in which
CS is not a science?

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virmundi
We'd have to rename the whole field. The cost in letterhead changes alone
would make it prohibitive.

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one-more-minute
The author talks about the fact that Computer Science is useful to real
science and understanding the natural world – fine, but kind of irrelevant.
Same is true for statistics, maths, programming, engineering etc., none of
which are generally considered a subset of science.

What you need is a compelling example of the scientific process of
hypothesising, making predictions and collecting data happening within the
subject. I'm not seeing that here.

Computer Science usually proceeds as theorising from a set of axioms (where
your axiom is a Turing machine or a type system, for example). It seems pretty
clear to me that that makes it a branch of maths – which is not exactly a
criticism of the subject!

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cafebeen
There are also computer scientists who study how humans use computers, e.g.
HCI, which often includes hypotheses, experiments, etc. There is certainly a
subset that only cares about proofs, though.

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tumba
Knuth's Turing Award speech "Computer Programming as Art" [1] is relevant. It
is useful to apply the scientific paradigm when appropriate, but it is also
true that there is an aesthetic dimension to computer programming and the use
of computer programs as a form of human knowledge that gets lost unless we
remember that the artistic element is vital to the field.

[1]
[http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=361604.361612](http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=361604.361612).
See also
[http://www.paulgraham.com/knuth.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/knuth.html)
for a transcription.

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gtirloni
It's an interesting topic, thanks for sharing.

Some related posts that might contribute to the current discussion:
[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=%22is%20computer%20science%22&...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=%22is%20computer%20science%22&sort=byPopularity&prefix=false&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story)

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andrewstuart2
If it's not science it's definitely mathematics (or at least a significant
portion of CS is math), which is fine by me.

If anything, math has historically been far less fickle than the advances that
the scientific method has brought (usually being misused, but in the name of
science nonetheless).

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sinca
Is there a tl'dr?

I think we can name the science part of computer science "algorithmic science"
(or something to the same effect) and the engineering part "computer
engineering" and call it a day.

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stephengillie
The reasons for not calling Computer Science a science vary mostly based on
the background of the beholder. Some object because "we only compute man-made
objects", while others argue that "Computer Science is not a science, and has
little to do with computers."

A graphic in the article lists these areas and problems:

    
    
      Area & Problem
      
      Computation
      • Unbounded error accumulation on finite machines
      • Non-computability of some important problems
      • Intractability of thousands of common problems
      • Optimal algorithms for some common problems
      • Production quality compilers
      
      Communication
      • Lossless file compression
      • Lossy but high-fidelity audio and video compression
      • Error correction codes for high, bursty noise channels
      • Secure cryptographic key exchange in open networks
      
      Interaction
      • Arbitration problem
      • Timing-dependent (race-conditioned) bug problem
      • Deadlock problem
      • Fast algorithms for predicting throughput and response time
      • Internet protocols
      • Cryptographic authentication protocols
      
      Recollection
      • Locality
      • Thrashing
      • Search
      • Two-level mapping for access to shared objects
      
      Automation
      • Simulations of focused cognitive tasks
      • Limits on expert systems
      • Reverse Turing tests
      
      Design
      • Objects and information hiding
      • Levels
      • Throughput and response time prediction networks of servers

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bigfaceworm
It's more a science than economics, which is good enough for me....

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aric
The bar for a "science" couldn't get much lower.

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formulaT
Economics as a discipline is very reasonable given the constraints involved
(studying human beings not particles, no experiments, short history of events
to study). Unfortunately it takes a few years to get up to speed in the
discipline, and only a few hours to write an "economics is all nonsense" blog
article. Also see [https://xkcd.com/793/](https://xkcd.com/793/)

~~~
aric
_\- Buyer beware of someone selling their understanding of economics as a
"discipline."_

 _\- Supply and demand is a law not unlike Candy Crush is a post-scarcity
economy._

 _\- The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition are probably just guidelines, marketed
as rules to sell more copies._

