
Does Learning Computer Science help anything else? - J3L2404
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alfredth/archive/2010/11/25/does-learning-computer-science-help-anything-else.aspx
======
tuppy
The author seems to concentrate on the link between computer science and
software/development, but I do think that CS helps in a couple non-tech areas
as well. The ones I can think off the top of my head are being able to break
large problems down to their component processes, being able to foresee the
effects manipulating those processes can have, and being able to effectively
communicate with others (both technical and non-technical) about your work.
Those characteristics and thought models aren't unique to CS, but play a key
role in the science and engineering fields in general. A field that requires
the application of mathematics and logic will tend to produce or attract
people that value rational and procedural thought.

~~~
elblanco
> The ones I can think off the top of my head are being able to break large
> problems down to their component processes, being able to foresee the
> effects manipulating those processes can have, and being able to effectively
> communicate with others (both technical and non-technical) about your work.

I have an education in CS, but I haven't actively developed software myself
for quite a while. However, I've found that this particular point is very
true. I find myself working with people, quite smart people, from very
different educational backgrounds quite often. The ability to break a problem
down the way that C.S. teaches is something that seems like magic to them. In
at least two cases, I've been able to make some nice consulting fees simply
walking people through this process which seems completely obvious to me.

On a higher level, I wonder how many regular old life problems, like deciding
which car to purchase, or allocating employee resources, ones that seen
absurdly obvious to people with a similar education/training background,
completely stymie folks who haven't had this education. Experience with some
of my friends who seem to habitually make absolutely terrible life decisions
and one my few advisory consulting gigs tells me it's actually a bigger
problem than most people thing.

------
jackfoxy
tl;dr

Scanned until I stumbled upon this unsubstantiated tid-bit

 _For example the theory that learning Latin helps learn English turns out to
be pretty much a myth._

I can only imagine that study was conducted by people who never learned even a
little Latin, or were able to completely suppress their own experience for the
sake of _science_.

EDIT: That is to say from my own experience, and pretty much all experiences I
have discussed with others or read about, learning any other language really
improves your technical grasp of your native language. Latin has its own
peculiarities which make it a gateway to technical natural language
understanding.

~~~
hga
It was certainly my experience that learning Latin in high school helped me
learn English better for all of the above reasons, plus so much of English is
from French, a Romance language. Heck, just knowing a word is probably Anglo-
Saxon in derivation because it's not Latinate has been useful.

------
ckuehne
Thinking in meta levels.

~~~
SkyMarshal
Managing complexity.

Grokking of side effects of decisions.

------
phamilton
While I think there are tons of areas computer science applies to, I think
this article is a little ridiculous. It's main point is that people who study
computer science know how to us Google for answers to computer problems.

This XKCD flowchart sums up a lot of what the article says are advantages to a
computer science education.

<http://xkcd.com/627/>

Granted, CS students get really good at using Google and reading manuals and
things because of the virtually endless supply of new libraries/plugins/APIs
and other tools that are used.

------
DanielRibeiro
It also helps proving theorems and applying math to areas mathematicians
themselves thought to be purely theoretical (aka: hacking math).

------
AngeloAnolin
I think it does, but only on a certain level - that is providing you with the
basics on understanding and becoming more passionate with it.

Becoming proficient with computers, whether it is a hobby or a professional
career is another thing which in all honesty, is not taught in the classrooms
but learned in the real world.

------
stretchwithme
It must help you remember where you put things. And in dealing with
abstractions.

