

Making Undergrad CS More Enticing at Stanford - neilc
http://bayarea.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/making-computer-science-more-enticing/

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jsomers
I liked this, from the video:

> "Think about the time that you're living in, right, like Don Knuth, who's
> considered the father of computer science, is _still alive_ and _he's in
> this department_. It's sort of like you're geometers and you're living in
> the time of Euclid."

~~~
neilc
In fairness, I think Turing is more accurately described as the "father of
computer science." But I agree with the general point.

~~~
dschobel
It's debatable, you can make a strong case for John von Neumann as well.

~~~
neilc
von Neumann is indisputably a genius, but IMHO his contributions to CS aren't
quite as fundamental as Turing's. von Neumann's impact is definitely broader
though.

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larsberg
I'm utterly terrified of any CS curriculum that allows a student to graduate
having taken only one year (three quarter-long classes) that require
programming. What are those students going to do when they graduate? Manage? I
guess it's Stanford, so they can always just join a startup...

~~~
akeefer
The point of a top-tier university education in CS is much more the
theoretical side of things (lambda calculus, graphics theory, np-completeness,
algorithms, discrete math, etc.), which most people are less likely or able to
pick up on their own. Programming as a skill requires constant practice for
years, just like writing, and isn't something you can teach as easily in a 10-
or 15-week course.

I would say that especially at higher-end universities, there's also an
assumption that you'll figure out the programming part on your own. The rather
brutal CS 248 class at Stanford, for example, requires you (or at least used
to) write a 3D game using OpenGL, while the class itself is solely concerned
with graphics theory, techniques, and algorithms: it doesn't cover OpenGL in
the least, and the students are expected to learn it, along with whatever
other technologies they need to write the game (input, sound, etc.) on their
own.

That means that, yes, you can graduate with a BSCS without being a good
programmer. You can also get an MS or Ph.D. in CS without being a great
programmer. As a general rule, theoretical computer science and programming
are very different skills, and knowledge of one aspect does not confer
knowledge of the other. From all the interviewing I've done over the years, I
think I can safely say that those rules apply to graduates of pretty much any
college, not just Stanford.

~~~
endtime
>The rather brutal CS 248 class at Stanford, for example, requires you (or at
least used to) write a 3D game using OpenGL, while the class itself is solely
concerned with graphics theory, techniques, and algorithms: it doesn't cover
OpenGL in the least, and the students are expected to learn it, along with
whatever other technologies they need to write the game (input, sound, etc.)
on their own.

I'm in the "new" 248 right now. We got to reimplement OpenGL in the first two
projects (in summary: rasterization, texture mapping/filtering, and point
light Phong shading (with per-fragment normals, which I believe is more than
OpenGL does)). The third project involves using OpenGL to render a .3ds scene,
while implementing bump mapping, shadows, reflection maps, and probably other
stuff I'm forgetting. Oh, and we still have to make a nontrivial game for the
final project, though we are allowed to use OGRE for it.

Point is, it's a lot of programming.

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defen
How did I know that the unstated rest of the headline would be "to women and
non-Asian minorities"?

~~~
patio11
You know, just once -- not because of politics or practical value, just for
the sheer gut-busting absurdity of it -- I'd like to see a department try to
make itself more appealing to white men.

"Yep, we were concerned that the elementary education majors were 80% women,
so we took a look around to see what factors we could eliminate. We started by
looking at the break room, which had sort of a feminine vibe to it, filled
with pastel colors, magazines featuring small children, and other things that
might make a white man feel out of place or subtly unwelcome. Then we put up
pictures of monster trucks, math formula posters, and pictures of successful
white man teacher role models. Arnold Swartzenegger? Teacher in Kindergarten
Cop. Harry Smith? Much beloved teacher in Lincoln Nebraska. This guy we found
on iStockPhoto? Certainly looks like he could be a teacher.

We redesigned our curricula, too, which previously focused on "soft" subjects
like how to interact with children and parents. These female-typed skills,
while they can certainly be performed by your typical white man, might subtly
discourage him from applying. So we broadened the curriculum to include other
things teachers might need to know, such as How To Roughhouse With The Kids.
And, just between you and me, because you get an A practically for showing up,
rather than requiring you to demonstrate expertise in material core to this
profession, it helped keep the grade averages of white men up so that they
didn't wash out into easier subjects like, you know, physics or computer
science or whatever it is white men are actually majoring in.

Previously all students had been required to student teach for six weeks in a
room full of small children. We didn't want to give anyone the impression that
that was the only thing you could do with an elementary education degree, so
we have broadened the practicum requirement to allow alternatives such as
"debating pedagogy on the Internet" and "writing edutainment games".

Finally, we had a panel discussion between the two white men we could find --
we were hoping to have a third but he couldn't make it, scheduling conflict
because he had a diversity workshop to lead -- where they kvetched for a few
hours about how difficult it is to make it as a white man in this industry and
how important it was to have more panel discussions. One of them sells a book
about the topic. We bought 100 copies and have added it to the mandatory
reading list.

We're thinking of doing something about the tragic underrepresentation of
Asian men next week. Maybe a Elementary Education Starcraft tournament? The
girls come up with such good ideas."

~~~
mattiss
Classic. But no minority student group is complete without a witty t-shirt
imprinted with a slogan worthy of the uniqueness of each member.

~~~
patio11
"White men hold up half the sky."

Depending on which way your department swings politically you can either
attribute it to Mao Zhedong or to "traditional Chinese proverb". It is
neither, of course, but if people fact-checked T-shirt aphorisms they wouldn't
use the more famous version either.

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kalvin
Hey, that's my video! I cropped it out of the online video for the final
lecture of CS 103B (automata)... it's pretty funny that it's the most
inspirational CS-related video on Youtube (that the NYT blogger could find.)

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code0
Sorry for aside post but are the original video lectures available online? I
could not find them on Stanford Youtube channel.

~~~
kalvin
Video lectures are only available for the current quarter (at least that used
to be the case) and only for registered Stanford students (or affiliates.)
Look up SCPD.stanford.edu to see if that's changed...

