Should CS depts. reject creative applicants?

[amichail]

http://www.quora.com/Should-CS-depts-reject-creative-applicants

[pixeloution]

So you posted this question here as "Ask HN:" and it got no traction; now you posted it no Quora and have posted that link here -- is there some ulterior motive you have?

[amichail → pixeloution]

I've had quite a bad experience with CS. It focuses on all the wrong things.

[pspeter3 → amichail]

Can you elaborate what you mean by it focuses on the wrong things? I'm confused because Computer Science is a tool that is supposed to enable you to focus on what you want.

[amichail → pspeter3]

CS makes sense as a major if you want to work as a highly paid software engineer building someone else's products.

That's not the creativity I care about.

[pspeter3 → amichail]

What about all of the entrepreneurs who come up with their own products and code them? Also CS is a major about how to think about problems and solve them. Any creative person needs that skill set eventually. Whether they get that from Computer Science is up to them but CS makes sense as a major for a variety of people.

[amichail → pspeter3]

Much of the programming entrepreneurs do is not difficult -- especially with the availability of all sorts of libraries for more difficult things.

CS would be more useful for those people building difficult libraries that require specialized domain knowledge.

[pixeloution → amichail]

Just because you've had a bad experience doesn't mean CS departments should reject creative people. It means it wasn't suited to you.

[veyron → amichail]

What are the "wrong things" that you think CS focuses on?