tlh@cs.purdue.EDU (Thomas L. Hausmann) (04/09/88)
In article <3763@dasys1.UUCP>, pepper@dasys1.UUCP (Angelique Wahlstedt) writes: > In article <8295@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> jmm@thoth20.berkeley.edu.UUCP () writes: > >I always thought that universities were supposed to teach theory more than > >practice. There are going to be lots of different types of systems out there > >in the 'real world,' and if your educational background only prepares you > >to use one of them then it doesn't do you much good. If your education > >teaches you the general way that systems are built, why they're built that > >way, and leads you to think about new ways they could be designed, > >then your chosen place > >of employment can teach you the specific way it's implemented. > >Universities should not be expected to teach people the uses of any particular > >set of tools. That's what vocational schools are for. > Good point! > HOWEVER, sometimes I feel that half the stuff that computer science > programs in many schools teach is pretty irrelevant to the Real World. > For example, at Colorado State University, I'm taking CS-201 (Discrete > Structures) (simply cuz CSU told me to. :-) that covers all sorts of > things from binary trees to boolean algebra. Some of those, obviously, > have uses in the Real World, such as binary search trees. But, to this > day, I still can't figure out what applications some of the other things, > such as monoids and isomorphisms (if you don't know what they are, don't > ask ME :-) have in the real world. My math background has helped me develop more sophisticated (read compact code and fast running) algorithms. Further, mathematics develops problem solving and organizational skills. Skills developed in writing proofs has helped me "cover all the bases" i.e. develop robust code. > ... I'm also taking Symbolic Computing > (LISP and Prolog) which is fun, but I doubt that most of us in the class > would ever use either language in the Real World. Regarding symbolic compution...the research effort that I am involved with (Geometric Modeling and Simulation) utilizes almost exclusively symbolic computation. This is largely due to the fact that finite precision limits the things we need to do. I think there may be several more postings regarding purposes/applications of symbolic computaion. > Some of the courses that I think should be required in college are Software > Engineering and Technical Writing (some colleges such as Rochester Institute > of Technology already require this). Another possibility could be Database > Concepts since so many jobs seem to involve databases. > Angeli "Ms. Pepper" Wahlstedt > UUCP: wahlsted@handel.colostate.edu - or - ...!hao!handel!wahlsted > ...!dasys1!pepper (Big Electric Cat) -Tom .^.^. Tom Hausmann . O O . tlh@mordred.cs.purdue.edu ( ARPA ) . v . ...!purdue!tlh ( UUCP ) / | | \ ./ \. "Whooo do ya think you're foolin' " ______mm.mm_____ \_/