ncmagel@ndsuvax.UUCP (ken magel) (02/10/89)
There has been some discussion in this group as well as comp.edu concerning how much emphasis there should be on COmputer Science theory versus current Computer Science practice. Several people have pointed out that practice especially in a field like CS or Software Engineering is outdated very quickly. A half life of about 3.5 years for knowledge in engineering and Computer Science has been cited by some. What has not been mentioned in this discussion is a third type of knowledge: knowledge which allows one to see how current practice is and will be changing and to understand and relate those changes to current practice. If knowledge of current practice has a half life of say 3.5 years and knowledge of Computer Science theory has a half life of say 30 years, perhaps this third type of knowledge has a half life of maybe 10 years. I submit that we need to teach all three types of knowledge in roughly equal proportions to our students. Some knowledge of current practice is necessary to provide motivation and examples for the other two types of knowledge and to make a graduate at least somewhat useful immediately tyo industry. Some knowledge of how current practice could and will change is needed to support the careers of our graduates as opposed to just their first jobs. SOme knowledge of theory is necessary to indicate what is possible and to allow one to continue to understand, develop, and use current practice as it evolves. The middle type of knowledge would consist primarily of ways to analyze and evaluate situations. This would include techniques of analysis of algorithms and performance evaluation.