Aihuxn.120 net.followup utzoo!decvax!harpo!npois!houxi!ihnss!ihuxn!djmolny Mon May 10 09:57:06 1982 Re: CS vs. Math -- Survey Results I'd like to thank everyone for the unexpected volume of mail I received in response to my query, "What makes people think that Computer Science involves a lot of math?" Apparently, I'm not the first person to think of this. I was intruiged by the answers I received. Unprepared for the enthusiastic response, I discarded most of the replies, but I can summarize them since most fell into a few categories. Before I present the results, however, I have an apology to make. (Hang head, blush, shuffle feet.) Sarcastically, I offered the source for 5.2 rogue as first prize. As far as I know, only Ken Arnold has it, but a few people took me semi-seriously. Sorry. I guess you had to be there. A number of people raised the following points: - The first applications of computers were numerical, so that's how they are perceived. - Because of these numerical applications, many university math departments picked up CS as a sideline. - A large number of programmers started with a math background. - There is considerable overlap in subject areas, since CS is related to logic, automata theory, etc. While I'm certain that all these factors are present, I still tend to think that it's all a big misconception. And in that spirit, I am pleased to present the winning entry: >From duke!reed!teklabs!tekmdp!azure!markp Sat May 8 06:36:03 1982 "What makes people think computer programming involves a lot of math?" The statements of people like Dijkstra, that's what. Congratulations, Mark. -- DJ Molny Bell Labs, Indian Hill West ucbvax!ihnss!ihuxn!djmolny ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.