chat with metaeducat10n; the nature of computer science

This week, I had the pleasure of chatting with metaeducat10n for the first time.

[00:53] metaeducation: When people bitch about how hard it is to write those analysis tools, they overlook the idea that if the tools were written to have allowed the user to enter the information in a structured form in the first place...it would make the intractable problems disappear entirely
[00:54] GusLacerda: yup, I agree very much
[00:54] GusLacerda: but they say "our users shouldn't have to learn programming!"
[00:55] GusLacerda: ultimately, though, there's no getting around that.... you need to be a "programmer" in order to express certain things
[00:55] GusLacerda: but I digress
[00:57] metaeducation: Yes, I wish schools focused on teaching people clearer expression. Math classes as they are don't have a lot of value. People will become interested in sine and cosine if they have more fundamental knowledge.
[00:57] metaeducation: A lot of that knowledge is on what it means to formalize something
[00:58] metaeducation: Being clear to a computer isn't just about programming--it's about being clear to yourself, and others.
[00:58] metaeducation: A computer is just a good straight-man
[00:58] GusLacerda: yes!
[00:58] GusLacerda: exactly

Related thoughts of mine:
* GIGO
* "Computer Science" is actually a very natural thing: while many people think of computers as a contingent product of western culture, just like any other technology, Computer Science is actually about universal mathematical patterns: real computers provide merely an embodiment of this. This is why computer science is not about computers.
* the main goal of programming languages should be to express human thoughts as directly and naturally as possible. If a simple thought can only be expressed by a complex program, then there is something wrong with the language.

Required plug: Sussman - The Legacy of Computer Science, whose message is that the main contribution of CS to civilization isn't technological, but cultural. Knowledge of formal concepts makes us powerful. Creating words for such concepts makes them easy to access.