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✦From
the title of the field, one might think computer science is “the
study of computers”
✦A
quote from a famous computer scientist:
“Computer Science is no more about computers
than astronomy is about telescopes”
Edsger Dijkstra (1930 -- 2002)
✦If
CS is not the study of computers, what is it?
✦Computer
science is the
study of computation
❖investigating
problems that can
be solved computationally
be solved computationally
❖programming
languages used
to describe computations
to describe computations
❖machines
that carry out
computations
computations
❖theoretical
limits of computation
(what is or is not computable)
(what is or is not computable)
❖computational
solutions to problems
in math, science, medicine,
business, education, journalism, ...
in math, science, medicine,
business, education, journalism, ...
✦Computers
play a key role
❖but
(getting back to Dijkstra) computer science is not “about
computers”.
