TITLE: Sharing the Thrill
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: June 22, 2005 10:25 AM
DESC: We in computing must communicate the thrill of computer science to the public at large, in order for them to appreciate the disipline -- which is in part our responsibility as scientists, but also essential to securing the future growth of our discipline.
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BODY:
The August 2005 issue of
<A HREF="http://www.acm.org/cacm/">
   Communications of the ACM</A>
will contain an opinion piece entitled "The Thrill Is
Gone?"
<A HREF="http://theorymatters.org/documents/arorachazelle.pdf">
   (pdf)</A>
by Sanjeev Arora and Bernard Chazelle, who are computer
scientists at Princeton University.  This article suggests
that we in computing have done ourselves and the world a
disservice in failing to communicate effectively the thrill
of computer <EM>science</EM> -- not technology -- to the
general public.  On their view, this failure probably plays
a role in our declining undergraduate enrollments, declining
research funding, and a general lack of appreciation for
importance of computer science by the public.  People,
especially young people, should be excited by computing,
but instead they are nonplussed.

As I read Arora and Chazelle's piece, I recalled some of
the recent themes in my writing here, including the irony
that this is the
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2005-06.html#e2005-06-07T13_44_49.htm">
   most exciting time to study CS</A>
ever, the love of computing
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2005-06.html#e2005-06-06T17_04_28.htm">
   planted by G&ouml;del, Escher, Bach</A>,
and the need for a
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2005-06.html#e2005-06-09T18_19_07.htm">
   CS administrator to be a teacher</A>
to a broader audience.  But this article makes a larger
point.

Arora and Chazelle do a very nice job of pointing out
that the story of how computer science has shaped the
technologies we all use can and should be told to the
outside world.  Fundamental ideas such as P-versus-NP,
cryptography, and quantum computing are accessible to
folks with a high school education or less when described
in a way that strips away unnecessary complexity.  The
effect of computing on other disciplines such as physics,
biology, and economics relies more on computer science
ideas than on advanced engineering of hardware, but
most people have no clue.  How could they?  We've never
told them.

Reading this piece now has heightened my resolve to
do something this fall that I've been saying I would
do for at least two years: put together a short course
on computing for the middle-school students at my
daughters' school.  I am thinking of using the
<A HREF="http://unplugged.canterbury.ac.nz/">
   Computer Science Unplugged</A>
materials created by a group of New Zealand computer
scientists who evidently believe what I am preaching
here -- but who have done me one better in writing
instructional material that is accessible to elementary
school students.

Another step I will take this fall is to look for
opportunities to write an op-ed piece or two for
the local paper.  A few weeks back, our paper ran
<A HREF="http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0505/18/0auto-185628.htm">
   this story</A>
on software bugs in automobiles.  At the time, I
thought that this was a great opportunity for someone
in my department to write a piece that might help the
paper's readers better understand the issues involved,
and maybe even garner a little good publicity for our
academic programs.  But I was busy, so...  I considered
asking a colleague to write the piece instead, but shied
away.  From now on, though, I plan to make the time or
make the request.  It's has always been a responsibility
of my academic position, but now
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2005-06.html#e2005-06-09T18_19_07.htm">
   perhaps moreso</A>.

Regular readers of this blog can probably guess my
favorite line from the Arora and Chazelle piece.  It's
a theme that appears here often, often with a link back
to
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2004-11.html#e2004-11-06T21_03_42.htm">
   Alan Kay</A>:

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
Computer science is a new way of thinking.
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

But I also like the final line of the article, enough
to quote it here:

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
We think it is high time that the computer science
community should reveal to the public our best kept
secret: our work is exciting science--and indispensable
to the nation.
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

(Thanks to
<A HREF="http://geomblog.blogspot.com/2005/06/ernie-points-to-excellent-op-ed-by.html">
   Suresh</A>
and
<A HREF="http://3dpancakes.typepad.com/ernie/2005/06/all_i_can_do_is.html">
   Ernie</A>
for their pointers to the pre-release of this article.
Both of these guys are theoretical CS bloggers whom
I enjoy reading.)
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