Why Study Computing?

The study of computing, rather than the process of learning to program the operation of a computer, is the study of a mode of human thinking that has been evolving for thousands of years. (What better topic to study at a liberal arts-focused institution!)
 
 

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The study of computing involves:

• The study of mathematical logic and functions.
• The development of a systematic approach to problem solving.
• Gaining a basic understanding how computers are designed and how they carry out the steps of the programs we write.
• The study of the social context in which the discipline is embedded (and which supplies its reason for being).

The precision essential to a computer's way of manipulating symbols constitutes both a great advantage and a severe limitation. Since what the symbols in a computer represent must be absolutely precise, and the programmer must be absolutely clear in defining each symbol, the attempt to write a computer program inevitably exposes hand-waving, fuzzy thinking, and implicit appeals to what everyone takes for grated. Submitting to this rigor is an immensely valuable discipline.

-- Herbert and Stuart Dreyfus (Mind Over Machine)