Does Computer Science Need Computers?

Edsger Dijkstra, a renowned computer scientist and Turing Award winner, was known for his strong opinions on programming languages. He famously criticized Fortran, calling it "the infantile disorder" and argued that teaching COBOL was akin to a criminal offense. Dijkstra believed that medical researchers should not be burdened with the diseases they study, which sparked his interest in computer science.

However, he famously stated that "Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes," a statement that may not have originated with him but he likely agreed with. This analogy, while provocative, led the author of this piece to question its accuracy. They were drawn to the quote as it suggested a deep and timeless aspect to computer science, beyond mere technological innovation.

But the author began to have doubts about its validity and sought to understand the true nature of computer science. The debate over this question has been ongoing since the 1930s, when researchers began developing a mathematical theory of computation. Engineers built the first general-purpose electronic computers in the 1940s, and computer science emerged as a distinct academic discipline in the following decades.

The field's interdisciplinary origins, combining both mathematical and engineering aspects, have led to various definitions and perspectives on what computer science is truly about. Some researchers argue that computer science is the study of computers, while others emphasize the study of algorithms and computational processes. The author found that the theoretical side of computer science, which involves understanding what can be computed and how, does not necessarily require the use of actual computers. Instead, it relies on mathematical formalizations of computing, known as models of computation.