The roles of computer programs in science

Modular: The Claude C Compiler: What It Reveals About the Future of Software

Compilers occupy a special place in computer science. They're a canonical course in computer science education. Building one is a rite of passage. It forces you to confront how software actually works, by examining languages, abstractions, hardware, and the boundary between human intent and machine execution.

Seth Etter / seth.computer

Notes on software and social systems

Our interfaces have lost their senses

We programmed them by punching cards, plugging in wires, and flipping switches. Programmers walked among banks of switches and cables, physically choreographing their logic. Being on a computer used to be a full-body experience.

The Missing Discipline in Computer Science

On Teaching Computer Scientists to Ask “Why”

Computational statistics

Computational statistics, or statistical computing, is the study which is the intersection of statistics and computer science, and refers to the statistical methods that are enabled by using computational methods. It is the area of computational science specific to the mathematical science of statistics. This area is fast developing. The view that the broader concept of computing must be taught as part of general statistical education is gaining momentum.

papers-we-love/papers-we-love

Papers from the computer science community to read and discuss.

Drinking from the Firehose: Learning Computer Graphics Techniques and Programming

Graphics researchers waiting in the water fountain line at SIGGRAPH Yellowstone. Computer graphics as a field is broad, deep, complex, and intimidating. More than half a century of rapid progress driven by academic research and industry practices underly it. Parts delve pretty far into physics, math, signal processing, systems programming (and more). And performance is always at a premium—so simple, straightforward techniques are often not possible, and high-level programming abstractions not usable.

LotusNotes

I tend to focus on the origin of the computer within the military. Particularly in the early days of digital computing, the military was a key customer, and fundamental concepts of modern computing arose in universities and laboratories serving military contracts. Of course, the war would not last forever, and computing had applications in so many other fields—fields that, nonetheless, started out as beneficiaries of military largesse.

Neuroscience needs a career path for software engineers

Few institutions have mechanisms for the type of long-term positions that would best benefit the science.

Telepath: building a new kind of computer

So, we made a thing: Let’s back up: for as long as I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with computers, fascinated not just by what they can do but what they could become. Like many, I took my early inspiration from science fiction. I dreamed of someday having something like the Enterprise’s computer. And why not? Science fiction has always driven scientists, engineers, and inventors to create real things that change the world.

</> htmx ~ Yes, and...

In this essay, Carson Gross discusses his advice to young people interested in computer science worried about the future given the advancements in AI.