Post B1JOGqiA7VMYJB43wu by kevingranade@mastodon.gamedev.place
(DIR) More posts by kevingranade@mastodon.gamedev.place
(DIR) Post #B1IyJi5g1xMndFlbyC by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-16T11:45:44Z
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I believe that Computer Science has a place in "The Liberal Arts Education"-- that is I think an understanding of how computers are made, programming and algorithms should be a part of what a "well educated" person knows regardless of their particular area of focus. This is not the case at present and one can be considered "well educated" a know nothing about computers. 1/
(DIR) Post #B1IykdHm0FjWY5GL2W by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-16T11:50:36Z
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The concept and philosophy of the liberal arts education is the (I think) sensible idea that everyone* should know a little about the 'greatest hits' of human knowledge. Obviously what is considered a 'greatest hit' could be contentious. Should everyone read Shakespeare? Does everyone need to know a little algebra? Should everyone be able to read? Should everyone be able to critique art?2/*Sometimes this is contracted to only include the ruling class. I see no reason to do this.
(DIR) Post #B1Iz6UKRz7zZ8lw6pk by kechpaja@social.kechpaja.com
2025-12-16T11:54:31Z
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@futurebird One thing that Ada Palmer likes to point out is that the "Liberal Arts" are called that, not because the arts themselves are liberal, but because they constitute knowledge worthy of a free person (or perhaps knowledge that a free person needs to have, I don't remember exactly which one).Understanding how the digital devices that are now omnipresent in our lives work is definitely part of that, even if the knowledge imparted on non-techy people is relatively shallow.
(DIR) Post #B1IzswTscSSWLvS3ai by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-16T12:03:17Z
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@martinvermeer No. That's too specific to just one system.
(DIR) Post #B1IzuxWhhdzUAsjZqa by jeffron@ohai.social
2025-12-16T12:03:35Z
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@futurebird This is a misunderstanding of liberal arts. Knowing how to translate ancient Greek or the origins of hyperbolic geometry can make you a better computer programmer. Or plumber. Or knitter. But knowing how to knit, or plumb, or program, won’t necessarily make you better at those other skills. Or more importantly, happier doing them
(DIR) Post #B1J00R6Z9t6ZMH7VJI by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-12-16T12:04:38Z
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@leighms I would call it "Computer Arts" as I think it's always been more arts than science.
(DIR) Post #B1J0V7r6mETAdPWWv2 by jmax@mastodon.social
2025-12-16T12:10:09Z
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@futurebird @martinvermeer I would argue that everyone ought to have somw experience with the command line.Unix would be an excellent choice for that.
(DIR) Post #B1J1HzhHtkzFWOETHU by Procrvstinvtion@infosec.exchange
2025-12-16T12:19:01Z
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@futurebird other way around. We have tech bros now because none of them read Shakespeare while they were in college
(DIR) Post #B1J53rracwsEzIZRRY by pattykimura@beige.party
2025-12-16T13:01:15Z
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@futurebird My old dad graduated from college in 1930. He was the first son of sugar cane cutters, who was on his own at age 11. He worked for room & board, ran errands and babysat for cash, and went to grade school which he loved even as he was often beaten by teachers. In his free time he went down to the trash dump by the river and read magazines and newspapers the haole (white) people threw out. His world was expanded by hours on a trash heap. He finished sixth grade and kept going. He used to explain why he got a degree in liberal arts, because he believed it taught you how to think, how to understand a problem to solve it -- critical thinking skills vs specific knowledge keyed to a specific trade or discipline. I have a liberal arts degree and am a poet and my work requires me to understand and solve engineering problems which I find delightful and engaging. My brother has an engineering degree and he writes poetry and solves problems using origami. We are both our father's children.My own experience tells me what is taught is less critical than how we teach each other how to discern problems as the means to solving them.
(DIR) Post #B1J7ktb0GGxaimSQMa by 2qx@mastodon.social
2025-12-16T13:31:27Z
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@futurebird The converse is also true. The Liberal Arts seem like an essential requirement for developing software for that liberates rather than captures it's user.
(DIR) Post #B1JAr9AZZUTQcdld4q by gbargoud@masto.nyc
2025-12-16T14:06:12Z
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@futurebird I saw this post a while back and keep thinking about it when people talk about using AI for automation.If more people were literate in what level of automation already exists in the world, it might do a lot in breaking that hype cyclehttps://hachyderm.io/@mariyadelano/115548761092296218
(DIR) Post #B1JCqJPqBrre1Fde1A by StephanieMoore@mastodon.online
2025-12-16T14:28:26Z
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@futurebird I loved this blog post by @inthehands on liberal arts education so much so that I folded it into my Week 1 readings for my AI ethics class and we used it to frame and set the stage for class … and had an amazing semester being curious about unknowns. Many years ago, I’d read the original “greats” on this and always strove towards it, but over time had gotten worn down by bureaucracy and habits. This provided such a welcome refresh:https://innig.net/teaching/liberal-arts-manifesto
(DIR) Post #B1JGziX4ZnCwL8lGSG by flyingsaceur@ioc.exchange
2025-12-16T15:14:58Z
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@futurebird I believe the computer is an instrument like the piano or pencil or camera: something to learn and use to express ideas“The formative education gives to us that which remains after we have forgotten all that we have learned in the schools”https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/09/07/forgotten/
(DIR) Post #B1JOGqiA7VMYJB43wu by kevingranade@mastodon.gamedev.place
2025-12-16T16:36:30Z
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@futurebird it's tricky. Very little of what was taught to me as part of my CS degree (admittedly decades ago) would belong in such a curriculum, and very little of what would need to be taught was presented at all.The "how it works" was both too specific and too cursory and the hollistic view of networks and market forces was almost entirely missing.I got more meaningful information about how computing works from logic, sociology, and history classes than I did from computing classes.
(DIR) Post #B1KLZ3ZOweOwhGuuiO by tuban_muzuru@beige.party
2025-12-17T03:40:54Z
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@futurebird The Liberal Arts is an ancient map of learning. It still serves us well.Here's the basic problem: we now think an education should fit us out for a good paying job. This, is of course, hideously wrong.