Introduction to Disciplines

Computational machines have existed as far back as the first calculators created to predict

astronomical events and perform basic arithmetic, but in the modern sense they date only to the past century.

The evolution from physical to electronic computers has given rise to my field, to what distinguishes me

from an engineer. Where they might focus on the physical aspects of a machine, like gears and transistors,

computer science is mostly abstracted from the device it runs on. This means that when I write code, I’m less

concerned with how a computer might run it, more so the output it produces. This is the main idea of my

concentration in software, the programs or operating information that a computer needs to complete tasks.

While we aren’t typically thinking about the flow of electrons in a system like computer engineers,

hardware does dictate the functions a machine can carry out. Code today runs everything, even smart light

bulbs in the home, giving a wide range of sensors, displays, and vastly different areas of communication

between the physical world. All of these devices have different processors, energy requirements, and other

physical and electronic needs. Based on the problem presented, a computer scientist will consider all these

factors in generating instructions for the machine to run. Efficiency (energy/resource consumption) and speed

(power) are huge factors that influence what a final product might look like. A server, a computer in the

cloud, must give multitudes of data and computations to end hosts, but has the advantage of fast hardware

and a controlled environment with lots of energy availability. In this scenario, the speed and efficiency of the

code the servers run is paramount, as it will be run thousands of times a second, and must cater to many hosts

at the same time. Contrasting to this, think of a satellite in space far from earth, with limited solar or nuclear

energy, and extreme temperatures and radiation. Code on these computers will be run less, focusing on

hibernation and reliability. Data is crucial, the speed at which it is processed less so.

This is where specific computer science fields start to diverge. There’s software, which I study, that

focuses on programs run on computers and servers and the operating systems that are configured with the

hardware. Artificial intelligence focuses on using very powerful computers to achieve more humanlike
thought. Systems works to link computers together over networks, and internally between computer

components. All of these concentrations involve writing code, but based on the application certain languages,

writing styles, and external packages will be chosen. A low-level language like C, for example, might be

used on the systems layer in the operating system, as the structure of its logic and data types more closely

resemble how a computer thinks. On the other side of things, a much more powerful language like Python

could be used for making a neural network in the AI field, as it abstracts what the computer actually does,

and allows for more instructions in fewer commands that are more readable to humans.

Even though one person may be able to write a suitable program, most of the time code is run

alongside thousands of scripts, on technology that is always evolving. Collaboration on singular programs,

like with paired programming, as well as coordination as far as a server-wide scale must take place to ensure

systems work as expected. While this can take place in a regular office setting, an interesting aspect of the

computer science field is that it has been very adaptable to the pandemic. Since almost all work is done on

computers or in the cloud, collaborating and working in separate spaces requires little more effort than being

together in the same room. Android app development was a big part of my last co-op, and even though I was

working from home, services like GitHub (think Google Docs for code) allowed me to incorporate up to date

versions of files others were working on with my own.

Through collaboration comes writing, but with computer science this is about as far from traditional

English as majors go. The field is extremely new when compared with others, and even though a lot of our

lives depend on this work, informality is a hallmark of programmers. Obviously this varies from company to

company, but in my experience most communication has been on Slack in short and concise messages with

little professionalism. In fact, the main way of sharing ideas in the written form is with code itself. Programs

can contain comments, text in code that is not run, but describes what variables contain which data, the

purpose of functions, etc. Along with well written code, comments allow the sharing of files between

computer scientists without much need for additional explanation. Outside of the programmers’ sphere, ideas

and final products can be shared in presentations simply by running the code. Where a physicist might have

to include several paragraphs of text to describe found data, programs can be analyzed from a person
inexperienced in the field by seeing what programs do. A business contracting a company to build a website

doesn’t need to look at the source code, they just have to type in the URL.

Looking at the language Python’s website, a clearer image can be formed about the interests and

advancements computer scientists are most impacted by. Right on the front page is a section detailing several

applications for the language, including web development, data analysis, software development, and

graphical user interfaces. Python is a very adaptable language, it can be run on any big operating system,

some microcontrollers with microPython, and is powerful yet easy to learn. There are links to specific

packages that can be installed in addition to the language for specific applications, as well as pages that

introduce you to the language, each for programmers and non-programmers. The site also lists quotes from

companies using it in their products. It is commended for allowing developers to complete more in fewer

lines of code, additionally for being easy to read and understand as it is being shared and collaborated on. It

is widely agreed upon that scientists write the same amount of code in a given time, no matter the language,

so getting things done with fewer commands greatly improves productivity.

There’s very little fluff in the website, reflecting the values of computer scientists. In the world of

binary the end result is absolute, no matter how it is described. Everything on the main page is brief and to

the point, mainly directed towards encouraging the usage of the language. There are several download links

to get started, shifting the focus from talking about the language to getting it on the audience’s computer so

they can interact with it themselves. There is a strong notion of usability and flexibility, just like with import

statements of the actual programming language. The body of the website follows a clear flow, directing users

to downloads and tutorials based on their experience and needs. In many ways the rhetoric of the language of

the website reflects the actual language of Python itself.

The work of computer scientists joins the binary, absolute precision of computers with the abstract

and complex wishes of humans, and within this is a spectrum. We can work closer to the computer side of

things, like programming operating systems, or the human side, with AI painting. As the field moves further

and further from humankind's first calculators, computers and the instructions they run on will become more

human, but also much more powerful than us. Computing is one of the few areas of research that advances

almost exponentially each year, giving rise to the possibilities of automation, advanced intelligence and
prediction, and deep learning. We fuel this change by behaving, as much as humanly possible, like

computers, in the way we write, communicate, and learn from each other. Machines don’t care about the way

we talk, dress, or behave around each other, just the instructions we give to them.
 Works Cited

Python Software Foundation. Python, Python Software Foundation, 6 Aug. 2021, https://www.python.org/.