tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555947.post6025089063159894787..comments2024-03-14T01:32:43.610-06:00Comments on The Geomblog: Public IntellectualsSuresh Venkatasubramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15898357513326041822noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555947.post-35832532109622637812008-04-28T09:31:00.000-06:002008-04-28T09:31:00.000-06:00I agree. David Harel's book was one of the first o...I agree. David Harel's book was one of the first ones I read on this topic, and is a kind of polestar for me as I think more about the problem of outreach. <BR/><BR/>If you read the second sentence after the one you quote: <BR/>"Or we lack recognition of those who do articulate such a vision of today's computationally-driven world."<BR/><BR/>you will see that I do recognize those, like Bernard Chazelle, Christos Papadimitriou, and Scott Aaronson among others, who've definitely had impact "outside the field" in communicating the essence of computing. Jeanette Wing's 'Computational Thinking' initiative at the NSF is another example of such an effort. <BR/><BR/>But we need to do more, and at various levels (middle/high schools, to other research disciplines, the public sphere, etc)Suresh Venkatasubramanianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15898357513326041822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555947.post-11775769704427314162008-04-28T01:49:00.000-06:002008-04-28T01:49:00.000-06:00We lack cogent articulation of the tools that brou...<I>We lack cogent articulation of the tools that brought us here, of the wonders of Turing, Von Neumann, and others, of the fundamentally radical idea of the algorithm as an idiom.</I><BR/><BR/>I agree with you by and large. However, we do have some intellectuals and great communicators who have made an effort to disseminate the key ideas in our field to the general, educated public. One example that comes to my mind is David Harel with his outstanding books "Computer Ltd: What They Really Can't Do" and "Algorithmics: The Spirit of Computing". <BR/><BR/>What our field needs is more people like him.Luca Acetohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01092671728833265127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555947.post-35355125672029213142008-04-24T07:11:00.000-06:002008-04-24T07:11:00.000-06:00Hm--next door (at Cosmic Variation) it has been no...Hm--next door (at Cosmic Variation) it has been noted that the list contains very few physicists as well, and mostly biologists from the fields of natural sciences.<BR/><BR/>I say our work is not photogenic enough. We'll get our share of famous faces once we have giant killer robots roaming the streets.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555947.post-1767628254079918862008-04-24T05:39:00.000-06:002008-04-24T05:39:00.000-06:00i wouldn't worry about more people not being on th...i wouldn't worry about more people not being on that list.... that list was horrible for any field....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555947.post-71979259456023174062008-04-23T20:30:00.000-06:002008-04-23T20:30:00.000-06:00Bruce Schneierhttp://geekz.co.uk/schneierfacts/fac...Bruce Schneier<BR/>http://geekz.co.uk/schneierfacts/fact/681Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6555947.post-77084368905877913862008-04-23T15:47:00.000-06:002008-04-23T15:47:00.000-06:00Note that Security has a lot of CS figures who are...Note that Security has a lot of CS figures who are often quoted in the news -- Ed Felten, Ross Anderson, Bruce Schneier, Steve Bellovin...Hughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08767952337717767032noreply@blogger.com