this post was submitted on 19 Jul 2023
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Programmer Humor

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[โ€“] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The limits of computers would be the same as the limits for humans. We have no reason to think the human brain has a stronger computation power than a Turing machine.

So, in a way, learning about the limits of computers is the exact same as learning the limits of humans.

But also, learning what the limits of computers are is absolutely relevant. You get asked to create an algorithm for a problem and its useful to be able to figure out whether it actually is solvable, or how fast it theoretically can be. Avoids wasting everyone's time trying to build an infinite loop detector.

[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The "limits of humans" I was referring to were things like:

  • How long can you push a deadline before someone starts to get really mad
  • How many dark patterns you can cram into an app before the users stop using it
  • The extremes of human stupidity

๐Ÿ‘

[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

..none of which would be relevant for most people working in back-end, which would be most people that take compsci.

I would hate to go to a compsci study and learn management instead. It's not what I signed up for.

University also shouldn't just be a job training program.