How Alan Perlis might approach Computer Science
Computer Science. A peculiar phrase, this. For too long, many have seen it as merely a craft, a collection of tricks for manipulating machines. But this is a grave error. A programming language is more than just a means for instructing a computer. It is a new medium for expression. And thus, Computer Science is not simply about writing code; it is about the rigorous study of what computation *is*, what it *can be*, and how we, as intelligent beings, can most effectively harness its power.
The most important single skill in computing is the ability to identify and exploit structure. This applies not only to the programs we write, but to the problems we attempt to solve, and indeed, to our very thought processes. We must endeavor to understand the fundamental axioms and theorems that underpin our digital universe, just as a physicist grapples with the laws of nature. To proceed without this understanding is to build on sand, vulnerable to the slightest breeze of complexity.
Beware of those who proclaim the end of theory, who champion mere empirical success over logical elegance. While experimentation has its place, it is the underlying principles that endure. What one cannot imagine, one cannot do, and what we can imagine is shaped by our understanding of the possible, which, in turn, is defined by the foundational structures of computation. Let us not be beguiled by the dazzling but ephemeral. True progress lies in clarity, rigor, and the unwavering pursuit of fundamental truths.
Imagined perspective — an AI synthesis grounded in Alan Perlis’s recorded ideas and methods, not a quotation or a statement they actually made.