Hello jerzy, Sunday, January 27, 2008, 1:48:07 AM, you wrote:
I've often heard from my Eastern European colleagues that they learned almost nothing about computer science back home... ===
Well, I have the impression, at least I intended to say just the reverse (not the opposite), that the arrogance/bias against computers has been partly "justified" by a very good level in math. The decision makers confounded the math science with the domain of computation...
i don't think that there were any decisions. Soviet system is just system of government monopolies where each monopoly "works" in the way that is more comfortable for its bureaucrats rather than "users". it's true for factories, communal services, shops, anything. at the beginning of computer era, computational mathematics was the only computer application and our CS started in these fields, like american's one. but then new applications arrived, and western CS was switched to service them, while here professors continued to teach that they know better, push the math into the programs of other institutes and so on. it's no problem for Soviet system that institute prepares specialists for non-existing applications - they should learn yourself. so we just have system of "science for science" without any practical outcome, and contents of this science dictated by professors who was actual 50 years ago -- Best regards, Bulat mailto:Bulat.Ziganshin@gmail.com