Now, something really à côté de la plaque...
Jack Henahan terminates his useful advice addressed to A. Coppin:
Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.
-- Edsger Dijkstra
This citation makes me think, and since this became rare, I share
it.
It is unsourced, repeated without discernment, and Dijkstra
cannot confirm (or deny) it any more. Somehow I cannot believe
he said that...
Dijkstra began to study physics, and a physicist would be
reluctant to make such puns. Why?
Astronomy, and physics are not only theories of galaxies or
superfluids, but also methodologies of data acquisition and
data processing. Telescopes evolve with our knowledge of the
visible universe, as the accelerators evolve with our
knowledge of elementary particles. You have to know where to
look! And how to interpret the raw, experimental data.
So, whether you call it Informatique, Datalogi, or whatever,
it is also about computers. Do you really think
that the algorithmics, the thory of parallel computation,
etc., have nothing to do with concrete implementations?
These among you who touched just a bit of astronomy, should
know what a horrendous amount of "truly astronomical" knowledge
is necessary to make the telescope work! For example to
synchronize it with the earth movement...
This citation seems to be a savant variant of: "The Fool Looks
At The Finger That Points To The Sky" case... OK, if you wish.
But I had an occasion to sit near a beautiful girl who pointed
her hand and her eyes in the direction of wonderful Zodiac
constellations; it was midnight in the mountains. I don't
remember the details, but without being a fool, I didn't look at
the stars... (Well, actually I was a fool, but it is a long
story).