A recent BCSThought Leadership
debate asked its participants what
computational thinking is, where it came from, how it affects
people's lives, and whether it should be encouraged as a
discipline.
"Computational thinking should be seen as being a common
language for solving problems, one which helps iron out the
problems from abstraction determining what it is that can be
computed," said one attendee. Others felt that it was a form of
intellectual property, a way of thinking that aids the "user" in
solving problems and tapping into their constructive
imagination.
"Computational thinking has an obligation to find solutions and
should be used to deal with those systems which generate too much
data, complete with false positives and negatives. This helps us to
better understand the constraints of a problem," said one
participant.
Others wondered if computational thinking might be understood as
a form of modelling, and, if so, whether the focus was on numerical
modelling or symbolic modelling.
Jeannette Wing's seminal article on computational thinking was
mentioned, which states, "Computational thinking represents a
universally applicable attitude and skill-set that everyone, not
just computer scientists, would be eager to learn and use."
Some were doubtful as to whether computational thinking is a
practice restricted to computer science. Specifically, does it
differ from the study of algorithms and data structures?
Computational thinking takes a wider view than mathematical
thinking, as it includes data and applies syntax manipulation in
order to produce a quantifiable result.
Many felt that IT is taken for granted by the general public,
which means that computational thinking is not appreciated as much
as it should be.
IT is now more of a social phenomena than what some would term
"straightforward maths". Attendees felt that it is time for the IT
community to convince others that computer science is a subject in
its own right, and not just a facilitator for other subjects.
Computer science suffers from a poor relationship with the
"proper" sciences, the debate heard. However, computer science and
computational thinking have changed science forever, with computer
modelling being a widely used tool within all
disciplines.
More on computational thinking >>
Jeannette Wing's article in PDF >>
BCS site >>
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