Sep 8, 2026 · 30 min · 12 segments
In popular culture, computer science is practically synonymous with programming. There are obviously branches of computer science in which computer hardware and software are essential, such as in the…
Ben BrubakerGuestSamir PatelHost
So this is a little bit odd because the astronomy analogy sort of suggests that, well, whatever you use the computer to study, that's what computer science would be about.
So when you use computers to, like, simulate the evolution of the universe, that's computational astrophysics or computational cosmology or something, and those tend to be studied by cosmologists, not computer scientists.
And then there are parts of computer science where you don't use computers at all, and a lot of the parts that I write about are like that.
They use computers to check their emails and typeset their manuscripts, but basically they, they just do math on whiteboards and things, and they work out these theorems that apply to kind of how computers might work and other things that go beyond that.
So I think the quote is sort of gesturing at this idea that parts of computer science don't seem to, like, involve using computers at all.
But then on the other hand, there are people who historically have been just like, "What are you talking about? Computer science is about computers.
If you have a computer, you'll do this." So there's been this historical debate, it turns out, long debate, where a bunch of people have weighed in with lots of different ideas about computer science is about X, and nobody really ever came to agreement on that as, as I learned from looking into the literature on this.
So this is a little bit odd because the astronomy analogy sort of suggests that, well, whatever you use the computer to study, that's what computer science would be about.
So when you use computers to, like, simulate the evolution of the universe, that's computational astrophysics or computational cosmology or something, and those tend to be studied by cosmologists, not computer scientists.
And then there are parts of computer science where you don't use computers at all, and a lot of the parts that I write about are like that.
They use computers to check their emails and typeset their manuscripts, but basically they, they just do math on whiteboards and things, and they work out these theorems that apply to kind of how computers might work and other things that go beyond that.
So I think the quote is sort of gesturing at this idea that parts of computer science don't seem to, like, involve using computers at all.
But then on the other hand, there are people who historically have been just like, "What are you talking about? Computer science is about computers.
If you have a computer, you'll do this." So there's been this historical debate, it turns out, long debate, where a bunch of people have weighed in with lots of different ideas about computer science is about X, and nobody really ever came to agreement on that as, as I learned from looking into the literature on this.
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