Re: World Science Day for Peace and Development (10 November)

 Ar an dara lá déag de mí na Samhain, scríobh Ross Clark:

 > On 11/11/2024 11:08 p.m., Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
 > > On 2024-11-11 09:43:56 +0000, Ross Clark said:
 > >
 > >> zzzzzz....Oh! UNESCO, 2002-
 > >>
 > >> "It might be thought that language isn't a relevant topic on this day..."
 > >> But Crystal has a few words to say about alternative terms for
 > >> linguistics (or some sub- or super-field thereof) which involve the word
 > >> "science": language science(s), linguistic science, speech science,
 > >> phonetic science
 > >>
 > >> OK, still boring. Let's move on.
 > >
 > > Best to omit the "science" from all of these.
 > >
 > > "Anything with 'science' in its name isn't a science." See
 > > https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/06/26/not-science/
 > >
 > > Think of Christian Science, social science, political science, etc.
 > >
 > ...not to mention Religious Science (est. 1922), and Dianetics: The Modern
 > Science of Mental Health (est.1950), forerunner of S****tology.
 >
 > It is also true that in some academic realms, being a Science gets you a
 > higher level of funding than being an Art.
 >
 > Just where the boundary of "science" is to be drawn is a topic I've long
 > since fulfilled my lifetime quota of arguing about.

For me Computer Science is a science (there are underlying facts that have
needed to be discovered by careful study by humans, e.g. the superiority of
Quicksort, or the fast inverse square root constant), but when Computer Science
is taught at undergraduate level the bulk of the coursework is software
development. Software development is not a science, it is a craft.

--
‘As I sat looking up at the Guinness ad, I could never figure out /
How your man stayed up on the surfboard after fourteen pints of stout’
(C. Moore)