As much as I'd like to say I could do low-level CS, I'm honestly not that good at algorithms. Quick sort? I'm good at problem solving, which is what I think matters.
What's the difference between algorithms and problem solving?
Re:Most of our CS students suck at CS
by wallflower on Tuesday January 22, 2008 @04:46PM
(#102459)
Scenario: Consultant on-site. Application not working (Oracle, app server, and/or network issues). Training scheduled for next day. Diagnose/Fix the problem during the teleconference or else..
It's a particularly difficult subset of problem solving.
Re:Most of our CS students suck at CS
by Xichekolas on Tuesday January 22, 2008 @01:45PM
(#102322)
... an algorithm is a series of steps to solve a problem. If he is good at problem solving, he should have no problem with algorithms.
Now, I think a lot of people are bad at remembering every algorithm they are taught in a class. Unless you use it a few times, it's not likely you will be able to implement it off the top of your head, but that is what the internet and all those useful CS books are for.
I mean it's difficult to discover non-trivial algorithms on your own.
But seeing examples of non-trivial algorithms makes what you once considered non-trivial, trivial. A lot of algorithm design seems to be a kind of poetry to me - where one draws on similarities to algorithms she's seen before, as a poet would draw on metaphors or imagery they've experienced elsewhere.
Before I knew better, I used to laugh at those people who found careers doing boring stuff with corporate applications (databases, etc.). The best part of my job is creating something from scratch - a blank screen of an IDE (when not fixing issues). And if we have excess energy after the workday/or on the weekend, we can always exert our creativity on open-source or personal projects. I love software development for the development aspect. How cool is it to say (or not say) to your friends that you could build a cool web startup (the tech is not that hard, except with exceptions)?