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Google Code-In 2014 and Google Summer of Code 2015 Announced

Posted by samzenpus on from the all-things-google dept.

d33tah notes the announcement of Google Code-In 2014 and Google Summer of Code 2015. A call to all students: if you have ever thought it would be cool to write code and see it make a difference in the world, then please keep reading. We are excited to announce the next editions of two programs designed to introduce students to open source software development, Google Summer of Code for university students and Google Code-in for 13-17 year old students.

15 comments

  1. I don't want to change the world by kruach+aum · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What if I just want to write code that doesn't make a difference in the world? Why does everything have to make a difference in the world? Isn't it enough that you experience pleasure from solving complicated problems?

    1. Re:I don't want to change the world by just_another_sean · · Score: 2

      Well this is directed at university students and 13 - 17 year old kids. Both are groups whose members generally do think they can and want to change the world.

      I don't want to assume anything about you unfairly but do you even qualify for these classes? Because my guess is that your older, out of school and maybe feel like you missed your chance to change the world at this point in your life.

      But then again, that's a lot like how I feel when I read articles like this so maybe I'm just projecting...

      --
      Creationist Textbook Stickers Declared Unconstitutional by CowboyNeal
    2. Re:I don't want to change the world by kruach+aum · · Score: 1

      I've never wanted to change the world. I've only ever been interested in understanding it.

    3. Re:I don't want to change the world by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      I raise an objection. You just changed the world from having an unsolved problem to having a solved one.

    4. Re:I don't want to change the world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Agreed!

    5. Re:I don't want to change the world by kruach+aum · · Score: 1

      For the sake of brevity I assumed your interpreter would derive the meaning of "save the world" contextually and did not specify that I had in mind specific connotations not related to a strict, literal interpretation.

    6. Re:I don't want to change the world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Many people's take from history classes is some flavor of 'these are the people who mattered, no one else is worth remembering.' This has a very disturbing effect that it can result in a mindset where the virtue of their actions is irrelevant, only the memory it leaves on the rest of the populace matters. Such individuals are likely to write long rambling manifestos before setting out to do something they think will be remembered for generations.

      If we can get these immoral narcissists convinced that a well written fart-app is their path to cultural immortality, well, at least that's better than what they could get up to with a chemistry textbook and a basic knowledge of nearby gathering places.

    7. Re:I don't want to change the world by kruach+aum · · Score: 1

      make that "change the world". I don't think anyone could save the world from a gamma ray burst.

    8. Re:I don't want to change the world by just_another_sean · · Score: 1

      Fair enough and that's a laudable and, in a lot of satisfying ways, attainable goal.

      --
      Creationist Textbook Stickers Declared Unconstitutional by CowboyNeal
    9. Re:I don't want to change the world by swillden · · Score: 1

      What if I just want to write code that doesn't make a difference in the world? Why does everything have to make a difference in the world? Isn't it enough that you experience pleasure from solving complicated problems?

      Why not do both, if you can? They're not mutually exclusive. There's also a third benefit you can get: money. The ideal is to work on problems that are interesting, pay well, and make the world a better place.

      That's what Google is trying to achive here: solve interesting problems that have an non-negligible impact on the world, and to motivate people to solve them they're offering cash.

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    10. Re:I don't want to change the world by kruach+aum · · Score: 1

      Offering incentives to solve problems is actually detrimental though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    11. Re:I don't want to change the world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, I agree partly. Of course you can have pleasure just solving problems. But at the end, if you finally want some real job, it's all about solving problems which have some financial impact. If you just want to solve problems, you should probably stay at university.

    12. Re:I don't want to change the world by swillden · · Score: 1

      Offering incentives to solve problems is actually detrimental though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      Different context. The talk is about using incentives to try to motivate better/faster/higher/whatever solutions. It focuses people on trying to optimize for the incentive.

      But Google isn't doing that. Google is enabling people to work on something interesting and impactful instead of doing something mundane, like flipping burgers or some other student-type summer job.

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    13. Re:I don't want to change the world by StripedCow · · Score: 1

      Also, do they think that Gmail and Google Docs change the world?
      Because I don't see how they would.
      Yes, everybody and their mom uses it, but in terms of changing the world, it is all just "paperclip version 2.0".

      --
      If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
  2. Define "Change the World" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I want to change the world by elevating my economic status... Depending on who you asked (read "me"), the world would be a much nicer place if I had billions of dollars.