I was lucky to sit in on a small keynote that Gould gave at a symposium at a local university. I will never forget the playfulness he had when he used a lectern pointer miming a pool cue as how one might direct a theory across the table of ideas.
More fortunate, I was able to chat and listen in on his conversations with graduate students at the same symposium's social gathering. What I noticed was that he encouraged debate in his conversations, moderating his comments to the people he was talking to, and not to conclusions to but to ask more questions.
I really think he believed that what we think is less important than how we think.
Whether his theories stand the test of time, his ability to open debate to a wider audience made science all the better.
First off, this is normal so don't worry it happens. Here are somethings that I have experienced in 10 years from a dual CS/Biochemistry major.
1. What you do in the work place is not computer science, it's programming. Computer science is about a way of looking at problems developing heuristics and algorithms, measuring the efficiency of those methods and understanding those trade offs. It provides a way of thinking which can be applied to other fields, such as project management, etc.
2. Programming is a skill that crosses multiple disciplines. Very few programmers are actually working on computers (i.e. operating systems, compilers, etc) but most programmers are using computers in other domains. And often you only use a subset of your knowledge. A hot example is bioinformatics, but another area is computer assisted journalism where reporters are creating programs which mine databases for patterns that are missed, such as income barriers etc. Don't look at computer science as an end, but perhaps as a means to things that do interest you (you mention what you no longer like, but you don't mention what you do). Consider applying it to a domain you do care. And it can be broad. One that I like is using computers for motion capture of dancers, then using the motion capture the choreographer can try new dances without the dancers and relying on her/his mental imagery to see how it will look.
3. Work problems are very different from acadmic problems. Academic problems are meant to be pedagogical to illustrate which can sometime mean boring or exciting depending on the case. Work tends to be application over and over again, generally they are not paying you to learn but to apply.
My own experience is that I started programming, and through small steps ended up in technical marketing and now I am considering a new career entirely. Few people do what they thought they were going to do in college. Some still don't know what they want to do.
If you don't like the solving of problems, than computers may not be for you, but if you think that you can seeing yourself applying computers to other things than stick it out.
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More fortunate, I was able to chat and listen in on his conversations with graduate students at the same symposium's social gathering. What I noticed was that he encouraged debate in his conversations, moderating his comments to the people he was talking to, and not to conclusions to but to ask more questions.
I really think he believed that what we think is less important than how we think.
Whether his theories stand the test of time, his ability to open debate to a wider audience made science all the better.
1. What you do in the work place is not computer science, it's programming. Computer science is about a way of looking at problems developing heuristics and algorithms, measuring the efficiency of those methods and understanding those trade offs. It provides a way of thinking which can be applied to other fields, such as project management, etc.
2. Programming is a skill that crosses multiple disciplines. Very few programmers are actually working on computers (i.e. operating systems, compilers, etc) but most programmers are using computers in other domains. And often you only use a subset of your knowledge. A hot example is bioinformatics, but another area is computer assisted journalism where reporters are creating programs which mine databases for patterns that are missed, such as income barriers etc. Don't look at computer science as an end, but perhaps as a means to things that do interest you (you mention what you no longer like, but you don't mention what you do). Consider applying it to a domain you do care. And it can be broad. One that I like is using computers for motion capture of dancers, then using the motion capture the choreographer can try new dances without the dancers and relying on her/his mental imagery to see how it will look.
3. Work problems are very different from acadmic problems. Academic problems are meant to be pedagogical to illustrate which can sometime mean boring or exciting depending on the case. Work tends to be application over and over again, generally they are not paying you to learn but to apply.
My own experience is that I started programming, and through small steps ended up in technical marketing and now I am considering a new career entirely. Few people do what they thought they were going to do in college. Some still don't know what they want to do.
If you don't like the solving of problems, than computers may not be for you, but if you think that you can seeing yourself applying computers to other things than stick it out.
Good luck