Bleepin’ academic specialization… there was a time when all higher education, regardless of what the degree would actually say, began with what was then called a basic foundation in the liberal arts (this was, obviously, before “liberal” became a four-letter word). So, while I was getting my Computer Science degree, learning to design operating systems, processors and low-level electronic circuits (CS was at the time just separating itself from EE), I was also learning to draw and paint (including a half-semester of art history), reading great works of literature (Western and Eastern), writing short stories and devising social-psychology experiments. This was not unusual at the time; it was considered part of being a well-rounded human being, a good citizen, and a better engineer. Alas, this does not appear to be the case anymore, and I think we are worse off as both individuals and society as a result.
Bleepin’ academic specialization… there was a time when all higher education, regardless of what the degree would actually say, began with what was then called a basic foundation in the liberal arts (this was, obviously, before “liberal” became a four-letter word). So, while I was getting my Computer Science degree, learning to design operating systems, processors and low-level electronic circuits (CS was at the time just separating itself from EE), I was also learning to draw and paint (including a half-semester of art history), reading great works of literature (Western and Eastern), writing short stories and devising social-psychology experiments. This was not unusual at the time; it was considered part of being a well-rounded human being, a good citizen, and a better engineer. Alas, this does not appear to be the case anymore, and I think we are worse off as both individuals and society as a result.