Mbalducc Week 1

Week 1

Before reading the Denning articles:

1. When I hear the term computer science I think of exploring the many things that can be done with computers. I think of writing programs that can do almost anything. I think computer science is really interesting, and very expansive. It's not something I know much about, but I am really interested with everything that can be done in the field.
2. In general, when my older friends and relatives hear the term computer science, I think they feel overwhelmed. I think they do not understand a lot of it, and are not really used to computers being so advanced, because the world they grew up in was nothing like that.
3. When my younger friends and relatives hear the term computer science, I think they get excited. They are used to computers and they have grown up knowing how to use them, so they understand all the things computers have the potential to do.

Before reading the Janovy chapter:

1. When I hear the term biology, I think of all living things. I think of biology as figuring out how living things work, and using that information in various ways, for example creating medicine that can accurately target and fight a disease in the body.
2. I consider myself a biologist. I am majoring in biology so the classes I've taken have given me information that other people wouldn't know. That said, there's still a lot that I don't know about biology.

After reading the Denning articles and Janovy chapter:

1. The purpose of these readings was to make me reflect about how I think of computer science and biology, and to take in new information and new views on both subjects. Both sets of readings explain their subjects with perspectives I had not known about before. Especially as a biology major, the articles on computers science served the purpose of giving me a better understanding of what computer science is.
2. In the Voices of Computing article, I think the User's voice appealed to me the most. It was the one I could relate tot he most. I've never done anything on the programming/ creating side of computer science before, but I have definitely used computers and love exploring all the things they can do.
3. I thought that the Janovy chapter was provocative in saying that often times biology teachers and curriculums have no interest in explaining why biology is studied, but instead just study it. He said that in biology classes, no one ever reflected on why they were biologists, or what made them that way. Instead, the focus on actually being biologists, and studying. This was interesting because the two are so closely related, the answer to why people become biologists has to do with biology, yet that is not talked about.
4. To me, being a biologist means to be immersed in the study of the living world, whether or not that is what your job is. I consider myself a biologist because I study the living world even when not in class. it's something I've always loved to do and been really interested in.