Could the next great innovation in computing come from Columbia University?
Less than 10 years ago, I used a telephone modem to connect to the Internet, and AltaVista to search for music to download. Google was still third to Ask Jeeves and Yahoo!. But in those 10 short years, an explosion of technology and creativity led to the development of our modern computing world, bringing forth incredible ideas such as mobile Web access and video chat.
These great ideas have come from the minds of great developers. In 1987, Larry Wall created the popular computer programming language, PERL. Wall's language is used every day with applications in everything from biomedical informatics to Web mail forms. The three chief virtues of a good programmer, said Wall, are laziness, impatience, and hubris.
When I began to explore the world of computing, I kept Wall's mantra in mind, careful never to work too hard or be too patient. But Wall had meant something different—mediocre programmers spend large amounts of time spitting out code that may be inefficient, but great programmers insist on finding ways to create great code that can be easily improved in the future. Laziness makes them program efficiently, so that they can work less hard later on, impatience forces them to make it cogent so that they can spend less time on maintenance, and hubris pushes them to be great. In the 1980s, coding was still a fairly esoteric skill, providing those who had it with a means of steady income. The greatest developers were those who followed Wall's specifications for the greatest code writer. Today, as the number of programmers grows, fewer are able to simply write code for a living.
This is partially due to the increased globalization of the field of computer science. According to Indyzen Inc., a software outsourcing company, the cost of hiring a programmer to write code overseas in India is as little as $12 an hour. With the cost so low, the ability to write code is no longer enough to compete in computing. Though the 1980s offered bright whiz kids like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs a path to fortune and fame for basic programming work, the 2000s have come with new rules. By requiring its best and brightest to compete at a global level, the field of computer science is shifting from a science of much tinkering to a science of much thinking. No longer can great programmers simply be the greatest code writers—they must also be able to find new ways to make that code useful for a variety of fields. Luckily, Columbia University offers just that education. With its emphasis on creativity and diversity, Columbia has a reputation for producing globally minded innovators. These thinkers, in the new environment of computing, may well take a leading role in the next great computing development.
Columbia University may not be known as the definitive school for the study of computer science, ranking 16th on US News and World Report's list of the best graduate schools for computer science, but the level of ingenuity and commitment here at Columbia rivals that of any other competitor nationwide. Our location in New York City allows undergraduates access to the headquarters of leading technology businesses such as Google and Bloomberg. Simultaneously, our Core Curriculum, in emphasizing creativity and innovation, allows students to work on complex projects outside of the classroom, often for the thrill of the work alone. This past year, for example, several students developed Columbia Classes, a clear and engaging web application to help organize student schedules. Others joined projects to bring magazines to iPhones, and still others chose to modify video games for improved team-building algorithms.
As new ideas are invented, the number of computer-related fields grows. Next semester, the computer science department will be offering a new course in application development for the iPhone and Android. Alongside this, there will be classes offered in all subfields, from bioinformatics to financial engineering. With the extensive research and career opportunities available, computer science students are able to explore certain fields at the highest levels, from working with the largest Clinical Data Repository nationwide at the biomedical informatics department to working at the crossroads of the financial world downtown. With these exceptional resources at their fingertips, Columbia undergraduates are well-equipped to explore the multifaceted world of computers outside the classroom, leading the way to the next great development in American technology.
The author is a Columbia College sophomore. He is the vice president of Columbia's Association for Computing Machinery.