Sane

I was talking to a friend the other day, someone who knows little about computers, when she asked me "So what exactly do you do?" in response to the topic of programming.

And it occured to me that not so many people actually know what computer science encompasses, either as a hobby, or as a job. Many seem to think it's all about making games. And it's even harder to explain why it isn't, to someone who doesn't live on a computer.

My response was somewhat ambiguous, along the lines of "Interpreting, solving, and representing data through computational analysis and problem solving".

I've been asked this question a number of times now, and frankly don't have a good response. How would you respond to that same question, in as few words as possible, to someone who's not so computer savvy?

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Ooble

"See that computer over there? When it takes over the world, it'll be my fault."

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Fall Back Son

Its a game of changing the 1's and 0's so that the circuitry responds in a favorable way

lectricpharaoh

This is my problem. I find it hard to answer questions like this in 'few words', as I'm quite loquacious, to say the least. Just look at some of my long-winded posts here.

Usually, I describe programming as an analogy of building physical things. Just as my brother might build wooden furniture, I can 'build' a computer program to accomplish some task. It's a little oversimplified, but when you're talking to the unenlightened masses, sometimes it has to be.

Just wait until you show her a program you wrote, and she starts asking you how you did it. If she's anything like my girlfriend, let's see how many times she can say 'but HOW?' before you want to gag her and lock her in the trunk of a car.
Heh, I like that. My version, inspired by yours: it's like playing god with electrons.

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A man's knowledge is like an expanding sphere, the surface corresponding to the boundary between the known and the unknown. As the sphere grows, so does its surface; the more a man learns, the more he realizes how much he does not know. Hence, the most ignorant man thinks he knows it all. - L. Sprague de Camp

Jimbo

I've never found an good answer for it. I usually start of with as much of a dummied down answer as I can think of, and as they keep insisting on more detail I add it until the person doesn't understand. Then I finish with a line about how it's pretty technical to explain to someone not in the industry.

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Jabo

I just say I'm a pirate who don't do anything and hope they've seen veggietales.

Infinite Recursion

When I say I'm a software engineer, people assume I build bridges... More often than not, I just let them think that is what I do. That way, I save myself the hassle.

I would say to the technically inclined individual:
Problem solving while using abstract concepts based on figments of the requestor's imagination in order to provide a functional and effective solution for issues that were previously considered humanly impossible to resolve, doing so on time and under budget for fractions of what I am really worth.

I would say to a new hire / co-worker:
I staple papers and make copies.


Although, its much easier just to tell people. "It's classified."

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"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."

OpenLoop

I haven't found a good answer yet. I usually say "I tell computers what to do and how to do it".

If I see they're not convinced, I switch to plan B, which is based on the main principle of modern politics, "If you can't convince them, confuse them".

big_k105

@OpenLoop: I like your plan B I think I might start doing that as a plan B if people don't get it in simple terms, heh

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BIG K aka Kyle
Programming Forums
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Please do not PM or email me programming questions. Post them in the forums instead.

Sane

Heh wow. I see almost everyone else has run into the same problem at one time or another. So I'm not alone.

It's a toughy huh. I like OpenLoop's explanation. It's specific but not complicated.

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Waterloo's Canadian Computing Competition (CCC) - Stage 2 Problems, Solutions, and Test Data