"Why Are We Learning This?": The Importance of Theoretical Computer Science
A common refrain from undergraduate students taking their first course in theoretical computer science is "why are we learning this?" Too often, theoretical computer science is taught in a dry manner, totally disconnected from all of the applications of computers that students learn about in their other courses. This approach to teaching theory leaves students at a disadvantage as they enter the workforce without a solid foundational knowledge of what it means to compute, and to compute efficiently.
In this talk, I will argue that properly teaching and learning theoretical computer science is necessary for success both in university and beyond, and that theory encompasses much more than just abstract definitions, technical notation, and proofs of theorems. I will also draw on various examples of theory being put into practice to show how theoretical computer science influences and motivates the study of computing as a whole.
Taylor J. Smith (GS'16-M'22) is an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at St. Francis Xavier University and the director of the university's Formal Languages and Automata Research Lab (FLAReLab). Prof. Smith's research focuses on formal languages and automata theory, computational complexity, and combinatorics on words, and his work is supported in part by an NSERC Discovery grant. In addition to over a dozen publications, Prof. Smith is the author of "Theory of Computing: An Open Introduction", an open educational resource that is freely available online. Prof. Smith earned his PhD from Queen's University in 2021. For more information, visit his website at http://taylorjsmith.xyz.
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- 2332 Notre Dame Ave
- Antigonish, Nova Scotia
- Canada B2G 1Z3
- Building: Mulroney Hall
- Room Number: 4030
- Starts 19 November 2024 12:00 PM UTC
- Ends 09 December 2024 03:55 AM UTC
- No Admission Charge
Speakers
Taylor J. Smith of St. Francis Xavier University
Theoretical Computer Science
Biography:
Taylor J. Smith (GS'16-M'22) is an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at St. Francis Xavier University and the director of the university's Formal Languages and Automata Research Lab (FLAReLab). Prof. Smith's research focuses on formal languages and automata theory, computational complexity, and combinatorics on words, and his work is supported in part by an NSERC Discovery grant. In addition to over a dozen publications, Prof. Smith is the author of "Theory of Computing: An Open Introduction", an open educational resource that is freely available online. Prof. Smith earned his PhD from Queen's University in 2021.