Thats a little like saying if you want to learn mechanical engineering, fix things around your home and then do research when you get stumped.

Building a bunch of software projects probably isn’t a very efficient way of learning computer science. You might figure out things like big-O or A* on your own, but a more academic approach is going to take you further, faster.

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mgaunard 2 days ago | parent [-]

It's well established that practical project work is what works best at producing tangible results, and most institutions that aim to produce the best programmers focus on that.

I can understand this is not the approach preferred by academic types which is a strong community on hackernews.

Most people are more motivated to understand the theory because it helps them solve a practical problem, rather than theory for the sake of theory.

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criddell 2 days ago | parent [-]

I thought this thread was about computer science. Working on a programming project is related to computer science in the same way that welding together a shelf is related to mechanical engineering.

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ghaff 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

Being "handy" around the house (or even more advanced tinkering) and a mechanical engineering degree--maybe especially from a good school--are absolutely not the same thing.

	▲	criddell 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Totally agree! And being able to whip together a webapp for your church is absolutely not the same thing as computer science. Computer scientists often program but not all programmers are computer scientists.

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mgaunard 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

An elitist view disconnected from reality.

Even something like game theory was only developed and earned nobel prizes because of its applications to making money in finance.