By silicon.com, 23 March 2006 11:50
If computer science is to become the fabric of traditional science, as some scientists are calling for, bold changes will have to be made.
We can lambaste the government as responsible for a good proportion of the blame.
There is obviously a lack of money and proper thought at the top level of government being given to science and technology. Having been a leader in these areas for such a long time, perhaps the UK has become complacent and expects to remain at the cutting edge without continued investment.
A change in culture should filter down to every level - right down to the school child. There should be better opportunities for kids to get involved with and excited about science and computers - areas often taught in a parrot fashion that's boring for students and teachers alike.
It wouldn't hurt for science and technology to glitz up their images a bit too, perhaps by providing students with role models or even celebrities who could speak out on how vital these areas are to the advancement of our society. Biology might not seem so boring if kids knew it could mean using computers to find a cure for cancer.
There also needs to be a shift in the way companies invest in research. The US has a formidable policy of backing PhD students, so it's no wonder the brains of the UK flock to a country where there are more resources.
If the government fails to drive science effectively, the UK's future brains will lack the computer science skills they need to compete with the rest of the world - and the nation will lose its competitive edge.
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1. Keith Armstrong
While the sceince of statistical analysis is already advanced it tends to remain the province of applied mathematics. This will be one area that all scientists and business people need to be familiar with.
As far as the teaching of children is concerned some years ago there was a software program released that set a number of logical and engineering style problems, burst the balloon, the weight falls on a trigger which sets a ball rolling and so on.
Sadlythis made no more than a couple of editions before disappearing from the commercial marketplace. Itis an ideal tool for creating mental agility and teaching basic principles.
Above all those things which are most useful to us as thinkers are models. Models express (often) visually what is more difficult to grasp intellectually.
Let us teach our children pattern recognition and connectivity. This will surely help.