I also think it sort of waters down Computer Science to wedge it into engineering and treat it as such. Ultimately it's more about theory, formalisms, and mathematical/logical foundations than it is about "making it go". I think when we start treating a CS program like it's a EE/ECE program, then the CS program is impeded by getting too caught up in the nitty gritty. Don't get me wrong, I think the hardware portions are very important, but I like writing compilers. I'll learn as much about a system as I need to get a good compiler going, but the physical nature of a system generally are of no interest to me. They should be somebody else's job (who enjoys such things and derives pleasure in doing them [more power to them for it ;-)]).
scott_s|15 years ago
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=968013
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1131606
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=690798
People who do systems research don't do much with theory and formalisms, but they are decidedly doing computer science.