In December 1980, the death of John Lennon and the success of Steve Jobs marked a symbolic change for Apple. Thanks to advances in computer science and information and communication technology, smart devices and the internet have become part of our daily lives. In the future, computer scientists will need to continue to innovate while balancing technology and social responsibility.
In the second week of December 1980, humanity lost a genius and gained a new one. On Monday, former Beatle John Lennon was murdered by a crazed fan, and on Friday, the initial public offering of Apple stock began, making a young man named Steve Jobs the “greatest self-made man in America” who made $200 billion overnight. The Beatles on the Apple label marked the end of an era, while Apple computers ushered in a new one.
The modern era is the heyday of Apple. With the death of Steve Jobs on October 5, 2011, the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and many other ‘smart’ machines he left behind came into our lives. Although we have been familiar with computers since the 1990s when personal computers began to be widely used, these “smart” machines have gone beyond familiarity and become a part of our lives. We surf the internet, work with documents, use applications on our smartphones, and so on in our daily lives. Behind all these activities is computer science. Let’s take a look at computer science while recognizing that the algorithms, logic, and implementation of computer science are hidden behind these programs that are new and convenient for users.
Computer science is the study of the hardware and software that make up a computer system. The hardware that makes up a computer system includes the CPU, memory, storage, graphics, networking, etc. Software is developed to utilize these systems effectively. It can be broadly categorized into low-level software, such as operating systems and middleware, which are closely related to the hardware, and high-level application software, such as document editors, multimedia programs, and games, which are based on the hardware and meet the needs of the user.
Because the software and hardware of a computer are so closely intertwined, computer science combines both hardware and software expertise. At the core of software is programming. Just as you need a common language to communicate with foreigners, programmers use programming languages to communicate with computers to develop programs. And just as there are grammars for languages to make meaningful sentences, there are grammars for program design based on mathematical backgrounds such as discrete mathematics and automata theory, and logical backgrounds such as data structures and algorithms. Computers may be dumb enough to understand only two characters, 0 and 1, but they can represent all the characters we recognize. To talk to computers, programmers use a number of programming languages, including C, C++, JAVA, and others, to communicate messages to computers, which are then translated by a translator, or compiler, into Assembly Language, a machine language of zeros and ones that computers can understand. This is how you can create a game like Tetris or a player that can listen to mp3 files.
There are four main types of hardware: processing units, which process data and perform operations according to a program; memory units, which store programs and data; input units, which allow humans to input data and instructions; and output units, which communicate the results of processing to the outside world. Many computers in use today use microprocessors as processing units, semiconductor memory and magnetic disks as memory units, keyboards and mice as input devices, and printers and displays as output devices.
After acquiring the basic knowledge of the above software and hardware, students acquire specialized knowledge of computer structures, operating systems, databases, programming languages, computer communications, artificial intelligence, algorithms, multimedia systems, etc. to conduct experiments and research to pioneer new applications. In other words, computer science is the study of how to improve performance through the study of the structure of computers, how computers work, and how to write programs with logic and flow when developing new programs.
In addition, the most prominent field of computer science in modern society is the field of information and communication. In the past, a personal computer (PC) was defined as an independent computer system, but now it can be defined as a computer system in which computers and computers are connected by a communication network or network. The Internet, wireless communication networks, WiFi (Wireless Fidelity), etc. that we are using today are huge computer systems connected to each other by high-speed networks. In particular, the Internet has changed modern life itself. The moment you connect to the Internet, you can easily get the information you want in cyberspace without having to go to a museum, university, newspaper, library, or bookstore. It is no exaggeration to say that the Internet is the third medium after print media and the telephone.
There is a growing consensus that the Internet is not only quenching our thirst for knowledge, but it is also having a profound effect on our personal values. In particular, Korea’s telecommunication environment, which leads the world in the penetration rate of high-speed Internet and mobile phone terminals, and CDMA (code division multiple access) CDMA: A digital mobile communication method using spread spectrum technology developed by Qualcomm in the United States, users transmit and receive signals while sharing time and frequency, resulting in more than 10 times the capacity of the existing analog method (AMPS) and superior call quality.
Considering various conditions such as being the first in the world to commercialize the technology, Korea will be able to further solidify its national competitiveness in the information and communication industry in the 21st century. In addition, computer science is not just about technology. Ethical issues and social responsibility are also important. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning require discussions to address privacy issues, ethical dilemmas of self-driving cars, algorithmic bias, and more. These discussions allow computer scientists to come up with solutions that take into account not only technical solutions, but also social and ethical perspectives.
At the end of the day, computer science is deeply embedded in every aspect of our lives, and its importance is only growing. Advances in technology are making our lives more convenient, but they also come with a heavy responsibility. The computer scientists of the future will have to recognize these responsibilities and work towards a harmonious balance between technology and society.
