What is computer science?

The study of how to solve problems using methods that can be implemented on computers.

But, as Edsger Dijkstra said: "Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes."

Is CS a legitimate field of knowledge?

• What distinguishes CS from Mathematics?
• What distinguishes CS from the application of computers within any particular discipline?

Within CS there are several dimensions

• Mathematical vs. Engineering vs. Social
• Theory vs. Software vs. Hardware
• General vs. application-domain specific

See also

• Wikipedia's article on CS
• IEEE Computer Society's Timeline of Computing History