The underlying assertion of science is that the world is understandable: fueled by human curiosity and need, this has led us on a journey that has pulled away the veil of mystery surrounding the cosmos and in turn has shaped our very existence. The underlying assertion of computing is that the world is computable: this also has led us on a journey that has irreversibly changed humanity. It was once the case that developing software-intensive systems was the domain of a relative few, but as computing has woven its way into the interstitial spaces of civilization, development is no longer just the domain of professionally trained computer scientists and engineers, for now there has grown a much larger community of amateur and incidental developers, people who must build computational systems as part of their primary focus. In this presentation, we will examine the nature of this shift and consider the consequences not only for our profession but for the world that increasingly relies on such systems. We will pay particular attention to the importance of computational thinking for the masses, and how we as professionals have a responsibility to shape the conversation.
Grady Booch is Chief Scientist for Software Engineering at IBM Research where he leads IBM’s research and development for embodied cognition. Having originated the term and the practice of object-oriented design, he is best known for his work in advancing the fields of software engineering and software architecture. A co-author of the Unified Modeling Language (UML), a founding member of the Agile Alliance, and a founding member of the Hillside Group, Grady has published six books and several hundred technical articles, including an ongoing column for IEEE Software. Grady is also a trustee for the Computer History Museum. He is an IBM Fellow, an ACM and IEEE Fellow, has been awarded the Lovelace Medal and has given the Turing Lecture for the BCS, and was recently named an IEEE Computer Pioneer. He is currently developing a major trans-media documentary for public broadcast on the intersection of computing and the human experience.
