Listics

Scoble posts on a scurrilous taunt from Winer.

Dave Winer, yesterday, theorized that fewer students were choosing to major in computer science because of Microsoft’s industry dominance.

I love him dearly but that Dave Winer is such a troll. His musings were based on a New York Times article that based some assumptions on the CRA annual survey current results of which have not yet been made public. Regardless, extrapolating from this data source tells you little about the number of people prepared to enter the workforce in the IT industry. If you do look closely at recent data, they’re not that bad, BUT… they don’t meet the Gates/Balmer stated goal of reducing US salaries to levels found in the offshore workforce. That goal can be achieved, they think, by encouraging an over-supply of techs in the field.

So Dave’s musings notwithstanding, it has yet to be demonstrated that there is actually a problem here. Are there too few students entering the discipline of Computer Science? I doubt it. I especially doubt it if you look at “degree production” world-wide. Does a short-fall of CS graduates in the US force jobs offshore? Not those jobs. Does a CS degree prepare one for the wonderful world of entrepreneurship and technical innovation? NOT! This whole thing is a non-issue and it’s based on Winer’s typically dyspeptic view of Microsoft. Thanks Dave! Thanks for sharing!