I think this post complements the "How Effective are Technical Interviews" post that was on HN recently. A CS curriculum definitely prepares you for the theoretical questions asked in a technical interview, however, neither a CS degree nor a technical interview give you a real sense of how strong that person is at development.
I don't think this problem indicates the usefulness of a CS degree. Instead, I think it says that the only real way to learn how to program is to program.
Most of us probably go to these sites and browse for interesting Computer Science/Engineering courses which can be useful but, what do people think about the value of this for other subjects?
I checked out Open Yale Courses after reading this article and while I was interested in courses such as "Listening to Music" and "Death", I didn't see much practical value in them nor would I have the patience to sit through 20+ of these lectures in my free time.
Your points suggest that it's not the technical skill of CS graduates that are lacking rather, the mental attitudes and mindsets are not there. While school can be an amazing resource, I'm not sure that any university is structured to teach its students to be passionate or to consistantly over-deliver on quality.
"Even if each individual algorithm makes perfect sense, collectively they obey an emergent logic—artificial intelligence, but not artificial human intelligence. It is, simply, alien, operating at the natural scale of silicon, not neurons and synapses. We may be able to slow it down, but we can never contain, control, or comprehend it"
I can see algorithms being used to automate decision making in almost every other industry, not just Wall St. It's both scary and exciting to see what happens with the resulting "emergent intelligence".
"Richard made people feel like a child does, when a grown-up first treats him as an adult. He was never afraid of telling the truth, and however foolish your question was, he never made you feel like a fool."
I don't know much about Feynman but the combination of his brilliance and his popularity has always intrigued me. Surely we can assimilate some of Feynman's charm.
I don't think this problem indicates the usefulness of a CS degree. Instead, I think it says that the only real way to learn how to program is to program.