Classes for the Masses Part 1: Computer Science

I am a student of the sciences, so I could have gone to a science-oriented college and just generally avoided the humanities.  However, I chose a liberal-arts college for a reason.  I believe that the tools for a happy and successful life are scattered throughout many disciplines and subject areas.  Because of this, I'm starting a series of posts on subject that everyone should have some experience in.

First up is computer science.  Admittedly, computer science might seem like a bit of a cop-out for my first post.  I am a scientist, after all, so computer science is something I should be taking anyway.  My major (Molecular Biology, in case you don't read the blurb at the top of the page) doesn't require it, though, which is slightly baffling to me.  Just a few days ago I found my coding skills suddenly necessary for a summer job doing biology research.  What shocked me was that a semester of intro computer science a year ago was sufficient to problem-solve a real data-interpretation problem.

Computer science can be useful in ways other than just sciences, though.  Want to make your own digital Connect Four game?  It's really not that complicated (okay, three hours of coding with some guidance.  But still!).  Need to do a lot of repetitive calculations for something in your everyday life?  Write a simple code and save yourself a lot of time.  Python is a simple, friendly programming language and it's free for download on the internet.  Free.  There is a lot of power just sitting there waiting for you to use it.  Seize the opportunity!  Whether you want to code something useful or something fun, computer science is an invaluable tool in today's world, and you never know when it will suddenly save your butt in a tight situation.  If you're still in college, take a computer science class.  You won't regret it.