Just Six Variables - Personal View of Computer Education in China CHEN Daoxu ( 陈道蓄 ) Dept. CST, Nanjing University May 23, Beijing

Thinking in a Simple Way A impossible task for me Give a briefing on Education and Research of Computer Science in China as a whole A simple approach to think about it (limited in universities) Learn from Sir Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal at Cambridge

Just Six Numbers Rees told us: Our whole Universe is governed by just six numbers, set at the time of the Big Bang. Alter any one of them at your peril, for stars, planets and humans would then not exist.  =1 The cosmic number omega measures the amount of material in our Universe - galaxies, diffuse gas, and 'dark matter'. Omega tells us the relative importance of gravity and expansion energy in the Universe. A universe within which omega was too high would have collapsed long ago; had omega been too low, no galaxies would have formed. The inflationary theory of the Big Bang says omega should be one; astronomers have yet to measure its exact value.  = Another number, epsilon, defines how firmly atomic nuclei bind together and how all the atoms on Earth were made. The value of epsilon controls the power from the Sun and, more sensitively, how stars transmute hydrogen into all the atoms of the periodic table. Carbon and oxygen are common, and gold and uranium are rare, because of what happens in the stars. If epsilon were or 0.008, we could not exist. N = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 The cosmos is so vast because there is one crucially important huge number in nature. N measures the strength of the electrical forces that hold atoms together, divided by the force of gravity between them. If it had a few less zeros, only a short-lived and miniature universe could exist. No creatures would be larger than insects, and there would be no time for evolution to lead to intelligent life. Q = 1/100,000 The seeds for all cosmic structures - stars, galaxies and clusters of galaxies - were all imprinted in the Big Bang. The fabric - or texture - of our Universe depends on a number that represents the ratio of two fundamental energies. If Q were even smaller, the Universe would be inert and structureless; if Q were much larger, it would be a violent place, dominated by giant black holes. =0.7 Measuring the sixth number, lambda, was the biggest scientific news of 1998, though its precise value is still uncertain. An unsuspected new force - a cosmic 'antigravity' - controls the expansion of our Universe. Fortunately for us, lambda is very small. Otherwise its effect would have stopped galaxies and stars from forming, and cosmic evolution would have been stifled before it could even begin. D = 3 The first crucial number is the number of spatial dimensions: we live in a three- dimensional Universe. Life couldn't exist if D were two or four. Time is a fourth dimension, but distinctively different from the others in that it has a built-in arrow: we 'move' only towards the future.

Our Small Cosmos We look at the community of computer education in Chinese universities as a small cosmos. What are the critical factors deciding its status and influencing its future development? (However, it is only a analogy in some sense, NOT an attemp to use results of physics in OUR field.)

Two Variables on Basic Force -1 The ratio of the strength of the force to putting things together to that of pulling them away - N In phisical universe, being lucky, the value is extremely large (10 36 ) In our cosmos: Putting together: core of THE discipline Pulling away: rapidly expanded applications

Two Variables on Basic Force - 2 Force resisting the expansion of the cosmos - In physical universe(called antigravity), being lucky, the value is small and stable (0.7, guessed) In our cosmos: Rapid expansion in past few years Decreasing popularity, due to real and virtual “antigravity” More than 700 universities and colleges have bechelor program in this field(in a narrow sense) with total enrollments of more than 400,000; and more than 50% with a history less than 10 years.

Two Variables on Texture - 1 Ratio of energy emitting during mass transmuting -  In phisical universe, being lucky, the value is small (0.007) In our cosmos Ratio of high-level researches results on educational activities Hierarchical research structure in universities: national lab – national key lab – national key programs National lab for information science and technology (under construction at Tsinghua Univ.) National key labs: CAD(Zhejiang Univ.; Novel Software techniques(Nanjing Univ.); Software Engineering(Wuhan Univ.); SDE(BUAA); A&V Information Processing(Beijing Univ.); Intelligent Technology and Systems(Tsinghua Univ.) etc. National Key Discipline Units: Architecture: 2 Software and Theory: 5 Application Technology: 8

Two Variables on Texture - 2 Relative importance of smooth development and turmoil -  In phisical universe, a unknown value wanting grasp of the relative importance of gravity and expansion energy In our cosmos Exploring research – for publication Working for national goals

One Variable on Identity How does one look different from others – G In phisical universe, a ratio not easy to be explained, with a value of In our cosmos Similar goal, at least in simple view (different in level, not in contents) What’s our “dark mass”?

The Last Variable Dimension – the character we feel directly about our universe - D In phisical universe, no explanation needed, the value is 3 In our cosmos Science, Engineering and Service Computer science, in broad or narrow sense? The problem is more important for educators than for researchers

pseudo-Conclusion Only as one of the possibilitie: The answer depends on the values we set for the six variables.

CHEN, Daoxu Nanjing University