Art, Engineering, or Discipline?

Is Computer Science an art? The more I think about this question, I find myself asking the question of what art is. Usually when we think of art, we imagine a painting hanging in some gallery, a classical composition probably by Bach or Mozart, or a form of dance like ballet. Anyways, we associate art more with its more classical forms, and for some people, solely the more classical forms, such as the fine arts. I beg to differ however. As a musician, I do not dispute whether the above fine arts are arts at all, but I also have come to understand that any form of musical composition is art. It is a creative expression of emotion or thought that is influenced or inspired by either a life event, or something that that is going on in the real world. However this isn't just the only definition of art, art is something that is difficult to define, but needs to be interpreted.

When thinking of art, I also think back to my athletic days. In my opinion, many sports are an art as well because most sports have a sort of form to them that enables the athlete to perform better than the average person or to even out-perform another competitor. For example, sprinters have a different form than distance runners, high jumpers have a different form than long jumpers, and shot put has a different form than discus. Regardless of the sport, some spectators recognize that form is key to being able to perform well. To those who recognize this, they would consider certain runners form to be an art. Anyways to get back on track to my original point, art to me is more than just a novel, a classical piece, a painting, or dance, encompassing of many different disciplines.

So where does computer science fall into this? I believe that computer science is an art. We can use and manipulate computers to do just about anything. People make apps that reach widely across many different audiences and vary in uses. Some people are inspired to make apps that help people. That inspiration often comes from seeing a friend or a family member who has a disability and cannot do what most other people take for granted every day. Not just being able to do these things, but having the knowledge, know-how, but mainly the POWER to do so is what I believe makes this an art to me. Many people may not consider it to be an art because they do not understand what it is, nor do they want to take the time to understand it.

Is Computer Science engineering? Is it even a discipline? I am inclined to believe that it is engineering and a discipline. Firstly, I believe it is a discipline because it is something that you have to work at to get good at just like most things in life. No one just wakes up one day and becomes a master of coding overnight without putting in some type of work or practice. It's like learning a new language, or better yet, learning an instrument. I remember when I was taking piano lessons, before I could play Rachmaninoff, I had to learn how to play hot cross buns first. Before a person can write software that automates fuel controls in Boeing's latest aircraft, the first thing you will learn is how to write a simple 'hello world' program to the terminal. After learning the basics, more difficult, complex programs can be written to do more complicated and complex tasks.

This ties into why I believe that Computer Science is engineering. Engineers do more than just invent things, they find new ways to make certain tasks easier and safer. Computer science is engineering because of the things that they do. Computer scientists make computers do things like control locks and doors, to guiding satellites and automating space rovers. This is done through the use of software. Computer scientists write software that allows the computer to do these things and they invent new software and update existing software to improve its functionality and versatility.

It is my belief that Computer Science is an art, a discipline, and engineering. It is something that is acquired and improved upon by practice, and it is something that allows for freedom of expression. A programmer to use software to do just about anything they want. From printing a simple greeting to a person, to controlling the most complex machines and vehicles. It is engineering because software is used to manipulate hardware on a computer to help understand the real world by exploiting it's nuances and allowing more accurate data to be sampled.