Does Computer Science Need Computers?
Summary
Quanta Magazine questions whether computer science is about computers or the abstract theory of computation. The piece surveys models of computation, from Turing machines to complexity theory, arguing that while hardware spurs progress, many foundational questions can be pursued independent of physical machines. It weaves in perspectives from Dijkstra, Knuth, Rapaport, and Aaronson to illustrate the deep, ongoing debate about what computer science is really about.