Soulless Automatons

I was reading an article on Digg the other day entitled “Interested in Computer Science?” when I came across a curious comment.

As an experienced CS type, I can tell you one thing, if you like hanging around nearly autistic, soulless automatons, this is the profession for you.

While at first I thought the comment was quite hilarious, after a while it started to grate on me.  Does Computer Science make people dull, logical, unemotional robots?  Or do dull, unemotional robots tend to go into Computer Science?  I tend to lean towards the latter, citing the age old hypothesis that correlation does not indicate causation.  I believe for the most part, dull, emotionless people are actually quite interesting (in their own heads).  I tend to see a lot of introverted types get into Computer Science because it is a discipline which doesn’t rely heavily on interpersonal contact.  One can swim around endlessly in their own heads with this type of work, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.  These type of people often have loads of great, creative, and interesting ideas, but lack the ability to express themselves to others in a way that is understandable.  Introversion is often mistaken for dullness in people who you don’t make the effort to get to know.

With that said, I would just like to personally point out that the people in my life who are involved heavily in computers are some of the most interesting people I have ever met.  Ever met a software engineer from Sun Microsystems who can rap over and produce his own music?  How about a systems engineer who brews his own Ayahuasca and drinks it at Hunter S. Thompson’s funeral?  Hmm, how about a CTO who builds monster pickup trucks and takes really interesting photographs?

As an experienced CS type, I can tell you one thing, if you like hanging out with brilliant, interesting, and sometimes socially retarded individuals, this is the profession for you.