Subject: Whom to teach what continued... young pretenders or experienced hands..

From: James Robinson <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 19:10:36 -0000

So the debate continues. Most people seem to agree with the general
principle that Computational chemistry/Molecular modelling (change
description to suit personal taste) is a science in its own right. The
scientists doing the computational work need to communicate effectively and
understand exactly what is required (yes, no, 18 digit numbers, pretty
pictures…)

So if starting from scratch, say you grabbed some unsuspecting student and
tried to teach them… where would you start? Is there a general foundation to
it all? (If only Charles Babbage and Erwin Schrodinger had email
addresses..)  The people I have met tended to do first degrees in science,
computer sciences or maths and then moved into computational chemistry
through jobs in industry/academia and postgraduate study. So there is an
added advantage. They have experience of real science before attempting the
computation.

Is the best way, through experience and evolution or would it actually be
okay to do it from scratch at the age of 18 or so…

With higher education becoming more expensive, I am sure the delight of
market forces will influence trends, .. science graduates will become
rarer.. unless salaries increase.. new modellers will have to come from
somewhere…

That’s my 2 pence concluded. j