Re: Bug#361418: Debian menu and the Apps/Science section
On Sun, May 14, 2006 at 07:20:55PM +0200, Bill Allombert wrote:
> On Sun, May 14, 2006 at 06:20:25PM +0200, Thomas Walter wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > >From my point of view this 2 section names are arbitrary and too global.
> > It also opens a long discussion about the hirarchy. I think Mathematics
> > is also part of Science. At least for application like axiom, octave,
> > mathematica, ...
> > So having a Math section in parallel to Science could be for more
> > "calulator" oriented SW.
>
> Well most mathematical software I know are oriented toward doing
> computation.
And most mathematics is oriented towards stating and proving theorems.
I think there is software that supports theorem proving. Tex provides
special support for stating theorems in the international language of
mathematics.
To me, scientific software is software that supports scientists in
their work as scientists. This is not a very restrictive
definition. It does, for me, carry some connotation that the user
expects to understand what the software is doing. But I am aware of
many instances where this is not true.
This is in contrast to Accounting Software where the user hopes that
he can keep himself and his business out of trouble without
understanding and the software developers try to satisfy that hope.
>
> > In general, my understanding of "Science" is in the sense of research
> > and not education.
> > Thus an example breakdown within Sience could be like
> > Mathematics
> > Physics
> > Bio
> > Chemistry
> > Astronomics
> > Geology
>
> Could you provide packages list to flesh these sections ?
>
> > where some applications or tools can be part of several sub-sections.
> > Perhaps applications which could be used in nearly all sub-sections
> > could go into a "General" or "Common" Section.
>
> We absolutly try to avoid catch-all subsections because they tend to be
> used as dumping ground for anything that do not fit in the structure
> instead of leading people to improve the structure.
>
> > In parallel to section "Science" have a section "Education".
>
> "Education" is listed in the draft:
>
> Education
> Educational and training software.
> gtypist, gcompris, quiz
>
There is also the science of educational technique. How children
learn and what works and doesn't work for various levels of
child development. And what styles of training software are
appropriate for various kinds of users.
Cheers,
--
Paul E Condon
pecondon@mesanetworks.net
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