Computer science as a science is different in one respect from the other sciences in that it creates instead of discovers. Other sciences through experimentation and theory, the scientific method if you wish, try to discover the laws of nature. The computer scientist on the other hand create laws in the "electronic world." In a way computer scientists are like artists in that they create. True, they use the scientific method especially if a program doesn't work, then programmers have to go in and debug it, like other scientists solving a riddle. But it is that combination of art and science (which some people think of as being contradictory to one another, which I am not so sure are contradictory, but can be complementary to one another) that makes computer science as a field unique.
Computer science can help the other sciences' scientists with their skills by writing programs and letting the scientist discover the "laws" governing the program. In this way, a novice scientist can have a little practice discovering laws. A good program to use for this is mathematician John Horton Conway's cellular automation program Game of Life. It uses three basic laws that are deceptively simple, and when applied recursively leads to unexpected results. It is very interesting to watch the program run, to see all the different kinds of patterns it produces. All the scientist would do is watch the program run as many times as he likes to discover the laws that create the patterns. Of course, the scientist cannot be familiar with the program, because that is cheating, and in real life situations Nature does not allow you to cheat.
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