Why CS50 Teaches C

David Malan is a Harvard professor known for turning CS50 into a popular online computer science course. We discussed the story behind CS50, how to lecture well, and how AI is changing CS education including in cheating/academic dishonesty.

• My ergonomic keyboard project I mentioned, you can follow along here: https://read.compose.llc/

𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:

• YouTube: https://youtu.be/bB2o81DnKHk

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835

• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/harvard-professor-cs50-what-matters

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲'𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸:

• Cursor 3: a unified workspace for building software with agents, check it out at https://cursor.com/

• WorkOS: makes your app Enterprise Ready with easy to use APIs to add SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more in just a few lines of code, check them out at https://workos.com/

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:

0:00 - Intro

1:09 - Getting into computer science

3:27 - Becoming the professor of CS50

11:19 - How to lecture well

14:25 - Depth vs engagement in education

18:11 - Why don't we consolidate educational resources

23:20 - Why start with C

31:51 - The ideal use of AI in education

34:54 - Cheating and AI

38:21 - Should we really learn CS still?

45:24 - College vs online education

47:06 - The most difficult concept to learn

51:00 - Growth vs fixed mindset

52:35 - The future of CS50

55:56 - Biggest career regret

1:00:29 - Top book recommendations

1:02:36 - Advice for his younger self

1:03:35 - Outro

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱:

• Personal website: https://cs.harvard.edu/malan/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dmalan

• Github: https://github.com/dmalan

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidjmalan/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/malan/

• Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/davidjmalan/

• X/Twitter: https://x.com/davidjmalan

• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@davidjmalan

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:

• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/

• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/

• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲:

• His first program for CS50: https://x.com/davidjmalan/status/1432538424590929920

• Paper about CS50 improvements: https://cs.harvard.edu/malan/publications/fp310-malan.pdf

• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy

• How Computers Work book (not affiliate link): https://www.amazon.com/How-Computers-Work-Evolution-Technology/dp/078974984X