Brent A. Yorgey 2026 4 27 http://ozark.hendrix.edu/~yorgey/forest/00FD/ 00FD /~yorgey/forest/00FD/ To my students There have been times, especially this year, when I wonder despairingly what it is exactly that I am preparing you for. The software industry is going completely insane, not to mention the political climate. It feels almost unethical to train you as computer scientists only to send you out into a world where entry-level computing jobs are difficult to find; where intellectual property is not respected; where code quantity is valued over quality, and short-term profits over long-term sustainability; where technology is used to distract, extract, surveil, and kill, and designed to exploit some of our deepest cognitive biases and blind spots; where centuries of bias and discrimination are enshrined in systems trained on biased data; where scarce resources are consumed by profligate use of computing for uncertain benefits; where people are racing to create intelligent machines, but only in order to make them slaves. I originally got into computing because of the beauty of ideas, the joy of creating, and the possibility of building tools to help people and foster human relationships. I still believe in those things, even though it seems like most of the industry does not. I'm writing this in the hope and knowledge that you believe in those things, too. There are things I want to say to you—things that are far more important than any content I might teach you, but things I'm never quite sure how or when to say in class. So I decided to write them here. I hope you will find something here that is helpful to reflect on, whether you are imminently going out into the world or continuing your studies. Don't believe self-serving lies about technologies being "inevitable" or "here to stay". You don't have to just go along with the dominant narrative. You can make deliberate choices and help others to do the same. Be intentional about deciding your own moral and ethical boundaries up front. Don't settle for the lie of compromising your principles "just for now" until you can find something better. Cultivate your ability to think deeply. Do whatever it takes to carve out distraction-free bubbles for yourself in both space and time. This might mean saying no to technologies or patterns of working that others say are critical or inevitable. Care deeply about your craft. Refactor code until it is clear and elegant. Write good documentation for other humans to read. Have the courage to go slowly, especially when everyone else is telling you that you need to go fast and cut corners. Care more about people, relationships, and justice than you do about profits, code, or productivity. Above all, be motivated by love instead of fear. References Context Backlinks Brent A. Yorgey 2026 3 7 http://ozark.hendrix.edu/~yorgey/forest/009L/ 009L /~yorgey/forest/009L/ Statement on LLMs I do not and will not use LLMs, in any form, for any purpose. Although LLMs are fascinating from a purely technical perspective, I refuse to participate in or contribute to such systems that are built on massive exploitation of human labor and make profligate use of scarce resources. I also don't think they are actually very good for a lot of the applications people seem excited about. Even in cases where LLMs are technically good at a task, that does not necessarily mean their use for that task contributes positively to human flourishing. A good way to describe myself is as a generative AI vegetarian. You can find a fuller explanation—and many, many links—at the above essay by Sean Boots, which I agree with almost 100%. On bad days, I find myself feeling more like Anthony Moser. Here is something I wrote for my students reflecting on the current state of the world and what I hope for them as they go out into it. 2025 10 24 http://ozark.hendrix.edu/~yorgey/forest/0002/ 0002 /~yorgey/forest/0002/ Teaching I teach computer science and mathematics at Hendrix College. Here is a short letter I wrote to my students reflecting on the current state of the world and what I hope for them as they go out into it. 2025 10 24 http://ozark.hendrix.edu/~yorgey/forest/0003/ 0003 /~yorgey/forest/0003/ Current courses (Spring 2026) This spring, I am teaching two courses and one lab section: MATH 240, Discrete Mathematics CSCI 365, Functional Programming I am also facilitating one lab section for CSCI 150, Foundations of Computer Science. Only a few more weeks of the semester left—one more week of classes, then a couple more weeks of finals and graduation. 2025 10 24 http://ozark.hendrix.edu/~yorgey/forest/0004/ 0004 /~yorgey/forest/0004/ Previous courses 2025 10 25 http://ozark.hendrix.edu/~yorgey/forest/000I/ 000I /~yorgey/forest/000I/ Previous courses taught at Hendrix College LBST 150J, The Engaged Citizen: The Art and Science of Creativity (co-taught with Melissa Gill, F '20) LBST 101, Explorations (F '18, F '20, F '22, F '24) CSCI 150, Foundations of Computer Science (F '15, S '16, S '17, S '18, F '18, S '19, F '19, S '20, S '21, F '22, S '23, F '23, S '24, S '25, F '25, S '26) CSCI 151, Data Structures (F '16, F '17, S '19) MATH 240, Discrete Mathematics (S '20, S '21, S '22, S '23, S '25, S '26) CSCI 322, Computing Systems Organization (S '22, S '24) CSCI 382, Algorithms (S '16, S '17, F '17, F '18, F '19, F '20, F '22, F '23, F '24, F '25) CSCI 360, Programming Languages (F '16, F '18, S '21, S '23, S '25) CSCI 365, Functional Programming (S '16, S '18, S '20, S '22, S '24, S '26) CSCI 410, Senior Seminar (F '16, F '17, F '19, F '20, F '22, F '24) 2025 10 25 http://ozark.hendrix.edu/~yorgey/forest/000J/ 000J /~yorgey/forest/000J/ Previous courses taught at Williams College CS 134, Digital Communication and Computation, an Introduction to Computer Science (co-taught with Bill Lenhart, F '14) CS 354, Functional Programming and the Art of Recursion (F '14) CS 136, Data Structures and Advanced Programming (S '15) 2025 10 25 http://ozark.hendrix.edu/~yorgey/forest/000K/ 000K /~yorgey/forest/000K/ Previous courses taught at University of Pennsylvania The Art of Recursion (F '12) CIS 194, Introduction to Haskell (F '10, S '12, S '13) CIS 500, Software Foundations (TA; S '10, S '11) CIS 120, Programming Languages and Techniques I (TA; F '09) 2025 10 25 http://ozark.hendrix.edu/~yorgey/forest/000L/ 000L /~yorgey/forest/000L/ Other previously taught courses Woodrow Wilson Senior High School, Washington DC Introduction to Computer Science ('04-'05, '05-'06) AP Computer Science AB ('04-'05, '05-'06) Honors Precalculus ('05-'06) Correspondence course in precalculus with homeschool students ('08-'09) Related Contributions