The eight-minute halting problem

After years of presumed emphasis of CS theory in the curriculum, it is currently in vogue to downplay, if not disparage, a significant role for theoretical issues. This is being done with such vigor, however, that some are advocating an abandonment of even such topics as unsolvability as being no longer fundamental to a well-educated computing professional. An appeal is made, using the universal acknowledgment of the importance of the liberal arts to any well-educated person, to assert that certain theoretical topics are part of our liberal arts heritage. Moreover, students find even a brief presentation of these topics to be very illuminating.