Hmm, studies say this, but then I wonder about people like me: in denial of my attraction to computer skills. Hey, I went to a geek high school. I hung out with computer geeks there and in college. But I was constantly chasing something more complex or interesting, like biology or architecture or archaeology. I always appreciated how computers could help me - I simply refused to believe that computer skills could be satisfying. I sought to use "more" of my brain. I felt that computer jobs were too narrowly focused. In spite of this, I took several programming classes and did extremely well in them, had computer-focused part-time jobs...

I think, in order to appeal to those of us who wish to mentally juggle 20 things at once, you must show how these types of jobs can be very creative and occupy much of one's brain. The following would not convince me - computer graphics: art=right brain! computer=left brain!

This is all because I stubbornly clung to my stereotypes. I'm betting that other people have this problem too.

P.S. I have a friend who once explained the reason he sought a computer-related career: because computers are logical and controllable.

I can relate to what you say heather. As someone who was also in denial of my mad comp skills, I finally gave into it, mostly cause I finally tried it, realized i was good, and noticed i could make some good money at it. Now, I am totally sick of being a programmer. I am much more interested these days in using my programming skills as a tool for solving interesting problems in fields like you mentioned. Or something entirely different all together. I think that is more challenging - to me, at least. However, I can understand that others find CS inherently fascinating and challenging, and hell, even creative. But I'm thinking my kind of creativity is in the spatial realm, not in the realm of pages of code. And creating db schemas or hacking up the occasional icon are not going to cut it!

So taking one small point from your comment Heather, there was another bit of the show, in which they discussed they relatively high percentage of computer users amongst high school girls. Some people think that usage might engender and interesting, and lead to more females in CS. They concluded that this was not so likely, that people drive cars with out taking them apart, and that these girls will grow up, as you did, to use computers, not to become CS majors.

Of course your a little bit of a counter-example to that argument as well. These things can't all be cut and dry.

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